The U.S. Postal Service has acquired property at University and Second avenues in Des Moines that it had previously leased, Polk County real estate records show.

USPS paid Sud Des Moines LLC $9.55 million for the 14.3-acre parcel at 1165 Second Ave., records show. The property includes a nearly 350,000-square-foot-building that the post office has occupied since the early 1970s. The facility includes the postal service’s main Des Moines office as well as warehouse space.

The property is valued at $10.3 million.

In 2024, owners of the property paid over $340,000 in property taxes. The property will become exempt from paying property taxes if the postal service retains ownership of the property.

Nationally, the postal service leases over 25,000 properties. In Iowa, the postal service leases 739 properties with a total of over 1.6 million square feet of space.  

In recent years, the postal service has bought previously leased properties in an effort to eliminate recurring lease payments, maintenance costs and property taxes.

A spokesperson for the post office did not have an immediate response to questions related to the purchase of the Des Moines property.

In other transactions:

Lock Real Estate Holdings LLC, located in Urbandale, paid Timberline Wellness LLC $1.7 million for property at 14111 Douglass Parkway, Unit 1, in Urbandale, records show. The property includes a 4,589-square-foot medical office space. The property is valued at $1.1 million. The transaction was recorded Dec. 1.

Sarah Yans paid Custom Holdings LLC $1.3 million for property at 1073 S. Wilder Place in West Des Moines, records show. The property includes a one-story, 2,248-square-foot house whose construction was recently completed. The transaction was recorded Dec. 1.

Molly Hock-Nolin paid Nico Construction LLC $1.2 million for property at 1150 S. Wilder Place in West Des Moines, records show. The property includes a one-story, 2,366-square-foot house whose construction was recently completed. The transaction was recorded Dec. 2.

Cellar Properties LLC, located in Ankeny, paid Bricktown Piper LC $1.25 million for property in the 3100 block of North Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny, records show. The 1.3-acre undeveloped parcel is in a multifamily residential district. The transaction was recorded Dec. 3.

Martin Marietta Materials Real Estate Investments Inc., located in Lexington, Ky., paid Sandridge Farms Co. $3 million for property south of the Des Moines River in southeast Polk County, records show. One 59-acre parcel is located north of Southeast Army Post Road at about Southeast 64th Street. A second parcel of 40 acres is located about one mile east of Southeast 56th Street. The location of a third purchased parcel could not be determined. The transaction was recorded Dec. 3.

Mufa Properties LLC, located in Ankeny, paid the Denny & Candy Elwell Foundation $1.2 million for property at 301 E. First St. in Ankeny, records show. The 1-acre parcel includes a 4,981-square-foot building constructed in 2001. The property is valued at $819.000. The transaction was recorded Dec. 5.

DR Horton Iowa LLC, based in Ankeny, paid Quail Run II LLC $1.5 million for 20 residential lots in Quail Park Plat 5 in Bondurant, records show. The transaction was recorded Dec. 5.

Dallas County

Pioneer Assets LLC, located in Urbandale, paid Kwality Custom Homes LLC $2.1 million for eight residential properties in Waterford Way Townhomes Plat 1 in Urbandale, Dallas County real estate records show. The townhomes are located along Springbrook Trail. The transaction was recorded Dec. 1.

Absolute Farms LLC, located in Granger, paid Timothy and Jody Forret $4.5 million for farmland south and east of Meadow Road in Adel, records show. The transaction was recorded Dec. 2.  

Hope Development & Realty LLC, located in West Des Moines, paid High Point Group LLC $3.3 million for undeveloped land west of South 81st Street at Stagecoach Drive in West Des Moines, records show. The transaction was recorded Dec. 3.