Hubbell Realty Co. has listed for sale Venbury Square, a 13,560-square-foot speculative retail project developed by the West Des Moines-based company in late 2008.

The developer is asking $2,235,000 for the land and building located at 301 Center Place S.W., west of the Hy-Vee Inc. supermarket in Altoona.

Venbury opened in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the economy spiraled into recession.

“The thought process was to develop it, get it fully occupied, or close to fully occupied, and see if there was a market for someone to buy it,” said Kyle Gamble, senior vice president and managing director of CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial.

Four businesses occupy Venbury, including anchor tenant Royal Flooring, which moved into the center in mid-August 2009 and has since expanded. A Cost Cutters hair salon, a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop and a Re/Max residential sales office have also leased spaces.

Gamble said the development is 90 percent occupied and has one 1,320-square-foot bay available. According to the Polk County assessor’s office, the one-story building and 1.5-acre parcel have a combined assessed value of $1,130,000.

Hubbell has received at least one offer to purchase Venbury and if it sells, Gamble said, the developer may use the money to spearhead another project.

“Hubbell is always exploring other opportunities,” such as retail, multifamily housing, office and industrial projects, Gamble said.

He said Hubbell owns nearly eight acres of commercially zoned ground in Altoona’s Tuscany Reserve planned unit development, as well as 197 acres of undeveloped land in Ambrose Place, which is located north of Interstate 80 near the U.S. Highway 65 bypass.

But Hubbell has no immediate plans to develop more speculative retail space.

“I do think we’ll get back in the market,” Gamble said. “We just need to be confident that demand will be there. As the market improves, we’ll certainly take a look at it.”

Speculative retail projects were largely immobilized in 2008, as lenders began requiring developers to pre-lease more space, put up larger down payments and provide personal guarantees on retail construction loans.