DART's new campus could reshape Des Moines
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DART's new maintenance garage and parts department. Photo: Courtesy of DART
DART has completed the first phase of a new campus.
Why it matters: The project could free the agency's 11-acre downtown site for redevelopment near the future Pro Iowa soccer stadium and Global Plaza.
Driving the news: DART began using the new 76,848-square-foot maintenance garage and parts department at 3500 Vandalia Road this month, completing the first phase about $1 million under its $34.8 million budget.
- The transit agency is now gearing up for the final phase of the project that will likely include bus storage, fueling, a bus wash, a body shop and administrative offices.
Catch up quick: DART's facility at 1100 DART Way was built in the 1970s, is past its useful life and is landlocked in a developing urban neighborhood.
- The site has also experienced repeated flood damage, though Des Moines has since invested millions of dollars in levee improvements intended to reduce flood risks.
- DART estimated that repairing and updating the existing campus would have cost nearly $70 million and would not have qualified for federal funding, which covers the majority of the new campus.
Zoom in: The new campus was projected to cost about $110 million, although DART officials say that estimate will be reduced due to project downsizing.
Between the lines: Building a new downtown campus was preferred by metro leaders, partly because local governments would have had to foot a larger share of the bill had the current campus been rehabbed.
The intrigue: The second phase is being adjusted because DART's redesigned bus network means the agency will operate fewer buses than initially planned, deputy CEO and chief operating officer Luis Montoya tells Axios.
State of play: DART has not yet released a final cost for the second phase.
- In February, the agency received a $20 million federal grant for the project and expects commissioners to vote this summer on a proposed design and budget.
- It could break ground next year and open in 2029.
Behind the scenes: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Bondurant) are scheduled to tour the new facility Thursday to highlight the Federal Transit Administration's Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.
What we're watching: What proposals might emerge as the agency prepares its final move from the downtown campus.