WHAT: Center at Sixth, a mixed-use development on the Sixth Avenue Corridor
ADDRESS: 1714 Sixth Ave., Des Moines (See map at right.)
DEVELOPER: Ashworth Development LLC with consultation from Christensen Development
PROJECT COSTS: Estimated $8.65 million
ARCHITECT: Neumann Monson Architects
CIVIL ENGINEER: Civil Engineering Consultants
PROJECT UPDATE: The preliminary design of a proposed mixed-use project that would be home to the Center at Sixth Incubator was recently approved by Des Moines’ Urban Design Review Board.

The project, whose details were released in fall 2021, is expected to include 9,000 square feet of commercial space as well as six second-floor live/work units for artists and others. The second story will also include gallery space for events and outreach.

Center at Sixth will be home to an incubator for culturally diverse entrepreneurs. Street-level space is expected to include three micro-food and beverage spaces, a bodega, a food hall and two large anchor spaces.

The project’s design has been scaled back slightly since it was first announced in 2021. The project originally was proposed to include 32 apartments and about 12,000 square feet of commercial space.

The project is being spearheaded by Ashworth Development LLC, managed by Marquas Ashworth, a Des Moines entrepreneur. Ashworth is also a local music artist who in 2016 began making small-batch rye whiskey under the label Ziyad. He is a member of the Business Record’s 2023 Forty Under 40 class.

The mixed-use has been awarded a $3 million grant from the state of Iowa’s Nonprofit Innovation Fund. The city of Des Moines is providing a $300,000 matching grant.

Construction of the project is expected to begin in spring 2024.