Renovation of a former Target store is finally under way two years after the retailer ceased operations at Oliver Place, 2309 Euclid Ave.

The strip mall and surrounding land was purchased by Polk County after Target moved its store to Merle Hay Mall in July 2005. Once completed, the county will move several offices into the facility, said Greg Cushing, vice president of business development with Hansen Co. Inc., the company overseeing the renovation.

“There were other smaller tenants, but Target was the major one,” Cushing said. “When that store left to go to Merle Hay, the future of the site as a commercial and retail building was not good.”

Polk County has expressed an interest in reducing leased space obligations for housing various offices and services for several years, Cushing said. The county secured Oliver Plaza to satisfy that need.

Cushing said several departments will move into the space, including Supplemental Foods, Crisis and Advocacy Services, part of the Department of Health Services, Sheriff Standards and Training, Family Enrichment Center, Veteran Affairs, Sheriff Civil and Administration, Juvenile Court Officers and Sheriff Weapon Permits General Services.

When the building is fully occupied, Cushing said about 350 employees will work there, making it one the largest county office buildings in Polk County. The building contains around 177,000 square feet on 19.3 acres.

The goal is to start moving into the property in early 2008.

Williams Pointe North

Construction has also started on Regency Land Development’s 46-acre, mixed-used development in Waukee.

The property, known as Williams Pointe North, will contain 26.6 acres of commercial space and 20 acres of high-density, multi-family residential space in an area that is bordered to the north by U.S. Highway 6 and on the south by University Avenue.

“We’re currently in the road construction phase,” said Casey Shelton, a Regency spokesman. “We’re putting in two major roads right now.”

Shelton said 4.5 acres has already been sold to Bullseye Investment Strategies. Several other developers and investors have shown interest in the property, but no other deals have been consumated, he said. The two busy streets that border it, along with the planned extension of Alice’s Road, make the property very appealing to developers, he said. The size of the project means nothing will be competed overnight, Shelton said.

“Within the next couple of years, you’ll start to see several buildings completed,” he said. “As long as the market stays strong. But this is a big project that will take some time to compete.”