Highland Apartments in Des Moines slated for demolition despite last-ditch rescue effort
Demolition is imminent for a historic building in Des Moines' Highland Park business district despite preservationists' last-ditch efforts to salvage it.
Hat Trick Renovation owner Tanya Keith, as well as a few other advocates, pleaded unsuccessfully with Des Moines City Council members on Monday night to provide another extension as they try to find a way to save the crumbling 108-year-old Tudor-style Highland Apartments on the southwest corner of Sixth and Euclid avenues.
Over the past several months, Keith has led the charge in bringing awareness to the Highland Park landmark's historical significance and its importance to the neighborhood. But on Monday, council members voted to approve a request from the building's owners, Invest DSM, to tear down the long-empty structure to make way for a new apartment building that includes affordable housing and retail space.
"I'm really disappointed," Keith said after the decision. "This building is unique in so many ways and it's sad to think that it's all going to end up in the landfill."
The building originally was slated for demotion in April after Invest DSM, a nonprofit neighborhood revitalization collaboration between Des Moines and Polk County, determined it was beyond repair, according to executive director Amber Lynch.
But on the eve of a hearing to request a demolition permit from the City Council, Invest DSM pulled the item from the agenda and the council postponed the vote until June to give potential developers an extra month to explore rehabilitation options.
On Monday night, Lynch told the Des Moines Register that while Keith and state Sen. Jack Hatch of Hatch Development Group worked to find a solution, they were not able to submit a letter of interest by a June 1 deadline. Lynch said Hatch sent Invest DSM a letter concluding it was not feasible to rehabilitate the building.
"I think as far as this property is concerned, we're going to be moving forward," Lynch said. "Now, that said, generally speaking, Invest DSM aims to invest in our older buildings and maintain them so that they don't have to get to the point of demolition. And so, if the preservation community has ideas of how we can do that better ... we are open to hearing those."
Not all in the community shared Keith's conviction that the structure could be preserved. Kara Kelso, owner of Slow Down Coffee Co. around the corner from the building, said while she's an advocate for preservation, she felt the Highland Apartments were beyond repair.
"I just hope as a result of this, I ask the city to maybe consider how we hold landlords accountable so buildings don't get to this disrepair because this is unfortunate," Kelso said during the council meeting. "I love to see buildings preserved ... but it didn't have to get this way."
Council member Linda Westergaard, who represents the neighborhood, previously told the Register demolition to make way for a new building is "exactly what needs to be done," adding that the development will continue the revitalization of the Highland Park and Oak Park neighborhoods.
On Monday night, Westergaard made the motion to approve the request to demolish the building.
Before the vote, at-large council member Connie Boesen, who was acting as mayor during Mayor Frank Cownie's absence, asked the council to consider a property maintenance code to prevent buildings from ending up beyond repair.
"This is not fair to have this come up like this," Boesen said. "If somebody had fixed that roof 10, 15 or 30 years ago, we wouldn't be here today. The building would have been renovated."
Despite the loss of the building, Keith said progress was made.
"I am just really grateful to have the opportunity and the time to show what historic preservation and what Preservation Corps United can bring to Des Moines," Keith said of her new business, a trade school that provides construction professionals and homeowners education in historic preservation and restoration. "We will be in a better position to win the next round."
Kaleidoscope demolition approved to clear way for new apartment tower
Also during Monday's council meeting, the council approved another demolition permit, for the vacant Kaleidoscope at the Hub mall in downtown Des Moines. It will be torn down this summer to make way for the anticipated 515 Walnut St. high-rise apartment tower, despite a gap in financing for the new building.
The move comes after years of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the building on a prime site in the downtown core. The first effort to build the estimated $140 million, 33-story tower failed under previous leadership but Joe Teeling of St. Joseph Group resuscitated the project, which calls for 360 apartment units and 1,400 square feet of commercial space on the first floor.
$1 million approved for Monarch Apartments
Council members approved $1 million of the city's U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant funding for transforming a former motel in Des Moines' northwest corner into permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Anawim Housing, a local nonprofit that builds and manages affordable housing, has been working to convert the 78-room Days Inn Motel at 4845 Merle Hay Rd. into 40 one-bedroom units, each with a bathroom and kitchen. Instead of being a drop-in homeless shelter, the Monarch Apartments will be a longer-term residence with a full staff providing treatment and job-training services, Russ Frazier, president of Anawim, previously told the Register.
The city will use part of its grant from the HOME-ARP funds, a one-time award through HUD meant to help to end homelessness in communities, according to a council communication memo. The city will provide the funds for the project as a 15-year forgivable loan.
The HOME-ARP award requires the five units to remain affordable to people who have experienced homelessness for at least 15 years, the memo states. Two of the units will rent at market rate, reserved for the 24-hour staff.
The project, estimated at about $6.5 million, also is being funded by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund’s Rental Program, Polk County ARPA, Prairie Meadows Legacy Grant, Fortress Bank and Iowa Finance Authority HOME funds, the memo says.
Architecture firm hired to design Fire Station No. 4
The council approved hiring an architecture firm to help redesign the city's second-oldest fire station.
Fire Station No. 4, built in 1959 at 917 University Ave., will move northwest to the north side of Clark Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and 19th Street
City officials say the new fire station won't just replace an aging building, but will improve response times in the Chautauqua Park and Prospect Park neighborhoods.
Occupying a 1.5-acre site, the new station will be similar in size to the recently constructed Fire Station No. 11 according to a council communication memo.
City officials estimate the cost of the redesign to be about $940,060. The total cost of the new station is estimated at nearly $8 million, according to the memo.
The city is working to acquire the property by fall and plans to start construction by 2024 and complete it in 2025.
Fire department to get devices for advanced cardiac resuscitation
Council members voted to approve a $110,000 purchase for 18 advanced cardiac resuscitation devices for the Des Moines Fire Department.
The device, called the EleGARD, supports the elevation of the head and thorax in the "precise sequence andelevation speed" that's needed to deliver what is now classified as “neuro-protected Head-Up CPRby leading clinicians," according to a council communication memo.
Earlier this year, the fire department medics received training in advanced cardiac resuscitation, which can increase survivability in cardiac events by up to 30%, according to the department.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Effort to save Highland Apartments ends with demolition permit
