This is an image of West Des Moines’ first comprehensive land-use plan dating back to 1947. It features a couple of areas of commercial development, with the majority of the city being single-family residential. The city limits don’t extend west of what is now Grand Avenue.

According to Clyde Evans, director of community and economic development for West Des Moines, the image of being a bedroom community for Des Moines changed in the 1970s when Valley West Mall was constructed. Its presence caused city officials to rezone some of the land designated for residential to office space along the northern side of Interstate 235.

The 1983 comprehensive plan didn’t envision a city that would extend much west of Interstate 35. Then in the early 1990s, the city extended sanitary sewer lines west of the interstate to accommodate Glen Oaks Country Club. This move “really opened all this area west of the interstate” and supported Jordan Creek Town Center, Wells Fargo & Co. and Aviva USA’s development, Evans said.