April 17, 2007
By TOM BARTON
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Construction in Prairie Trail could begin as early as next month, Ankeny officials say.
In a presentation to the City Council during a work session last week, Tim Moerman, director of economic development for the city of Ankeny, laid out a timeline providing estimated construction and completion dates for various projects within the 1,000-acre development north of Des Moines Area Community College.
Moerman said the first of $20 million worth of street and utility projects, including extending a water main to the Precedence Neighborhood, connecting sewer lines to the business park and construction of the Northwest Collector Street, are scheduled to begin by May and the early part of June.
“We’re right on schedule with our construction projects,” Moerman said. “We’re starting our tally sheet for the infrastructure needed so we can start erecting these buildings and get this development going.”
Plans for Precedence Neighborhood, the first residential development mapped out for the area, went before the City Council Monday for approval as well as a request to award a $15 million contract to Larson and Larson of Des Moines for construction of a new 75,000- square-foot police station in Prairie Trail.
But before the buildings can go in, the groundwork needs to be laid.
“We’ve got good guidance of the plan but now we need to put it on the dirt, and that’s where we are right now,” said Ankeny Planning and Building Director John Peterson at the April 9 meeting.
The new police station would be the first structure erected in Prairie Trail. Work to extend sewer and water main lines to the site of the new police station is expected to begin in June and be complete by the fall. Construction of the station could begin later this spring.
The new police station will be built near the intersection of South Ankeny Boulevard and Southwest Ordnance Road. The current police station, at 211 S.W. Walnut St., was originally built to be a library and has little space for more staff, officials said.
Precedence Neighborhood will include 63 acres comprising five plats with a total of 136 residential lots west of Southwest State Street, directly across from the planned town center near the middle of the Prairie Trail development.
Other Prairie Trail projects under consideration include plans for plaza shops, the town center, a library and other city offices on a town square, a new high school, a business park and several other residential neighborhoods.
Moerman also told council members that his office is in the process of applying for a Vision Iowa Grant to help pay for the several community parks and trails and the entertainment district envisioned for Prairie Trail.
The city is also in the process of applying for a $600,000 federal request to help pay for a recreational park, and a $900,000 federal grant for an underpass and overpass for a bike path near the town center on State Street.
“We’re looking to use these parks to create a recreational district where residents can go to enjoy various leisure activities,” Moerman said.
He said the recreational park would serve as a trail head where three major trails in Polk County would converge.
“We really want Ankeny to be sort of a hub where people in Ankeny and the Des Moines area can come and enjoy themselves.”
Reporter Tom Barton can be reached at (515) 284-8065 or tbarton@dmreg.com
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