By this fall, the walls are expected to fall along the east-side, skywalk level spaces of Principal Financial Group’s 801 Grand, and that’s a good thing for the building and its tenants.

For some time now, access to the east side of the third floor has been cut off by temporary walls. Another atmosphere chiller has been the blacked-out windows of the former Dooley’s restaurant.

In early September, two conference rooms are expected to open and a couple of months later Main Street Cafe and Bakery will open in the former Dooleys.

The conference center will feature two rooms — one for groups of up to 52 people in lecture-style seating and one room that will seat eight. Outside the conference center, there will be additional tables, chairs and soft seating. 

In November, Main Street Cafe and Bakery will expand its operations to downtown from Ankeny’s Prairie Trail, where the restaurant has held the stage in the Plaza Shoppes area.

“We couldn’t be more excited to offer these two new options to our tenants and to the surrounding business community,” Val Hageman, JLL facility manager at 801 Grand, said in a statement. “The trend of adding useable, community spaces to buildings has been on our radar for some time. Adding Main Street Café at the same time is definitely a bonus.”

JLL’s Justin Lossner said all third-floor retail spaces will be fully leased by the end of the month. The firm is marketing 5,000 square feet of retail office space, called 701 Shoppes, at the new Principal parking garage at Seventh Street and Grand Avenue.

Meanwhile, 801 Grand has up to 100,000 square feet of contiguous office space that can be leased in the “mid-block” floors — 24 to 29. Those offices could include furniture. In addition, 14,500 square feet of executive office is available on the 39th floor.

Principal has been generous with “easy and affordable parking solutions for future tenants,” Lossner said. “We have seen a significant amount of interest from tech users who want to create unique interior finishes with unmatched views.”

Some of the options Principal is considering for a few of the buildouts are exposed concrete and ceilings and open floor plans with entertainment spaces, he said.

Completed and pending deals have filled about 20,000 square feet of space, Lossner said.