Flood fixes lead to a George Flagg Parkway comeback

Driving the news: The City Council this week set a May 18 public hearing to sell a 1.6-acre city-owned site near the parkway and Southwest 28th Street to the West Des Moines-based developer Justin Randall/South by Southwest for $155,000, the fair market value.

• He's proposing a 16,000-square-foot building with office and warehouse-style space for up to eight tenants.

Flashback: Much of the vacant area had homes or businesses before it became city-owned in 1994, following federal flood buyouts.

• Building restrictions were lifted in 2017, and in recent years, the city has added the parcels to its list of surplus properties available for redevelopment.

The intrigue: A "unique situation emerged" when two buyers recently sought the same property on which the flex building is proposed.

• DSM's economic development staff is now working with VareCO — a company focused on real estate projects in Denver and Des Moines — to identify a site for another similar project, following the City Council's selection of South by Southwest as the preferred developer.

The big picture: Jasper Winery recently filed for a city permit to build a commercial event venue and cider house on another nearby property along Southwest 23rd Street, which it purchased from the city.

• Midwest Quality Wholesale, a Fareway Stores subsidiary, purchased a site along Sunset Road for future expansion of its nearby operations.
• Several other parcels remain for sale.

What's next: If the council approves the sale to South by Southwest later this month, the project could be considered by the Urban Design Review Board by early next year.

• Once construction begins, the project will take six to nine months to complete, according to the city's economic development department.

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