This past year was a busy one for the commercial real estate sector, with some big transactions, building renovations and insights into the possible future of a once popular shopping hub, which were all among the top stories readers checked out on the Business Record website.

Here are the top 10 commercial real estate stories based on page views on the Business Record website.

Also included below are other stories that told readers about major deals and projects that will help shape the future of the metro for years to come.

Top 10 stories based on website page views

1. Soccer stadium moving ahead with infrastructure work
   Organizers behind the effort to build the Pro Iowa Soccer Stadium and Global Plaza met with the Business Record in June to share an update on the campaign to raise money to build a 6,300-seat stadium and bring a United Soccer League franchise to the city. They discussed challenges they were facing in overcoming a more than $20 million funding gap, but were confident they could close that gap through value-engineering the design and additional fundraising, and begin work on the former Dico Inc. superfund site in 2026. By the end of the year, leaders with the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation, the nonprofit group behind the project, had announced they had surpassed their funding goal with the help of a $7 million grant from the city of Des Moines.
   
2. New Iowa law will require Iowa cities, counties to allow ADUs
   Owners of single-family homes in Iowa are now able to add an accessory dwelling unit on their lot, an option that could help address the housing shortage in the state and generate additional income for homeowners. Senate File 592, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in early May, requires cities and counties to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on a single-family lot. The legislation, which goes into effect July 1, sets minimum standards for the units and prohibits overly restrictive local rules. Adding accessory dwelling units on single-family lots is one way to help address Iowa’s housing shortage, backers of the legislation have said. According to the Iowa Finance Authority, over 21,000 additional homes are needed in Iowa by 2030. ADUs are also a way for property owners to generate extra income and for older people to live independently near a relative, advocates say.
   
3. WDM council approves Valley West Mall urban renewal plan
   The West Des Moines City Council voted in October to approve an Urban Renewal Plan for the Valley West Mall site, setting the stage for staff to begin advancing a development agreement with the group that has expressed interest in purchasing the property. It was a step needed to redevelop the site of the once bustling shopping center, and followed the council’s decision earlier in the year to rezone the 60-acre parcel for mixed-use development, allowing it to be redeveloped for residential, office, retail and entertainment. The 865,000-square-foot mall went on the market with brokerage firm CBRE, and it was announced in August that the mall was under contract and that a prospective buyer was beginning a period of due diligence. At the time of publication, it wasn’t clear where that process stood or what the future of the site may hold.
   
4. DOGE cancels 7 leases for office space in Iowa
   The Department of Government Efficiency, now disbanded, canceled 748 leases for office space, including seven in Iowa, a review of federal data in March showed. Shrinking the size of the federal government was among President Donald Trump’s campaign promises. He tasked billionaire Elon Musk and the new White House department, known as DOGE, with finding ways to reduce costs. A quick way to do that is slashing the amount of money the federal government spends on leased space. According to the DOGE web page, as of March 5, the contracts that have been canceled leased nearly 9.6 million square feet of office and other spaces. The canceled leases were for space located in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, a review showed. The website estimates over $468 million in savings from the lease cancellations. According to DOGE, offices in Davenport, Sioux City, Ames, Cedar Rapids and Indianola were affected. Davenport and Sioux City each saw two federal offices close as part of the DOGE recommendation.
   
5. New restaurant in Waukee’s Pin Oak building 
   Patrick Elbert, owner of Husk Homes, purchased Waukee’s Pin Oak building in 2021 with the intent of it becoming the new home for his real estate company. The back half would be turned into a custom millwork shop. But a downtown assessment by the Iowa Finance Authority and a community survey resulted in Elbert shifting and developing a concept to turn the building into a restaurant. Elbert said what attracted him to the building was that he grew up in Whittemore, a tiny northern Iowa community, and he saw the building and Waukee’s Downtown Triangle as an opportunity to help maintain that small town environment he knew growing up in the fast-growing community of Waukee. The restaurant, Littleleaf Luncheonette, opened in October.
   
