Hansens developing metro’s 2nd gated community
KENT DARR Oct 17, 2016 | 3:56 pm
2 min read time
501 wordsAll Latest News, Real Estate and Development
For the last three years, Craig Hansen has worked on a project that brings out the artistic side of the builder in him.
Hansen is the founder and CEO of Hansen Co. Inc., the Johnston-based construction company that might get the most visibility for its projects in downtown Des Moines, but has left its fingerprints on commercial structures across Greater Des Moines and the state.
A project that has been three years in the making is Bella Strada Estates, which follows a Mediterranean theme for clustered villas, executive building sites between 1 and 1.5 acres, a village square, or piazza, shared courtyard views and an ornate gateway entrance with a guardhouse.
The project, on Northwest 100th Street just north of Northwest 70th Avenue in Johnston, is the second gated community in Greater Des Moines. The first was Glen Oaks in West Des Moines.
Hansen is quick to point out that the development, entered via the gate and a boulevard that will be lined with tall oaks, is a collaboration with his wife, Myra, an interior designer.
Des Moines urban designer Dennis Reynolds has worked with the Hansens on a variety of design features, including sculpting the cornfield-flat countryside to create terraced layouts that will accommodate walkout basements on some of the estate lots.
The villas are clustered on the west side of the development, at the end of a wide boulevard and are designed for empty nesters who want a more “carefree” lifestyle, Reynolds said. They come in one-story and 1.5-story versions with two or three bedrooms and wrap-around terraces that look out on a shared common garden. The villas are separated from the residential lots by a brick square with a four-tiered, flower-filled fountain.
“The Hansens wanted to bring a unique Italian-themed environment to central Iowa, so for inspiration we researched images from Lake Como, including George Clooney’s home, and the Tuscany region of Italy when we began the design work,” Reynolds said.
To date, one of the estate lots has been sold and a model villa has been completed.
JoAnn Manning of Iowa Realty is the real estate agent on the project. The model villa is priced around $895,000, she said, and others will start in the low- to mid-$500,000 range. Estate lots will range from $335,000 to $395,000, she said.
Craig Hansen said his goal was to leave a lasting impression on the residential market.
“The thing I wanted to do was create a community that in 10 years or 20 years from now I could be proud of, that stands the test of time,” he said.
Bella Strada Estates also gave him an opportunity to work outside of more conventional commercial construction.
“This is more of a passion, kind of a side deal from our normal course of business,” Hansen said. “I enjoy creating these kinds of things. I don’t like doing the normal run of the mill things that everyone else is doing. I have a little bit of that artsy stuff in me.”
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