160 Apartments Planned for Downtown Des Moines Empty Lot

One of the many underused parking lots along the north side of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in downtown Des Moines is finally moving toward a new future, with a proposal for a five-story apartment complex that includes commercial space on the ground level. The Des Moines City Council will review a development agreement on Monday, July 13, which would provide $4.5 million in tax incentives for the $42 million project, as outlined in a memo from the city’s economic development office.

The mixed-use building is planned for 900 Vine St., a 3.2-acre paved lot that was previously owned by Wells Fargo, according to Polk County Assessor records. This site has been part of a broader conversation about urban redevelopment and how to best utilize vacant land in the city center.

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Iowa has remained a focal point for political attention. Stay updated on all things related to Iowa politics by subscribing to relevant news sources.

A local Des Moines company, 900 Vine, LLC, represented by Brian Clark, president of Sonar Development Partners, is seeking tax increment financing (TIF). This allows cities to reinvest increased property tax revenue generated by a development into that specific project. Currently, the land is assessed at $2.64 million, and the proposed 155,100-square-foot development would add $30 million in value, according to the memo. The TIF would cover 10% of the construction cost.

Empty lots finally drawing interest, but there’s an issue

The 900 Vine St. site is located at the center of three adjacent empty parcels that have long been criticized as an eyesore. Recently, these areas have attracted attention from developers, with one proposal to build a Hyper Energy Bar drive-thru on the western parcel and another for a Dutch Bros coffee drive-thru on the eastern one, according to the city’s permit database.

However, the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission recently rejected the Hyper Energy Bar proposal, despite a city staff recommendation. The commission stated that a drive-thru is not appropriate for a downtown location. The developer, Heart of America Group, is scheduled to present an appeal to the City Council on Monday. The commission has not yet reviewed the Dutch Bros proposal.

If approved, the apartment complex would align with a trend of mixed-use housing developments in the former industrial area on the south side of the parkway. Hubbell Reality Co. is expanding its Gray’s Station development, an urban neighborhood that features apartments, townhomes, condos, and ground-level retail. Sherman Associates is also involved in the adjacent Gray’s Landing project. Other multifamily housing projects in the area include the Riverpoint, Harbach, and Ballyard lofts.

As the Des Moines metro area continues to grow, the demand for apartment developments has increased significantly. More than 3,000 units are currently under construction in 2026, with 1,141 of those units—representing 37% of the metro’s multifamily projects—located in downtown Des Moines, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate firm.

What kind of apartments could 900 Vine see?

The city memo outlines plans for 160 residential units across floors two through five of the new complex at 900 Vine. These would include 80 one-bedroom apartments, 40 studios, and 40 two-bedroom units. On the ground level, there would be 7,000 square feet of commercial space.

Under the city’s proposed agreement, 16 apartments must be available for 15 years to households earning no more than 80% of the area median income. For a single person, this equates to a maximum of $65,200 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The building would include amenities such as indoor bicycle storage, a fitness area, on-site storage units, and a community room with a kitchen. Residents would also receive a Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority all-access pass.

If the preliminary terms are approved, the developer of 900 Vine LLC would need to obtain site plan approval, present the project to the Urban Design Review Board, and secure the City Council’s final sign-off on the agreement terms.

Construction could begin in the spring of 2027, with an anticipated completion date in 2028, according to the memo.