Not everyone would take on a project that is described as risky, difficult and magnificent all at the same time.

But for developer Harry Bookey, the 95-year-old Randolph Hotel on Court Avenue is right up his alley. Bookey is now one step closer to starting the project after the Iowa Finance Authority awarded more than $3 million in tax credits last month.

The project is large in scale. Pushing $13 million in cost, the Randolph Hotel building will be converted into approximately 50 apartments. The conversion project will consume not only the old hotel but also two adjacent buildings, one called the Randolph Annex Building on Fourth Street and the other at 409 Court Ave.

Plans also call for street and lower-level commercial space for up to six tenants. Each bay will average 2,000 square feet. The hotel basement, which is finished with an old marble finish called terrazzo, could be converted into a bar or restaurant

“The Randolph is a very difficult project to construct. Those older buildings were built very well, but have a lot of irregularities,” Bookey said. “It’s a magnificent structure, it has great windows and the lobby is just spectacular.”

For project architect Brad Hartman of Substance Architecture, combining three old buildings into one creates a multitude of challenges. Hartman cited the need for a completely new electrical system, a new heating, air conditioning and ventilation system, meeting green architecture standards and new mechanical elements as a few major issues facing the conversion project.

“It’s an eight-story building that no one pays attention to,” Hartman said. “It’s really going to change Court Avenue.”

Then there are the city and state codes.

“One of the biggest issues is the building code,” he said. “The city is going to use this as a case study. The building has every code issue possible.”

Outside of being a case study for future conversion projects in the city, Bookey sees the Randolph Hotel as the last key element of Court Avenue.

“It’s three historic buildings, and that’s what gives Court Avenue something that isn’t duplicable in the suburbs. Downtowns have to be unique, and this is a unique building, and people like living in a unique place,” he said. “That is a critical element of downtown projects. That’s what gives [downtown] the texture, that’s what makes it a city as opposed to living in a suburban development.”

Bookey didn’t release an official start date for construction but said his team is working on schematics, rough renderings for the buildings and working with contracts to move the project forward.

“We have always believed that Court Avenue should be a central focus in making Des Moines a city, and this building is a very important piece of that,” Bookey said.