A few miles north of downtown Des Moines, one of the fastest-growing retail sub-markets in Iowa continues to take shape as developers and business owners race to stake their claim in a new regional retail center.

City officials and developers say the rapid growth of strip malls and other large retail outlets, particularly along the Delaware Avenue corridor, is an indication of Ankeny’s popularity among businesses and consumers. With such big-box stores as Home Depot, Kohl’s, Menards, Super Target and Super Wal-Mart already in the fold, Ankeny’s abundance of shovel-ready sites and its proximity to a major metropolitan area makes it an attractive place to do business, they say.

“Location is key,” said John Peterson, the suburb’s director of community development. “We’re in a good place between Des Moines and Ames. We have more than 60,000 people drive by us every day, up and down Interstate 35, and it helps create a vibrant market where it becomes a feeding frenzy for business.”

An abundance of retailers keeps Ankeny residents from spending money out of town and lures consumers from neighboring markets, Peterson said. He pointed to a handful of projects, including Delaware Centre I and II, Brookfield Plaza, Delaware Marketplace, Ankeny Business Park I and II, Campus Crossing, Northfield Plaza and Twin Oaks Business Park, as some of the city’s leading developments.

The Denny Elwell Co., which owns and manages more than 1 million square feet of developed commercial space, operates one of Ankeny’s largest retail centers, Delaware Centre I and II. Company officials say the first phase of the 130,000-square-foot development is completely leased. They are now planning the second phase of the project, which is slated to be completed by the winter of 2004, pending city council approval.

Jim Gocke, president of the Denny Elwell Co., attended the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas earlier this month to attract retailers. Though the company was in search of a book store and an electronic store, it landed Sportsman’s Warehouse, a 50,000-square-foot national outdoor chain for fishermen and hunters which will be located on Oralabor Road.

“Everybody talks about the need for them, so we continue to pursue them,” he said. “We made contact with quite a few national chains.”

Also, city officials are in the process of annexing about 1,200 acres for mixed-use development, which should help attract landowners. Gocke said cities like Ankeny are among the retail markets in the Midwest that are competing favorably with markets on the coasts.

“It’s pretty good here because national chains have been cautious about the economy, and we’re seen as being stable in the Midwest,” he said.

Developers also say Ankeny’s quality-of-life amenities, including the 10th-largest school district in the state, make it appealing. Another asset, they say, is Ankeny’s booming population, with a median age of 31 and median household income of $55,162, which has grown from 18,482 in 1990 to 27,117 in 2002 demographics. Experts project the city’s population will balloon to 39,000 by 2010 and 55,000 by 2020.  

“Ankeny has a young, fairly affluent population with a lot of spending power,” said Steve Niebuhr, vice president of construction and development for Hubbell Realty Co., which has developed two buildings in Ankeny Business Park. The first building, completed in 2000, contains approximately 42,000 square feet and is almost 90 percent leased, he said. The second structure, a flex market office space with 46,000 square feet, is nearly 16 percent leased, but Niebuhr is confident it won’t take long to fill.

“We feel it’s well-positioned,” he said. “We saw the activity along Delaware and realized there was a prime opportunity to create a business park and an area for big-box users.” The company has 15 of its 21 acres in Ankeny remaining for development.

Dean Godwin, principal of the Godwin Group, said he has shifted his attention from multifamily residential developments to retail. His projects include Delaware Marketplace and Brookfield Plaza. He said the small businesses attracted to his business parks feed off the success of neighboring big-box stores.

With the continued growth of large retailers and competitive leasing prices, Godwin said it’s an exciting time to develop retail centers in Ankeny.

“It’s fun to go to work every day,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities for success.”