August 10 , 2010
By MELANIE LAGESCHULTE
City projects to help the town center at Prairie Trail start to take shape could begin yet this year, officials said last week.
The City Council voted to hold a public hearing Sept. 7 on plans to install water mains, storm sewers and sanitary sewers this fall near the locations for a new library/civic building, the first phase of restaurants planned along a lake and other commercial sites.
Prairie Trail is a development of roughly 1,000 acres on the former site of the Iowa State University research farm. City officials chose DRA Properties to serve as the lead developer for the project.
City Manager Carl Metzger said while DRA Properties has done some grading at the future town center, “this will be the first time the city has moved onto the site with public improvements.”
The town center is just east of Southwest State Street, roughly between Southwest Magazine Road and the north side of the Des Moines Area Community College campus.
The utility work would be paid for with money from the civic trust fund set up between DRA and the city.
The next city project would be to construct streets in this area, a plan that Metzger said could go through the design and bid process during the winter to begin in the spring.
This project is for the first phase of the town center, which is being called The District at Prairie Trail.
Metzger said The District will have at least two phases. The second phase, which would be on land generally northwest and northeast of the first one, might be done in two sections. Such a decision would “kind of depend on the speed with which development begins to happen,” he said.
Because Prairie Trail is a joint project of the city and DRA, Metzger said that timelines for future steps – such as the construction of a library/civic building and commercial development – will be interconnected.
Metzger said that with the current economic climate, companies interested in The District would be looking to see some sort of city improvements made to the site before they agree to sign on.
Otherwise they might have the concern that “you have a great site, but we don’t see anything,” Metzger said.
DRA is working with TerreMark Partners of Georgia to line up businesses for the town center. Ann Kaser of TerreMark said developers expect to make announcements later this month about some major retailers that have been secured for The District.
Metzger said city leaders have begun to talk about how leases for some city departments will factor in when the library/civic building might be constructed.
The city owns the current City Hall and library. Leases for the planning and building and parks and recreation offices both expire in 2016.
Deb Dyar, public relations officer for the city, said an employee group called Jump Start has begun discussing all the issues that will surround moving city departments.
At this point, members have identified some of the major challenges that will need to be faced, but “the most significant challenge for us right now is what we don’t know,” she said.
While the council has yet to approve the plans for the library/civic building, Dyar said officials know about 18 months will be needed for construction.
“We’re going to be ready when that time comes,” she said, adding employees are getting excited about the possibilities.
Members of the library staff are especially looking forward to having more space, Dyar said.
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