6. Elwell Company buys former Zora building
   The Denny Elwell Co. purchased the former Zora Bar & Rooftop building at 2120 Ingersoll Ave. in August. The Ankeny-based company paid $2.3 million for the property. Chris Murray, president and CEO of the Denny Elwell Co., said at the time that redevelopment plans weren’t finalized but that the building would not be a bar. Instead, Murray told the Business Record that the building could be a restaurant or converted into office space for a professional user, such as an architecture firm, law firm or lending institution. The sale closed a period where Community First Credit Union of Ottumwa, which held the loan on the building, had sought offers for the building after it acquired it in October at a sheriff’s auction for just under $3.47 million. The nightclub closed in August 2023 after its owner, Edwin Allen, was sued by the city of Des Moines. The city claimed the business was a public nuisance after a string of violence on the property. Civil cases filed by the city against Allen and the business were later dismissed.
   
7. Crossroads Mall site in Waterloo to be redeveloped into mixed-use destination
   The site of the tired looking, nearly vacant Crossroads Mall in Waterloo will be redeveloped into a mixed-use district that features residential, retail, restaurants and other amenities. The 800,000-square-foot mall now sits vacant, with the exception of Geno’s Pizza, after anchor stores began pulling out several years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2023, no anchor stores were left. Now, the mall, and the 57½-acre site on which it sits, is falling into disrepair. The city entered into an agreement with ATI Group of Ankeny in November 2024 to redevelop the site, which will lead to the demolition of the mall and parking lot to clear the way for the construction of multifamily residential, retail and restaurant space, said BJ Stokesbary, CEO of ATI Group. The mall property was previously owned by four entities, including real estate investment and management company Namdar Realty Group, which operates under different names in its ownership of the mall, and Dillard’s. It encompasses a total of eight parcels. Redevelopment of the mall is in Waterloo’s 2030 Vision Plan, and the city council voted to provide $28 million in a Tax Increment Finance package to support the redevelopment of the mall property.
   
8. Valley West Mall owner to be known soon
   Valley West Mall was the buzzword of the annual West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce State of the City luncheon in July. West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble suggested at the time that the new owner of the mall could be revealed “any day now,” and that the city was looking forward to having the site returned to “absolute greatness.” Trimble said there were four or five bidders for the mall. Ryan Moffatt, the city’s director of community and economic development, said every developer he took to the site agreed the mall was irreparable but that it was a great piece of real estate that held great potential for redevelopment. As the year comes to a close, there was no official word on who the new owner of the mall might be or what the plans are to redevelop the site.
   
9. WDM P&Z takes enabling step in Valley West Mall redevelopment
   Curiosity about the future of the Valley West Mall site was apparent as yet another story about the mall popped into our top rankings this year. In October, the city’s planning and zoning commission voted to designate the area around the mall as an Urban Renewal Area, with Ryan Moffatt, the city’s director of community and economic development, describing the move as an “enabling step” toward the redevelopment of the once popular mall. At the time, Moffatt said the city was negotiating with an interested party looking to buy the mall. City officials remained mum on who the prospective new buyer could be, and did not say what the future plan for the site might look like.
   
10. Casey’s acquires two parcels in Des Moines suburbs
    This story was published as the lead story of our Notable Transactions feature in our Commercial Real Estate Newsletter on Sept. 10. According to the report, Casey’s General Stores has acquired two parcels in the Des Moines area. The convenience store, headquartered in Ankeny, paid David and Paula Sadler $902,000 for property at 885 88th St. in West Des Moines, Dallas County real estate records show. The 5.7-acre parcel is south of Interstate Highway 80 near the intersection of Ashworth Road and 88th Street. The property includes a one-story brick ranch house built in 1963. The property is valued at $569,570. Casey’s also paid Snyder Development LLC $1.6 million for property at 601 S.W. Oralabor Road in Ankeny. The 1.8-acre parcel is undeveloped. 

