Construction on retail and residential development should begin in the coming weeks on Anthem, a 120-acre mixed-use development on the southern edge of Huxley, the developer behind the project said recently.

Chris Gardner, owner of Bella Commercial, is developing the site on the west side of U.S. Highway 69. It’s divided into three 40-acre parcels that will be developed into a mix of retirement and senior living, retail and restaurant, and apartments and industrial.

The development represents about $120 million in investment.

Gardner, who also owns the custom home builder Bella Homes in Huxley, said several of the industrial lots have been sold and that construction on the first strip retail center in the development should begin later this month or early March.

He also anticipates construction beginning on a 45-unit apartment complex this spring, with it being ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2026. A total of 270 units are planned for the development, said Gardner, who has lived in Huxley for more than 20 years and raised his family there.

Construction on the senior living units is expected to begin this summer. Those will include an 18-unit for-sale condominium project. The next phase will be a 55-plus townhome community with a mix of for sale and for rent. Also planned are two, 45-unit senior apartment complexes.

“So that’s been the big push,” Gardner said. “It’s just going vertical on these projects now to get them out of the ground. It takes awhile to do 120 acres of infrastructure, the roads and everything.”

The retail area will create a downtown feel, with angle parking and sidewalks throughout, Gardner said.

He also hopes to incorporate an events center and sports complex, things Gardner said could draw people to the community, and eventually a hotel.

Other planned amenities include a pool, dog park areas and a public gathering space with a fountain.

Another component of the development is the construction of a roundabout on U.S. Highway 69 to help control traffic from the highway onto Anthem Drive, a main road into the development.

Gardner said he worked with the Iowa Department of Transportation on that project and work is expected to happen this summer.

He said the Anthem development will provide commercial space and amenities that will help meet the demand of the fast-growing Story County community of about 4,800 people — an increase of nearly 30% in the past decade — about 30 miles north of Des Moines.

“There’s a lot of exciting residential developments happening right now in Huxley and as those lots get built and more people come to town then it will warrant more commercial,” Gardner said.

Past coverage: $120 million, 120-acre mixed-used development planned in Huxley