For nearly two years, Jordan Creek Town Center has been the focal point of Greater Des Moines’ westward expansion, attracting several upscale retailers as tenants and generating millions of dollars in sales.

But the popular shopping mall has also spawned the development of hundreds of acres of commercial and residential projects in the surrounding area that, after years of planning, are finally beginning to take shape.

With hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail, restaurant and office space planned for completion around Jordan Creek by the end of the year, developers believe not only that their own projects will be successful, but that the collective group of developments will generate even greater success.

“It’s a competitive nature, but I think everyone has their little niches,” said Rob Myers, president of Regency Land Development.

And with 6 million square feet of commercial space either already built or under construction in the area, “that rivals any major city in the United States,” said Ron Daniels, president of Buyers Realty Inc. “It’s three times anything that exists anywhere else in Iowa. If you look at any major city, you find the more retail that congregates in one area, the better it is for the city.”

Buyers Realty, Regency Cos. and Knapp Properties Inc. are heading into a busy construction season as partners in development of the Galleria at Jordan Creek, a 75-acre, 800,000-square-foot shopping center located along George M. Mills Civic Parkway between 60th and 68th streets, one section of a larger piece of land previously owned by the Knapp family.

Gerry Neugent, president and chief operating officer of Knapp Properties, said the impetus for the Galleria was the announcement of Jordan Creek Town Center in 2000. With the proximity of the Knapp family’s land to a large regional mall, “there was a logical extension of retail into the surrounding areas,” he said.

The company originally planned to develop a 50-acre retail complex directly south of Jordan Creek, but the project had to be shifted eastward to allow for construction of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage campus. As plans began to emerge, the focus of Galleria eventually shifted toward large national retailers and restaurant chains.

“The national chains generally have recognized credit and they are a draw,” Neugent said.

Anchored by a 200,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter, the Galleria will include numerous retail buildings – 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment Inc. and T.J. Maxx have already committed to lease agreements, Myers said – as well as a 137-room Holiday Inn hotel, office space, multifamily housing and several restaurants, including Fuddruckers, Applebee’s, Red Robin and Mimi’s Café.

Other potential tenants have submitted letters of intent to lease space in the Galleria, but the developers are waiting for those leases to be finalized before releasing further details. Daniels said Buyers Realty, which is overseeing leasing, has received significant interest from national and regional retailers regarding the development.

About 170,000 square feet of retail space is under construction, as are the sites for Wal-Mart, Fuddruckers and Red Robin sites, Myers said. The Wal-Mart Supercenter is scheduled to open in July and he expects other tenants to open as early as this fall.

Wal-Mart was a major point of contention between the company, nearby residents and the city of West Des Moines. The West Des Moines City Council, responding to complaints from residents of a nearby subdivision, voted to restrict the retail giant’s hours rather than allowing it to operate 24 hours a day.

Without Wal-Mart, Myers said, the development process could have been slowed significantly. “You need one big retailer to draw in some of the others,” he said.

“The reality of commercial retail development is that Wal-Mart is very successful and is a draw and other retailers want to be around them,” Neugent added.

The city of West Des Moines’ building standards are “highly regulated,” Neugent said, which has required more time to get the Galleria project through various pre-construction phases. But with so much construction going on within the city at the same time, “that creates a real burden” on the city staff, he said. He also believes the city is beginning to catch up after several busy years of construction.

“They’re tough,” Neugent said. “But they hold the developers accountable, and I don’t begrudge them for that.”

West Des Moines Community Development Director Clyde Evans said the size of the projects meant that the city needed more time to review the site plans. Though he doesn’t believe projects in the Jordan Creek area have fallen under greater scrutiny than other commercial projects in the city, he said there has been a heavy focus on architecture. “We just want to make sure we’re getting the best possible project,” he said.

Several developers involved in projects around Jordan Creek, though they said the process at times was frustrating, consider West Des Moines’ efforts to be well intentioned and in the best interest of the city and residents of Greater Des Moines. The result, they said, will be a collection of high-quality, well-planned developments that will draw customers from throughout the metropolitan area, as well as from other parts of the state and region.

Urbandale-based developer Walters Cos. is continuing work on Jordan Creek Crossing, a $75 million town center development east of Jordan Creek Town Center on 68th Street. The company purchased the two parcels, totaling 28 acres, before plans for Jordan Creek Town Center were finalized. “We actually bought the ground not knowing for sure whether or not that would take place,” said project developer Angela Tessau. “We assumed it would, but if not, we were sure it would still be a nice development.”

A 131-room Hilton Garden Inn recently opened at Jordan Creek Crossing, and construction on a three-story mixed-use building with office space and residential condominiums is complete. Sahar’s Salon & Day Spa will open a spa in the building and a group of doctors will occupy the second floor, Tessau said. The secured teants have begun the build-out process and should open sometime this summer, she said. Three tenants have also signed leases for third-floor loft apartments, and a fitness center franchise may locate in the building as well.

“It’s a mixed-use development, and the city was open to that kind of a project,” Tessau said. “This is the first one that we have done and we knew it was successful in bigger cities.”

A second mixed-use building is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in November, and four other mixed-use buildings are also planned. Two bank buildings will be constructed on the site and three restaurant sites are available. Walters Cos. may also build two high-rise loft apartment buildings with office space on the main floor, Tessau said. The town center concept includes plans for a central plaza, extensive landscaping, a water fountain and a 50-foot clock tower.

Plans for a five-acre parcel on the south side of the development include a car wash, and Tessau said the company may develop the remaining three acres of that parcel if it does not sell.

Plans were unveiled last year for the Village of Ponderosa, a project Ladco Development Inc. will construct on the former Ponderosa Golf Course site northeast of 60th Street and George M. Mills Civic Parkway. The 95-acre project will be primarily residential, with 82 single-family homes and 430 townhouses and condominiums, Evans said, centered around a five-acre lake and a commercial district with 100,000 square feet of retail space and 240,000 square feet of office space all located within multiple-story, mixed-use buildings overlooking the lake. West Glen’s developers have slightly altered its site plan in order to blend in with the Village of Ponderosa, Evans said.

“It’s really kind of a unique project to Iowa,” he said, noting that the residential units will all be built within walking distance of the lake and the commercial district. Ladco is awaiting final site plan approval, but Evans expects that to happen soon and believes construction will begin before the end of the year.

Though the developers acknowledge that having several retail developments all located a close to one another naturally creates a sense of competition, most believe each project will contribute to the big picture, creating synergy among West Glen, the Village of Ponderosa, the Galleria, Jordan Creek Crossing and Jordan Creek Town Center, each with its own niche, Myers said.

“Each project seems to have its own look and feel and intention,” said Marc Ross, a broker for Buyers Realty. “We have a very strong advantage in the fact that we are a retail development that offers all the fun on both sides of Mills Civic Parkway. West Glen could easily say they have a very unique development on Mills Civic Parkway, and I think all of us can say that, and I think that’s pretty cool.”