With last month’s completion of the George Washington Carver Bridge and the final link of West Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, some eyes are turning south toward a stretch of land ripe for development.

With the expectation that 40,000 cars will travel along the parkway daily, and a clean slate for development, Downtown Community Alliance President Kerty Levy said “it was a no-brainer” that significant projects would arise in the areas bordered by Southwest 9th Street and Fleur Drive.

“With its location along two major arteries (Fleur Drive and West MLK), it’s a great opportunity for this development because it’s been a dumping ground for so many years,” Levy said.

Plans for land north of West MLK have not been finalized, though Levy said there are “a couple of things that are brewing.” A cross-functional team of stakeholders continues to consider opportunities for the area.

Though plans to the north have not been finalized, the city of Des Moines and a consortium of developers are in the midst of an ongoing development agreement process for land to the south, known as Riverpoint West. A development effort launched in 2001 fell through, but was resurrected last year with the help of low interest rates and a housing market boom.

Levy said Riverpoint West is made up of approximately 120 to 150 acres of developable land, which is a designated brownfield area. She said the designation was helpful in acquiring various sources of funding. An anticipated seven-year build-out must begin with cleanup and ground preparation, which could allow for construction to begin as early as next spring.

The $220 million plan includes a mixed-use urban village, complete with townhouses, condominiums and office-retail buildings. The development, bordered to the south by the Raccoon River, will feature a main street retail center to service residents and commercial tenants, as well as passers-by.

Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates, which developed the Vine Street Lofts and Waterstreet Brownstones in downtown Des Moines, and Roseville, Minn.-based Rottlund Co. formed a consortium to develop Riverpoint West. Ryan Companies USA Inc. is no longer part of the consortium.

Tim Whitten, executive vice president of Rottlund Co., said the company often participates in urban redevelopment housing projects, and sees similar potential in Riverpoint West.

“It has the relationship to the water and to the city, and at the same time it has what I think of as an uptown feel,” he said. “It’s not totally downtown, but it’s connected, and that’s an advantage. The business market in downtown Des Moines is healthy and there are a lot of people who are going to want to live and work there, which is our goal so they have the advantage of that location.”

Developers anticipate housing options will attract young professional couples and empty-nesters. Levy added that with the space available, it will allow for walk-up townhouses and condominiums, a product new to downtown Des Moines. Also because of its size and location, Whitten said Riverpoint West will be able to create its own close-knit neighborhood community.

“We’ve done redevelopment in other cities, and I think that’s what really makes this one unique; that it’s got such a nice size,” he said.