Bringing the time frame into sharper focus, Des Moines city officials say the seat of city government will move from the east side of the Des Moines River to the west end of downtown by next spring.
Previously, they had only said the plan to move City Hall to the five-floor, 360,000-square-foot former Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. building at 1200 Locust St. would take place next year.
The city purchased the structure for $30 million in 2023, renaming it the T.M. Franklin Cownie City Administration Building for Des Moines’ longest-serving mayor, who concluded his final term shortly after the purchase. The city also bought a parking garage that serves the building for $10.6 million.
Assistant City Manager Jim Hoff, Deputy City Manager Matt Anderson and City Council member Josh Mandelbaum said the city plans to move in the first quarter of 2026, though Mandelbaum added that he’s been told that the move could stretch to early in the second quarter.
In all, the project could cost $56.3 million including the price of the building and the garage at 1200 Mulberry St., as well as about $15 million for improvements to the building.
Among spaces the city will vacate are the current City Hall at 400 Robert D. Ray Drive and the Argonne Armory, an office annex at 602 Robert D. Ray Drive. The city is seeking buyers for the two riverfront buildings.
The city will move 350 employees to the Cownie building. Between the city and American Equity Investment Life Insurance Holding Co., which is opening an office in a neighboring building at 1150 Locust St., the Western Gateway will see an influx of about 1,000 employees, Anderson said.
In an email, Hoff, who is managing the move, said the departments relocating to the new building will be:
Hoff said that once the relocation is completed, the city will reconsider whether to free up for the general public’s use city employee parking spaces on the Locust Street and Grand Avenue bridges over the Des Moines River. Parking on the bridges is free, but the south side of the Grand bridge and north side of the Locust bridge are reserved for city workers during office hours.
Police department to remain in place for now
The Nationwide building also was envisioned as a replacement for the Des Moines Police Department’s 105-year-old building at 25 E. First St., just off Court Avenue. But the department will not move initially, Hoff said.
That transfer will occur during phase two of the project, which has not yet been scheduled, he said.
The city had slated the department to be among the first the city would move to the Cownie building, But an Urban Design Review Board document from 2024 indicates the remodeling of the space for police headquarters may not take place until 2030 or 2031.
“We do have space identified in the new building at 1200 Locust where the police department could eventually operate,” Carrie Kruse, the city’ economic development administrator, said last year. “But funding for building out that phase of the project has not yet been identified and scheduled in the city’s budget.”
Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 or pjoens@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: When will Des Moines open its new City Hall? City leaders provide updated timeline
Reporting by Philip Joens, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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