In Steve Bruere’s mind, he has found the “heart of the watermelon” in Norwalk.

In this case, the watermelon is 126 acres east of Iowa Highway 28 at Chatham Avenue that have long been eyed for future development by city officials. It is near what will be the site of a new Hy-Vee Inc. store and south of Capital City Fruit and Loffredo Fresh Produce as well as a waterway and park.

The land had been in the hands of the Hughes family for better than a century, and Bruere had eyed it for its potential to hold a variety of commercial, retail, residential and, possibly, office uses. The property struck his fancy to the point that he had it under contract for 30 months before closing.

The property is now called Hughes Century Crossing. 

Bruere is president of Clive-based Peoples Co., an ag land specialist that has spun off a range of other businesses, from high-tech land analysis to residential developments and farm management companies, to name a few.

For the Hughes Century Crossing project, he has enlisted the help of commercial real estate specialists Justin Lossner and Aaron Hyde of JLL, the international real estate firm that has established a large presence in Greater Des Moines and elsewhere in Iowa.

“This is the first project we have done that has a significant commercial component,” Bruere said. “Negotiating leases is an entirely different language to me.” 

At the moment, work is underway on an 8,280-square-foot retail center and 30 acres have been sold to KRM Development for construction of single-family homes.

But those are just the seeds of the watermelon. Plans call for a town center, other retail and commercial uses, possibly medical offices buildings and senior living.

Because of its location a quick drive south of Iowa Highway 5 and with access to Interstate 35, Lossner said there is “so much pent-up demand” for additional development in the city.

As a longtime resident — he graduated from Norwalk high school — Lossner is in a position to measure the development pulse of the city, which in recent years has attracted a range of commercial and industrial development to boost its status beyond that of a bedroom community.

At the retail center, there are three pending deals and “significant activity, Lossner said.