The city of Waukee is planning to begin work on extending University Avenue and widening 10th Street as it prepares for development of its Civic Campus on the city’s west side, where it wants to move city offices and provide space for parks and residential and commercial development.

The Waukee City Council recently approved the master plan for the 220-acre parcel, where it also plans to expand Sugar Creek Municipal Golf Course.

The Business Record sat down with Waukee City Administrator Brad Deets this week to learn more about the city’s vision for the development.

The history

The city has grown from about 5,000 people in the early 2000s to around 32,000, and Deets said the city has known for a long time that it would need to add some physical space. The Civic Campus will help meet that demand, not only for local government, currently housed in a strip mall along Hickman Road, but for the community, too, he said.

“This will commingle some of those more civic-type uses, such as shared parking lots and other improvements that can be shared and hopefully reduce the cost of some of those facilities, [and] create that central hub,” Deets said.

While the parcel where the Civic Campus will be built is on the western edge of the city, long-term growth of the city would place it in the middle of Waukee when its population reaches 75,000 to 80,000 people, Deets said.

“It’s also located about a mile south of the original downtown, which is the downtown triangle, so it’s a great location and there is the ability perhaps to try and tie those two areas together,” he said.

The city’s public works facility is just north of the parcel, “so the location seems to make a lot of sense for the long term for the city,” he said.

Deets said the city was at the point where it needed to figure out its vision for the parcel, so it began the strategic planning process for the site and prioritized developing a master plan.

The city purchased the site five or six years ago and it has sat undeveloped since then, but the city has been working on some of the road projects that are needed, he said.

The parcel is bordered by what will be an extension of University Avenue, which ends on the western edge of the city.

“There is about a half-mile section of road that has to be built in order for that corridor to continue to be extended further to the west, so we’re working on those pieces of it,” Deets said.

The city hired consulting firm Confluence and SVPA Architects to help develop the master plan, he said.

After staff and council members traveled to cities in the Minneapolis and Kansas City area to see other examples, the council approved the master plan at its recent meeting.

What is planned

The master plan includes a 30-acre lake that will be flanked by a new city hall and new public library. The lake could be a spot for kayaking or other activities, Deets said.

There will also be a park and event space that could include an enclosed pavilion for a covered ice arena during the winter or festival, event and concert space during other times of the year, he said.

“So those are just kind of large concepts right now,” he said. “We haven’t gotten into actual physical design.”

An extensive trail of walking paths is also planned.

The concept also includes the removal of Sixth Street, which runs along the western edge of the golf course, and realigning the road network to better handle increased traffic as the community grows, Deets said.

“We always anticipated that the 10th Street corridor would include some sort of realignment back down to the interstate, and we’re showing that reflected in the plan with the potential of a four-lane road through the center of the property,” he said.

There is also an opportunity to create other recreational opportunities, including expanding the nine-hole golf course to 18 holes with a new clubhouse and driving range. That would not likely occur for 12 to 15 years, documents on the city’s website that outline the Civic Campus development show.

Deets said there is also a need for a competitive recreational center, similar to the MidAmerican Energy Rec Plex in West Des Moines.

“This is very much a long-term, 20- to 30-year vision, so we’ve identified areas within this property that would allow for that,” he said.

Areas have also been identified for a possible aquatics center, Deets said.

On the northwest side of the parcel is where medium- and high-density residential development could occur around some of the public spaces that are planned, he said.

There are also a couple of pockets planned for commercial development, Deets said.

“It’s not going to be significant, necessarily, but will provide an opportunity where maybe more niche-level retail and restaurants could go,” he said.

In all, there are about 30 acres set aside for residential development, and about 20 acres for commercial. The rest, Deets said, is a combination of public facilities and then the golf course expansion.

The timeline
Deets said work on the expansion of University Avenue will begin this spring. Construction on 10th Street would start in 2026, with the lake being built in 2027, he said.

“My hope is that once we get that lake developed, then we can really focus on the park area in the northeast corner of the development,” he said. “In terms of the actual facilities or buildings, you’re probably looking at eight to 10 years out before we really start to see those develop.”

Deets said some of the land for private sector development could be sold, and development could be started on it, beginning in the next three to five years as road improvements are completed.

Why it’s important
Developing the Civic Campus site will send a message that Waukee is preparing for the growth that is expected, Deets said.

“Sometimes you can just let growth happen, and it happens. And while that might be great, it may create issues,” he said. “The city is taking the approach of trying to get ahead of it and trying to plan for that.”

He said Waukee is trying to be responsible by identifying areas where growth makes sense and looking at the timing of that growth.

The Civic Campus development will bring a lot of city services into one area, and foster investment in other areas, too, Deets said.

“I also think it lends itself to continue reinvestment in the older or original parts of Waukee because when you’re bringing in that type of new investment, the area surrounding it should see that impact as well,” he said.

“This centralized location is really important in looking at the long term,”  he said. “You always think of areas where you have these focal points throughout your community, and for us this is one of those focal points long-term.”