Ed Massman took a flight from Dallas to Des Moines last week, headed for the 100 block of 10th Street, and as he walked through his first-ever rehabilitation project, found plenty of details to worry about: He turned down the thermostat here, checked on some internal window condensation there, and noticed areas of the concrete floor that could use another coat of sealer.

Later this month, Massman hopes to turn his attention to details that will produce income. The renovation of one of his two buildings is scheduled to be complete soon, and then he can start signing up renters for the Tenth Street Lofts.

The four-story building at 112 10th St., built in 1913 and once the home of Standard Glass and Paint Co., will be the first building done after a year of demolition and renovation. It contains 40 apartment units, some with 16-foot ceilings that allowed architects D. Bryan Shiffler and Russell Bitterman, of Shiffler Associates Architects, to add mezzanines.

Next door at 110 10th St. stands the former home of the Herring Motor Car Co., a six-story building dating from 1912. Painting, drywall work and various other tasks continue, and Massman expects the structure to be ready with 54 apartments by the end of March.

The project’s 94 units will range from 600 to 1,600 square feet, and Massman hopes to collect an average rental price of $1.08 per square foot.

Massman, who grew up in Moravia, Iowa, is the owner and sole employee of the Dallas-based Massman Group, which is one of two investors in the Tenth Street Lofts. He’s also acting as the project developer.

At the age of 45, Massman already has been an accountant with Deloitte & Touche, president of a medical technology start-up and chief financial officer of Fox Meyer Health Corp. He looked at a number of old buildings in Des Moines before deciding to make Tenth Street Lofts his first housing project.

“I’m more interested in historic renovation, keeping the best features intact, rather than putting up new buildings or ripping the heck out of old ones,” Massman said.

The approximately $8 million project includes a parklike area north of the buildings and a courtyard between them that replaced an alley. Massman bought “way more parking than we need” south of Cherry Street.

The Tenth Street Lofts project is eligible for Enterprise Zone tax credits equal to 10 percent of its total cost, with those credits applicable to state income taxes. It is also eligible for 100 percent property tax abatement on the improvements for 10 years. The city also agreed to replace the sidewalk in front of the two buildings at a cost of about $50,000.

The buildings sit in a hotbed of residential projects at the southwest corner of downtown. Across 10th Street, Robert Bergazyn and Verde Partners LLC have purchased the EDS Building and plan to turn it into loft condominium units with parking on the ground floor. One block to the west, Mulberry Lofts LLC recently won city approval for $510,635 in tax credits for its plan to create 43 condos in the Harger-Blish Building at 112 11th St.