The trackhoes are in place to begin the demolition of a warehouse and other buildings in a 4.25-acre parcel south of the Raccoon River where Neighborhood Development Corp. hopes to push the boundaries of downtown Des Moines.

 

After completing the sale of its Madison Flats apartment building on Indianola Avenue, the nonprofit development organization plans a mix of townhouses, apartment buildings and some retail uses for land directly across the street, where it has been slowly acquiring deeds to six properties for about $700,000.

 

As with most of NDC’s projects, this is an area where few developers have ventured. The Madison Flats apartments were built on a site that intimidated private developers because it required the removal of contaminated soils left behind by past industrial users.

 

The apartments are full and now under the ownership of DeBuey LLC, which is managed by Knapp Properties Inc. The entity paid $2.55 million for Madison Flats on Feb. 27.

 

Glenn Lyons, NDC executive director, said the proceeds from that sale will be used to kick off the development of the nearby parcel, which is bordered by Jackson Street on the north, Dunham Avenue on the south, Indianola on the west and South Union Street on the east.

 

After the site is clear, the multiphase project will kick off this fall with the construction of stacked townhouses with 16 market-rate units that will front South Union. That project will be called Madison Terrace and has an estimated cost of $3 million.

 

Next up will be two 40- to 50-unit apartment buildings that will face Indianola, each with a cost of $5 million to $7 million. On the retail side, there is land available for a restaurant at Jackson and Indianola.

 

If a private developer would like to take a bite out of the project, especially land that is planned for the apartments, Lyons said NDC would be more than willing to sell.

 

Lyons and NDC board member Abbey Gilroy, who initiated the purchase of the properties when she held Lyons’ post at NDC, said the intent is to draw developers into an area where they have shown little interest in the past.

 

“The end goal is to expand the boundaries of downtown,” Gilroy said.

 

Lyons said that when he came to Greater Des Moines in 2010 and drove its streets and alleys and neighborhoods, he thought the area “would be the hottest place in Des Moines. … I’m still thinking one day it will come.”

 

A few blocks to the east at 1938 S.E. Sixth St., NDC developed Sevastopol Station, which has 12 apartments sitting above retail spaces that have two tenants, Star Bright Grocery and Curves, and is expecting the opening of a restaurant.

 

Lyons said the area is well suited for people who want to live downtown but not in the heart of the business district.

 

“We want to show that developers can come in here and there there is a market,” he said.

 

He noted that Hansen Real Estate Services is part of a partnership that owns land nearby and is attempting to develop a parcel just west of Southeast Sixth.

 

“If we can work the edges and Hansen works the river, people will start looking and saying this is a pretty good area,” Lyons said.

 

NDC also is ready to clear two properties on Southwest Ninth Street where it hopes to trigger additional development, and it is considering an upgrade of its East Grand Commercial Building (also called La Placita on East Grand), a collection of shops on the north side of Grand Avenue between 15th and 16th streets where the organization launched a redevelopment project 10 years ago.

 

Lyons signed a six-month contract to lead NDC after leaving the Downtown Community Alliance and taking the job that Gilroy left to join Beal | Derkenne Construction LLC as executive vice president. That contract expires in April and could be renegotiated.

 

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Lyons said.