Wells Fargo Financial last week purchased a small downtown retail-office building as a possible move toward further expansion in the central business district.

The company said no final decisions have been made regarding the Davidson Building, which it bought on Sept. 15 from Joe Jester, a local real estate investor.

Located at the northwest corner of Eighth and Walnut streets, the building is directly north of the 350,000-square-foot building that Wells Fargo Financial completed last year, and could easily tie into the downtown skywalk system.

Wells Fargo Financial has already outgrown its new downtown building. The company currently leases one floor in the nearby Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines building at Ninth and Walnut streets, as well as seven floors of the Equitable Building at Sixth Avenue and Locust Street.

No final decision on plans for the building have been made, according to a written statement from the company.

“We are continuing to look at options and any action must be approved by the Wells Fargo & Co. board of directors,” the company said. “While we continue to look at our options, we want the tenants – and especially their customers – to know that it is ‘business as usual’ for these companies. This is simply a building ownership change.”

Wells Fargo & Co. is currently considering an expansion of its Iowa workforce and office facilities as part of a $175 million expansion plan for the next four years. It recently was awarded $10 million by the Grow Iowa Values Fund board as part of a financial incentive package to bring 2,000 new jobs to Greater Des Moines.

The company’s highly publicized expansion plans have the tenants considering their options as well.   Schaffer’s Bridal and Formal Shop, which occupies the ground floor of the building, has already looked at alternative locations in the East Village and West Des Moines, “although we have been assured by both Wells Fargo and the city of Des Moines that our business will not be disrupted,” owner Kari Smith said. The shop has been located in the building for 40 of its 53 years in business.

One of the newer tenants in the building said she’s suspending renovation work on her retail space until she knows whether she’ll be able to stay. Heather Shoning opened Made in Mexico in June, after installing wood floors and a tiled entryway. The company specializes in Mexican furniture and accessories.

“We’ve done a lot of work to this space,” she said. “We’ve just kind of halted until we get word from Wells Fargo.”

There has been speculation that Wells Fargo Financial has plans for the parking lot west of the building. However, the lot’s owner, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, says it intends to keep it for now.

“There’s been a lot of talk, but nothing serious,” said Nicky Schissel, vice president of public affairs for the bank. “We still own it, and it’s not for sale.”

Schissel said the bank is still undecided on its plans for the lot. It currently has more than two years left on its lease in the Federal Home Loan Bank Building, which was purchased earlier this year by the Des Moines Independent Community School District.

The Davidson Building, built in 1911 by the Davidson family, was among the first downtown buildings to be constructed with steel columns, Jester said. It was designed to be built as an eight- or nine-story building, but was only built out to two, he said.