Hubbell Realty Co. plans a rental townhouse community on Southwest Seventh Street near its Riverpoint Office Park that will provide rooftop views of the Raccoon River and bring another 47 residential units to downtown Des Moines.

A site plan for the project, called 5Fifty5, was approved Thursday by the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission.

The $13 million project will feature a top-floor master bedroom suite atop a three-story structure with balconies of of each side. Townhomes will have two or three bedrooms with options for up to 3 1/2 bathrooms. It will be located on Southwest Seventh Street near the Jackson Street Bridge, where efforts are underway to raise funds for a $2.3 million restoration. The bridge has been closed since 2012. Though now closed, when it reopens it provides a link from Principal Park to Gray’s Lake.

“5Fifty5 accomplishes a goal we have had for some time: to meet the growing demand for diverse housing options in downtown Des Moines while engaging the river,” Hubbell President and CEO Rick Tollakson said in a release.

According to the release, the project provides an “urban experience not currently available in this area of downtown.” 

The site will have narrow streets and connections to the downtown trail system.

Slingshot Architecture is the designer.

Farther east along the downtown riverfront, Hansen Real Estate Services will proceed with a 120-unit apartment project called Eagle View Lofts that will be located near Southeast Sixth Street and the Des Moines River. And, in between the Hansen and Hubbell projects, Nelson Construction & Development plans a 154-unit apartment complex called Bici Flats that will cater to bicyclists. It will be located near Southeast First Street, near the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers and also near bike trails.