Zora owner Edwin Allen III faces foreclosures with almost $3 million in unpaid debts

Lee Rood, Des Moines Register
Updated ·4 min read
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Edwin Allen III's now-closed Zora Bar and Rooftop is shown on Ingersoll Avenue in August.
Edwin Allen III's now-closed Zora Bar and Rooftop is shown on Ingersoll Avenue in August.

Des Moines landlord and bar owner Edwin Allen III faces foreclosure on several properties after failing to pay almost $3 million in outstanding debts, Iowa court records show.

Allen still hangs on to his signature Zora Bar and Rooftop at 2120 Ingersoll Ave., which has been closed since the summer. A tax sale investor paid almost $9,800 in overdue property taxes for the property at a county tax sale last November, county records show, and if Allen does not repay all overdue taxes plus interest, the investor from Minnesota could take deed to the property in June 2025.

Allen could not be reached Wednesday on his cell phone or at Zora for comment.

Three properties in Des Moines, two in Waukee foreclosed

An apartment building at 1721 Pleasant St. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.
An apartment building at 1721 Pleasant St. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.

First National Bank of Ames initiated foreclosure on Allen-owned properties at 3604 and 3612 Ingersoll Ave. and an apartment building where he's lived at 1721 Pleasant St., all in Des Moines, and on a home and duplex Allen purchased in Waukee, Iowa court records show. Overdue debts on those mortgage loans total more than $1.8 million, plus interest.

Allen also is in default on a cross-collateralization loan in which he still owes more than $1 million on all five properties, Polk and Dallas county court records show.

Before the foreclosures, Allen twice increased his loan with Community First Credit Union of Ottumwa on the Zora property to a total of $2.9 million, county records show. The property is assessed at $1.76 million, county assessor records show.

Last year, Allen tried put Zora on the market, asking $4 million, but failed to find a buyer.

Edwin Allen III faces numerous other legal challenges

Opened in 2021, Allen's custom-built, multi-level bar on the corner of Ingersoll and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines closed at the beginning of August 2023 as he faced a mountain of legal trouble from local police, city officials, former employees and tenants, as well as a criminal charge tied to his friend and fellow Des Moines bar owner Steve McFadden.

An apartment building at 3612 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.
An apartment building at 3612 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.

Allen was accused of conspiring with McFadden to stalk and track McFadden’s ex-girlfriend using a GPS device planted in her car. He ultimately pleaded guilty last April to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

McFadden, who pleaded guilty to harassment and unauthorized placement and use of a GPS device, subsequently lost liquor licenses in Des Moines and West Des Moines for his Grumpy Goat and Tipsy Crow taverns.

Zora and Allen received heavy social media criticism following several violent incidents on the bar property, including the Nov. 26, 2022, shooting death in its parking lot of 29-year-old Alonzo Lee Kearney. No charges have been filed in that homicide.

On Feb. 20, Allen has a trial-setting conference in a public safety nuisance lawsuit filed by the city of Des Moines, stemming from 54 police calls made to the bar, including the homicide, multiple gunshots and alleged rioting.

More: Attorney whose clients included Steve McFadden suspended over 'pattern of deceit'

30 days to find a new attorney

That case and others against Allen stalled when the Iowa Supreme Court in December suspended his West Des Moines attorney, David Leitner, from practicing law for two years.

The court found Leitner, 67, had repeatedly engaged in dishonest, unethical and fraudulent behavior. He had been involved in a number of notable cases representing Allen and McFadden that resulted in sanctions and judicial rebukes.

A building that formerly housed a dry cleaning store at 3604 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.
A building that formerly housed a dry cleaning store at 3604 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines is one of five properties owned by Edwin Allen III that are now in foreclosure.

On Jan. 9, a Polk County judge gave Allen 30 days to retain new counsel or face sanctions in the nuisance case with the city, court records show. Allen faces another case with the city in which he is accused of maintaining a disorderly house at Zora.

Allen has yet to resolve some other civil cases, including one filed last year by former tenant Cyndi Collins, who sued him under Iowa's Civil Rights Act, alleging he demanded sex from her in exchange for a break on her rent. The lawsuit came just after Allen had resolved harassment claims by other tenants with a guilty plea to disorderly conduct.

He also faces court sanctions for failing to comply with discovery requests in a case involving former employee Montejha Hall, who accused him of employment discrimination.

Lee Rood staff photo, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021.
Lee Rood staff photo, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at @leerood or on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Foreclosures filed against Zora owner Edwin Allen III