A 119-year-old, three-story, uninhabitable building in the Highland Park neighborhood is expected to be bought by the city of Des Moines through a voluntary acquisition agreement with the property’s owner.
The City Council on Monday is expected to approve a proposal to acquire property at 200 Euclid Ave. for $425,000 from Ty Cawley, who has owned it since 2009.
The building, which has been used for retail and apartments, is in poor condition, according to a city document. If the proposal is approved, the city will use Community Development Block Grant money to acquire the property and stabilize the building, which in 2024 was on the Des Moines Heritage Trust’s list of endangered buildings.
The structure, known locally as the Highland Park Odd Fellows Hall, is in the Highland Park Historic Business District and both the site and district were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The building originally was used as the meeting spot for the International Order of Odd Fellows. It also has been home to a drug store and most recently, as a pawn shop. Its upper two floors had been used as apartments…