The wait has ended for construction of the 33-story 515 Walnut apartment tower in downtown Des Moines.
Crews have begun preliminary work on the parcel at the northwest corner of Walnut Street and Fifth Avenue, Joe Teeling, head of development firm St. Joseph Group, confirmed as Des Moines City Council on Monday approved a final agreement for up to $3.8 million in incentives .
“This has been a long time coming,” Mayor Connie Boesen said. “We know these are trying times and changing times, but we look forward to a successful project.”
If all goes according to plan, 515 Walnut will be the largest residential project ever constructed in the city’s downtown core — a project the St. Joseph Group boasts on a sign at one of the blocked skywalk connections will be the “highest housing building between Denver and Chicago.”
It also will be the largest downtown construction project in decades.
Construction of the tower could begin as early as January.
“There’s always change, and none of us can predict the future. One thing we do know is that we have approval,” Teeling told the Des Moines Register. “We’re good to go.”