.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 320px; height:400px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Railroad lines and old warehouses were once all you would come across in the area that now surrounds Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway on the south side of Des Moines’ downtown.

But with millions of dollars invested into the extension of the parkway, including a bridge that will eventually allow it to jump the Des Moines River on its way to Southeast 14th Street, many look to this once downtrodden area of the city as the next logical location for the downtown residential boom.

“Any time you increase access and traffic flow to an area, you will see development follow,” said Rachel Flint, director of marketing for Hubbell Realty Co.

Hubbell owns two warehouses near MLK Parkway: the Rocket Transfer Building, 702 Elm St., and Sealy Mattress Building, 309 S.W. Eighth St. Original plans called for 36 condominium units in Rocket Transfer and 72 apartments for Sealy, but Flint said those were preliminary plans that could be changed before the projects get under way.

“Right now, we have to focus on other projects,” she said. “There probably won’t be much going on in those two buildings for at least another year.”

The company currently is working on many downtown projects, Flint said, so it has to prioritize. The next big development is probably going to be the Mitchell Transmission Building at 15th and Locust Streets, as well as Midtown Heights, a townhome development on a northern portion of MLK near High Street.

“Hubbell probably has their hands full right now,” said Matt Anderson, an economic development coordinator with the city of Des Moines. “They have so much on their plate they might just have to prioritize.”

A job well done

The MLK extension project will pay dividends for many years to come, said Erin Olson-Douglas, an architect Des Moines and Polk County have contracted with to conduct a downtown planning project.

“The city made the investment to put a parkway in a place we never even had a street before,” she said. “That was a significant shift in our street network that will go a long way towards balancing development downtown.”

Olson-Douglas said the city did not go with its original plan, which called for the construction of an elevated roadway she said would have acted as a “barrier between downtown and the south side.”

“Instead of dividing it, the parkway allows a connection to be made,” she said.

Late this year or early in 2008, construction is set to begin on a bridge that will extend MLK Parkway to Southeast Sixth Street by 2010. From there, it will be extended to Southeast 14th by 2012.

“That bridge will have a major impact on development on both sides of the river,” Olson-Douglas said.

In addition to four lanes of traffic that will be able to cross the Des Moines River near the Brown-Camp Lofts, the bridge will also include bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of investment on the east side of the river once that bridge is completed,” said Tim Leach, vice president of economic development for the Downtown Community Alliance. “It will be huge.”

Pam Cooksey, Des Moines’ deputy city engineer, said the project, called the Southeast Connector, will eventually cost around $50 million to complete. But Anderson said the investment is well worth it.

“The development opportunities that will develop on the east side of the river toward Southeast 14th Street are really exciting,” he said.

Tax credits

Two other warehouse-to-residential conversions near MLK Parkway are closer to getting started than Hubbell’s projects, but acquiring historic tax credits from the state has become a sticking point.

“If we can’t get those historic tax credits, we won’t be able to go forward,” said Jay Trevor, president and owner of J&T Development. “That is the real linchpin.”

Trevor is hoping to convert the L&L Insulation Building, 340 S.W. Fifth St., into 57 loft apartments, with rents ranging from $600 to $900 per month.

Anderson said there is a backlog of projects approved for state historic tax credits. Legislation that passed the state Senate and is up for consideration in the House of Representatives would provide financing for the backlogged projects so new ones, like Trevor’s, could become eligible.

Another warehouse project, the Rumely Building at 104 S.W. Fourth St., immediately north of the Science Center of Iowa, would also benefit from the state opening up new tax credit options, Anderson said. A number of developers have proposed different uses for that site, which currently houses Security File Warehouse LP. But no one has been able to suggest a project for which the numbers make sense, Anderson said. The most recent plans have ranged from 60 condominiums to 72 apartments.

Variety is king

Many developers may take a wait-and-see approach to the areas near MLK Parkway, Leach said. But the development of these and other properties near downtown is not a matter of if, but when.

“It is going to happen,” he said. “I think the downtown housing market is really building momentum.”

Anderson said developers know they must try to find their niche in the market, and they have succeeded in doing that.

“There is just such a variety of units and styles available right now, and that is why I think the market for housing in downtown is in such good shape,” he said.

High-end developments like the Whiteline Lofts and the Liberty Building are worlds apart in style, he said. More moderately priced units, like the Mulberry Lofts and 111 City Lofts, and rental units like the 10th Street Lofts create a diverse marketplace offering something for everyone.

Anderson said the lion’s share of development on MLK will take place in the Riverpoint West project, a mixed-use development with nearly 700,000 square feet of commercial space and more than 550 housing units. Construction is planned to begin this year. The majority of future development sites will most likely be on the east side of the new bridge.

“A lot of the north side of MLK is in corporate hands for surface parking,” Anderson said. “There just aren’t a lot of other sites right now, but that could change down the road.”