isu web 102224 728x90

New renderings released of redeveloped Merle Hay Mall

/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BR_web_311x311.jpeg

The proposed redevelopment of portions of Merle Hay Mall would generate an estimated annual $126 million economic impact and create about 1,000 new jobs, according to Elizabeth Holland, CEO of Merle Hay Investors, which owns the mall at Merle Hay Road and Douglas Avenue. Holland last year announced that mall space where three department stores had been located would become a 3,500-seat multipurpose arena and new home of the Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team. Plans for the mall also include razing the structure that for decades was home to Sears department store. A new Kohl’s department store will anchor a new strip center planned on the former Sears site. Green space is planned between the new strip center and the existing mall, shown above in a newly released architectural rendering. Backers of the redevelopment project are seeking $30 million from the Iowa Reinvestment District program. Applications for the state program are due this week. Architectural rendering special to the Business Record