One question with UnityPoint Health – Des Moines Market President Jon Rozenfeld
What’s planned for former Care Inn and Woodland Center sites downtown?
Business Record Staff Mar 15, 2024 | 2:35 pm
2 min read time
397 wordsHealth and Wellness, Real Estate and Development
In a recent Closer Look Q&A for the Business Record, UnityPoint Health – Des Moines’ new Market President, Jon Rozenfeld, outlined his role at the hospital system, discussed his path to medicine, and pointed out the trends he thinks could define the industry in the next decade.
When asked about the next big things for UnityPoint, Rozenfeld said the hospital system is always planning for future growth of its Des Moines-area campuses as health care needs evolve. Specifically, the Business Record asked Rozenfeld what redevelopment is planned for the former Care Inn and Woodland Center sites downtown on Woodland Avenue and High Street, respectively, which were razed in late 2023.
Q: I’m curious, the commercial buildings that were demolished on High Street [and Woodland Ave.], what is going to go there?
A: They were older buildings that needed to go, so we knocked them down. It’s good to have some land, so as we think strategically about what we want to continue to do on this campus, it gives us the capacity to do it.
So as of right now, we have no plans for that space. But again, knowing that we’re in a kind of a landlocked area, it is nice to have the option of knowing we have some land, so that as we do look to grow, we have a place to build that next tower or the next clinic [or] the next service that we’d like to deliver to the community.
Demolition began on the two buildings at 1300 Woodland Ave. and 1313 High St. in November, according to the Des Moines Register.
Online data from the Polk County Assessor shows the combined assessed value of the properties is nearly $1.02 million on a total of 2.125 acres.
The Woodland Center on High Street had been vacant since 2012, once used for hospital departments, including human resources, advocacy and outreach, IT, and telecommunications, the Register reported.
The Care Inn on Woodland Avenue, also known as the InnTowner Apartments, was used as housing for UnityPoint’s medical students, residents, patients and families. According to the Register report, it closed in 2022.
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