EMC Insurance Cos. today announced plans to sell four properties it owns in downtown Des Moines — among them the 21-floor Hub Tower — in a move to realign its real estate holdings. The company owns more than 1 million square feet of real estate downtown and leases a large portion out to tenants. EMC determined the time is right to focus on the space it needs for its own business purposes, the Des Moines-based insurer said in a press release. The company also plans to sell the west portion of the Kaleidoscope at the Hub, the two-story indoor mall on Walnut Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street. A sale is pending on two other properties, both brick storage buildings on the south side of downtown. EMC said it has no plans to sell the three buildings that make up its core headquarters campus: 717 Mulberry St., 700 Walnut St. and 219 Eighth St., which occupies an entire city block. EMC also will retain its two parking ramps and surface parking lot. “EMC was founded here more than 110 years ago, and we’re committed to downtown Des Moines for the long term,” said Scott Jean, EMC president and CEO. The company purchased the Hub Tower and Kaleidoscope 11 years ago due to their close proximity to EMC’s corporate campus and to meet possible expansion needs. However, EMC has been leasing most of the space out for the duration of that time period. “We have determined that we have ample space at our other three buildings to meet our needs for the foreseeable future,” Jean said.