Norwalk launches 70-acre, $300 million retail, housing, fitness and sports development
Norwalk escorted a $300 million-plus development onto the stage Thursday with a ground breaking for Norwalk Central.
The 70-acre project will change the face of the community with residences, stores, restaurants, sports, recreation, fitness, outdoor trails, parks and an amphitheater in the center of the community.
Serious planning for Norwalk Central started five years ago, said Hollie Zajicek, the city's director of economic development. The space originally carried the very unsexy title of Sub-Area 1.
"After years of hard work, strategic planning, design, redesign, negotiations, careful budgeting and finance work, legal and council procedures, we finally came to the final vision for Norwalk Central," Zajicek said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Development and land purchase agreements were negotiated and signed for the entire infrastructure network to be constructed and financed along with a new regional storm water retention facility serving the entire area.
Zajicek wrote in an email before the ceremony that everything within the project has been approved by the City Council and that agreements have been signed. Zoning is in place, and parcels have been purchased by the city and private developers.
More: 3 developments to watch in Norwalk in 2022, plus a sneak peek at the decade to come
Diligent Development, which is the developer for the site, kicked off the project with the first commercial facility, Hughes Century Crossing Retail, and the surrounding Hughes Crossing residential neighborhoods.
The next phase this year after grading will be the Chatham Avenue extension heading east and Hughes Drive north and south, Zajicek said.
The turf sports fields are to be built with an opening date set for spring 2023, with the recreation and retail facilities being constructed shortly thereafter.
Still on the drawing board is hope for a NorWalk of Fame and Superheroes Tribute for notable Norwalk individuals, including retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Douglas Pierce, a former mayor who is now with the Iowa Air National Guard; actor Jason Momoa; actor Brandon Routh; Clay Garcia, who served with a U.S. Navy medical unit and now works with the Norwalk and Clive fire departments; and Matt Dermody, a Norwalk High School graduate and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher.
More: Des Moines metro's median home price hits new high of $265k. Here's what that buys.
How Norwalk Central will affect residents
In the past five years, Norwalk has experienced a 57% increase in new commercial valuation, and a 789% increase in industrial valuation. That translates into $61 million of new money flowing into the community, Zajicek said.
The financial benefits from Norwalk Central are expected to dwarf that.
"It will be in the hundreds of millions when it's fully built," Zajicek wrote in the email.
The new development is also expected to create more than 300 jobs.
"That allows us to build new projects, such as this one, along with many other community and school improvements, infrastructure and amenities" without raising taxes, she said.
Norwalk's explosive growth triggered the school district to jump ahead with its plans for a new $24 million Physical Education and Competition Center from the original date of 2030 to 2020, when a bond referendum was held. The facility is opening later this year.
"The increase in property valuations have allowed us to move the timeline up,” Superintendent D.T. Magee said in 2019.
More: Indianola Community Task Force recommends new high school be built near current building
Norwalk has seen an increase of 400 jobs and 40 businesses in the past five years, Zajicek said. Norwalk Central overall is expected to bring more than 1 million visitors to the area from the new sports campus alone.
So far, the city has spent $9.5 million on the project. The city paid for the expenses without raising taxes by using Tax Increment Financing from new commercial developments.
Grading for the development is under way now, and work on infrastructure is expected to start in June.
"We’ve had amazing private-entity partners to help bring this project across the finish line," Zajicek said.
Teresa Kay Albertson covers Des Moines' southern suburbs for the Register and the Indianola Record-Herald. Reach her at talbertson@registermedia.com or 515-419-6098.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How Norwalk Central will change the city's skyline, attract millions
