Seven luxury townhouses are planned at Grand Avenue and 40th Street in Des Moines. Each townhouse, which will sell for $1.3 million, will have an elevator. Architectural rendering by Simonson & Associates Architects

Seven luxury townhouses are planned on nearly an acre on the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and 40th Street in Des Moines, the property’s new owner said.

4005 Grand Avenue LLC, an entity managed by architect Michael Simonson, purchased the property at 4005 and 4011 Grand Ave. and 520 40th St. from Saint Augustin’s Catholic Church for just over $1 million, Polk County real estate records show. The transaction was recorded April 1.

The property at 4005 and 4011 Grand Ave., a portion of which includes decades-old oak trees, is undeveloped. The parcel at 520 40th St. includes a residence that will remain.

Simonson, the principal of Simonson & Associates Architects in Des Moines, said he’s been approached in recent years by several people about the unavailability of upscale townhouses on the west side of Des Moines.

“They live in large, older homes; their kids are gone, but they don’t want condominium living,” Simonson said. “They grew up in this area; they want to stay in this area. That’s why I embarked on this mission.”

Simonson said five of the seven townhouses, which sell for $1.3 million, have been pre-sold. Five of the townhouses will face Grand Avenue; the other two will face 40th Street. Two-vehicle garages, each with charging stations for electric vehicles, will be behind the houses.

He said the oak trees on the property will remain.

Nine years of tax abatement is available for each of the townhouses, he said.

Each townhouse will have a private elevator that will connect the lower level and first and second levels, Simonson said. “We have designed [the townhouses] so that you can age in place. There are absolutely no steps. You go from the garage directly into the house. The showers have no thresholds. …

“This fits a niche that hasn’t been served.”

K&V Homes, located in Urbandale, will build the townhouses, Simonson said.

When construction is complete, a homeowners association will maintain the residences’ exteriors, which will be primarily brick. Simonson said the brick will be similar to that found on single-family residences in the area.

Construction is expected to begin by late June and be completed by midsummer of 2023, he said. “All of the homes will be completed about the same time in order to not prolong construction activity once buyers have moved in.”