A groundbreaking set for Thursday in Urbandale is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: A Greater Des Moines business is growing and its growth is occurring in a once dowdy retail center that is coming back to life under owners who bought it three years ago.

Serve Credit Union plans a daylong celebration starting at 8 a.m. in a branch located at Urban Town Center at the southeast corner of 86th Street and Douglas Avenue. Just a few years ago, the commercial center was dotted with vacancies and notable for a layout best described as “interesting” if not peculiar.

Signature Real Estate Services brought the property in September 2015 and within a month started a rehabilitation, something the firm is noted for. Along with Hurd Real Estate Services, it drove the transformation of the former Wall Street Journal printing plant at 42nd Street and Westown Parkway — something of a bunker hiding behind overgrown bushes and trees — into an eye-catching office complex.

At Urban Town Center, the company improved the landscaping, updated mechanicals, rejiggered layouts, improved entrances, spruced up exteriors and updated interiors. Palmer’s Deli moved in, as did Taco Hangover, a chiropractor, a salon, a fitness center and an interior designer. It has a mix of tenants that bring retail success to old shopping centers.

“It’s a great mix that has brought life back to the center,” said Signature’s Andy Hodges.

Hodges said occupancy is running about 90 percent, with the small-bay retail on the south end of the center completely occupied.

Serve Credit Union has taken up one of those retail spots. It is located near the center of the retail strip, directly in line with Urban Grill.

The credit union is one of the oldest in the state. It was founded in 1931 to serve Des Moines police officers and their families. Over the past few years, the credit union’s membership has grown to include all public safety professionals. It also has merged with the the USDA Credit Union and the Polk County School Employees Credit Union.

You can stop by until 5 p.m. Around 1 p.m., the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce will conduct the official ribbon-cutting.