Other top stories of 2025 include:

Work underway on 515 Walnut Tower

As you drive around downtown, you have seen the road closures around Fifth and           Walnut streets, and the fencing around the site where the 33-story 515 Walnut Tower is going up. Work on the foundation was well underway in early 2025 and, by the end of the year, crews with Beal Derkenne Construction were adding floors that were visible above the fencing blocking the site, and from several blocks away. Once complete, it will have 390 residential units, ranging from studios to two bedrooms. There will be a fitness center for residents, a coffee shop for those who live there, and the top floor will be a combination of open air and enclosed areas with a kitchen and seating that residents can use for gatherings. The estimated cost of the project is $148 million, with completion expected in 2027. Once complete, its estimated assessed value will be more than $69.5 million. It will be the largest residential project ever built in downtown Des Moines and the most significant change to the downtown skyline since the construction of 801 Grand in 1991. Joe Teeling, head of development for St. Joseph Group, said not only will the 515 Walnut Tower change the city’s skyline, but it will add to a thriving and vibrant downtown. 

Sale of former Wells Fargo downtown properties finalized

The sale of the former Wells Fargo campus downtown opens new opportunities for redevelopment that will pave the way for great connection downtown. Iowa holdings company DMCRE1 LLC purchased the four buildings for $32 million. The Skyview building at 800 Walnut St., the Northstar building at 801 Walnut St., the Towers building at 206 Eighth St., and the Founders Building at 207 Ninth St., were all included in the transaction. The deal also included the 545,000-square-foot, 1,600-stall parking garage at 800 Mulberry St., a 1.8-acre surface parking lot at 80 Eighth St. and a 3.27-acre surface lot at 900 Vine St. The deal was finalized on Aug. 14. Gordon Glade, a partner in DMCRE1, said he and his associates like the growth that’s happening in Des Moines, citing that as a major factor in the group’s decision to buy the properties. While interest in the future of the properties was high, all eyes appear to be on what will happen with the vacant lots and opportunities for development that will connect downtown to future development along the MLK corridor, including the proposed Pro Iowa Soccer Stadium and Global Plaza. “I think those opportunities are unique because it’s less redevelopment and more just true development of what could come,” said Renae Mauk, vice president of downtown development at the Greater Des Moines Partnership. 

Buyer of old federal courthouse lays out vision for redevelopment

A representative for the investment group that purchased the former U.S. federal courthouse building in Des Moines said in November that the group plans to convert the building into upscale, for-purchase residential units. Brian Seidensticker of Last Best Partners LLC said the firm closed on the purchase of the courthouse at 123 E. Walnut St. on Sept. 9, and is in the process of determining how many units can be included in the conversion. While not “set in stone,” the plan is to convert the building into larger, upscale residential units with luxury accommodations, rather than to stack as many units in as possible, Seidensticker said. “It’s a beautiful building and we want to retain as much of that character as we can,” he said. “To do that, it’s going to have to be higher-end residential.” His team is currently doing the analysis of what that could look like financially. Seidensticker said he was hesitant to be specific on what the investment in the building will be, but said it could range from $10 million to $30 million.

Council OKs start of negotiations for armory redevelopment

As the year wound down, we got a glimpse of the possible future of the city-owned Argonne Armory along the downtown riverfront. The Des Moines City Council voted on Dec. 8 to move forward with a proposal from Omaha, Neb.-based White Lotus Group for redevelopment of the building, which houses the city’s community development and neighborhood services offices. That includes planning and development, urban development, economic development, building inspector and permitting, legal/litigation and information technology. Those departments will move to the Nationwide Building on Locust Street in the first quarter of 2026. The White Lotus Group proposal calls for redevelopment of the armory, which was built in 1934, into a mixed-use building that includes 43 residential units, a first-floor cafe and retail space, and a lower-level, upscale bar. City Manager Scott Sanders said the council’s decision was only the first step in a process that could take several months as staff continues to work with the White Lotus Group and conduct due diligence before bringing a development agreement before council for consideration.