The planned renovation project of the historic Financial Center in downtown Des Moines has been awarded $16.9 million from the state of Iowa’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced.

The project was among 10 to receive over $43 million in awards from the program. Other Des Moines projects awarded tax credits were the Ingersoll Theatre, and the Ruan Tower and Banking Pavilion.

Owners of the Financial Center at 606 Walnut St. plan to convert over half of the office space in the 25-story building into multifamily units. Also planned is an 8,000-square-foot outdoor rooftop area that would include a swimming pool and areas for grilling, lounging and gathering.

Lawmark Capital, which owns the Financial Center, is working with the city on a financial package that, if approved by the City Council, would help defray the estimated $70 million cost to renovate the building, said Jesse Bunney, Lawmark Capital’s director of operations. The financial package with the city would be in the form of tax increment financing, he said.

“We were waiting to see if we would receive the tax credits before finalizing things with the city,” Bunney said. The renovation project could get started in January, he said. The renovation project was first announced in 2020 and included a hotel instead of apartments. The pandemic upended the hospitality industry, prompting Lawmark Capital to pivot to multifamily.

For years, Wells Fargo occupied a large portion of the Financial Center. However, in 2019, the financial institution announced it was leaving the high-rise, prompting the property’s owners to consider other uses for the building.

The building’s former bank lobby area will be remodeled to include Slingshot Architecture, which has signed a 10-year lease, Bunney said. The remainder of the space in the former lobby area will include micro-retail spaces that owners can lease for as few as six months, he said.

“We want to offer approachable rents so that [a business owner] can test a concept out,” Bunney said. “It’s an interesting concept … that I think downtown needs.”

The Financial Center also includes about 12,000 square feet of street-level space on the east side of the high-rise. For years, the space had been occupied by Walgreens, which closed the store in early 2024. In August, Des Moines’ Board of Adjustment approved a conditional use request that would allow Cologix to use just over 7,000 square feet for a high-speed internet distribution and data storage center. Cologix is a leading network-neutral interconnection and hyperscale edge data center company.

Cologix is leasing space in the back of the building. Space that is visible from the street is available to lease, Bunney said.

“I’d love to see a Pilates studio there,” Bunney said. “It’s an amenity that we feel would be a very good fit for that space.”

The two other Des Moines projects that received awards include:

• The Ingersoll Theatre, which received $728,818 in historic tax credits. The theater at 3711 Ingersoll Ave. has been in disrepair for several years. It was constructed in 1939 and was one of the first movie theaters in Central Iowa to be fitted for movies with sound, according to historians. According to its application for tax credits, two-thirds of the building will be dedicated to theater and one-third to support and lobby. The rehabilitation will include the installation of a new roof, floors, ceilings, walls, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. A kitchen will be added as well as accessibility restrooms.
• The Ruan Tower and Banking Pavilion, which received $7.2 million. The building at 666 Grand Ave. will undergo “system upgrades, site work and routine maintenance,” according to its application for tax credits.

To see the list of projects that received tax credits, click here.

Past coverage: Historian: Construction of the Financial Center in 1972 ignited a wave of new downtown development