Apartment building coming to vacant land in downtown Grimes — the district's first

Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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An apartment and commercial building is planned for a small empty green space in downtown Grimes — the district's first building to include living space.

Jim Byers, a senior consultant with Graystone Companies LLC, told the Des Moines Register in January he considers Grimes' downtown Governors District a smaller version of the District at Prairie Trail in Ankeny — ripe for development. He plans for a two-story, eight-unit apartment building with ground floor commercial space to be at 212 SE. Main St.

“We’re vested in the community and saw the opportunity to do some more development," Byers said.

A rendering shows the vision for a small mixed-use apartment and commercial building at 212 SE. Main St. in Grimes.
A rendering shows the vision for a small mixed-use apartment and commercial building at 212 SE. Main St. in Grimes.

Plans for the building include at least two studio apartments, two one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments, and two two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments. There would be about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

Whitney Tucker, spokesperson for Grimes, said the building will be the only one with apartments in the small downtown area on Main Street. "There are a few small apartment buildings a few blocks south on Main Street and a few blocks over," Tucker said.

More: The new public library in Grimes is scheduled to open Jan. 30. Have a look inside.

Byers said he is not yet sure what kind of business would occupy the commercial space at 212 SE. Main St. but it probably would not be a restaurant, given highers costs such as adding a grease trap.

"It could be (a restaurant) if a restaurant wanted to pay for it. We are not putting it in the budget," Byers said.

He added that the apartments would not come with communal amenities such as a gym or lounge.

A rendering shows the vision for a small mixed-use apartment and commercial building at 212 SE. Main St. in Grimes.
A rendering shows the vision for a small mixed-use apartment and commercial building at 212 SE. Main St. in Grimes.

The Grimes City Council on Nov. 14 unanimously approved rezoning the property from commercial to residential.

The city has owned the 0.2-acre — or about 8,700 square-foot — rectangle of land since October 2016, according to Polk County property records. Tucker said the sale to the developer is expected in March for $65,000.

Byers said he expected construction to start in the spring and could take up to a year. He estimated the project to cost about $1.5 million or more.

The Grimes City Council approved the site plan for the project on Jan. 23.

Phillip Sitter focuses for the Des Moines Register on reporting on suburban growth and development in the western metro areas. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Apartment building coming to vacant land in downtown Grimes