Local real estate developer Jeff Young has compiled a team of designers, engineers and other creative thinkers in the historic renovation of Franklin Junior High into mixed-use property on a 12-acre campus at 4801 Franklin Ave.

The team is being led by Group Creative Services and is made up of Neumann Monson Architects, multidisciplinary consultant ISG, Raker Rhodes Engineering, experiential artist Ian Miller and plantsman Kelly Norris, who is director of horticulture and education at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.

As a former school and church, an early step for the project team is a site plan filed for a rezoning request expected to get a vote in April.

Once converted to a mixed-use property, the project is expected to generate nearly $450,000 in annual property taxes.

Young also wants to add the building to the National Register of Historic Places. Plans for the campus include office space for community tenants, a boutique hotel, a restaurant and several small bars.

Two gymnasiums and a range of spaces will accommodate events. The larger of the two auditoriums seats 4,200 – the metro’s largest indoor performance space aside from the Iowa Events Center.

Birchwood Montessori School is expected to remain a tenant throughout the renovation process.

Young’s plan also includes 88,000 square feet of gardens planted along 48th Street and Franklin Avenue – the metro’s largest outdoor plantings aside from the Des Moines Botanical Gardens.

Weekly tours of the campus resume Wednesday, March 6.

Visit franklinjrhigh.com for more information on the renovation and to register for a tour.