Abby and Cory Sharp, owners of property investment firm Sharp Assets LLC, will redevelop a building in West Des Moines’ Valley Junction that is home to three of their businesses and has fallen into disrepair.

The Sharps purchased the nearly 100-year-old building at 721 Railroad Ave. in March 2022 and have plans to invest about $750,000 to upgrade the building, which is home to Heart of Iowa Marketplace, the Old Muffin Factory, Sharp Assets and AR Cabinetry and Millwork.

Abby Sharp also owns the Heart of Iowa retail store on Fifth Street in Valley Junction, which she purchased from her mother-in-law in 2020. The business uses nearly 5,500 square feet in the Railroad Avenue building for warehouse, production and assembly, Cory Sharp said.

Abby Sharp also purchased the muffin business from a McPherson, Kan., company and moved the operation, which she owns with her sister, Meghan Rodewald, into the building. Although Sharp Assets doesn’t have physical office space in the building, it uses the building as its home address.

The three businesses use approximately the eastern half of the 15,500-square-foot building, with AR Cabinetry and Millwork occupying the west half of the building, Sharp said.

The Sharps received a $75,000 grant and a $75,000 zero percent interest 10-year loan from a city of West Des Moines building improvement program.

“This building is kind of worn out and it doesn’t stand out in any fantastic way, whatsoever,” Cory Sharp said. “We bought it and knew that it has lots of issues with it that needed to be remedied in the future.”

Those issues include leaky windows, misaligned floor elevations, a sprinkler system that freezes in cold weather, and a gas meter that needs upgrading, among other issues, he said.

“We look at it as a way we can make an impact in this area and be a catalyst for redevelopment in this area,” he said. “We just feel that if we could be an example for others, we should.”

The Sharps have hired Accurate Commercial as general contractor on the project. Cory Sharp said the goal is to have the work completed in about six months.

Planned work includes a complete demolition and reconstruction of the southwest corner of the property, as well as new roofing, windows, facade decoration, doors and paint.

Sharp said redeveloping a property sends a message to others in a neighborhood that people care enough to invest in the area, and can help increase pride in an area.

Sharp, an architect with FEH Design, said he and his wife began buying, renovating and flipping homes to help pay off their student loans and over time acquired other businesses that needed more space to operate efficiently, leading to the purchase of the Railroad Avenue building.

He said it’s important to try to restore old buildings rather than simply tear them down and build new ones in their place.

“My wife and I just share this character trait that if we can make what’s there better, why wouldn’t we?” Sharp said. “I think we’re just proud that we can be a part of something where we’re trying to preserve what’s there and make it better.”