Work on Iowa’s soon-to-be newest skyscraper has resumed after a two-week hiatus.
Crews were back at the site Monday, Nov. 10, the noise of their work echoing through the surrounding streets, and the project’s giant construction crane was again active.
Delays in obtaining a loan to pay Beal Derkenne Construction, the contractor for 515 Walnut, forced a stoppage of work on the building Oct. 27. Joe Teeling, president of project developer St. Joseph Group, said in an email to reporters on Nov. 7 that the loan had been secured.
“With this funding, the project is now fully financed, and we are ready to move full speed ahead toward the originally scheduled completion date of spring 2027,” Teeling said.
He has previously said the estimated $150 million project is financed through equity and a loan of more than $100 million. The 33-story tower would be the tallest new building in downtown Des Moines in decades, housing 390 apartments.
“Big projects like this take time, patience and the ability to adjust along the way, but the end result is worthwhile,” Teeling said. “This Tower represents a major investment in Downtown Des Moines and reflects the incredible momentum and growth happening here. We can’t wait to bring this vision to life.”
Before the pause, construction crews had completed about one floor each week, most recently pouring concrete for the 13th level ahead of schedule, he said.
What is going inside 515 Walnut?
The tower initially was proposed by Blackbird Investments, which began designing it in 2015. Teeling was briefly an executive of Blackbird, but he said he was not involved directly in the project, which stalled amid litigation in 2020.
In 2022, after buying the plans for the building from Blackbird, Teeling and his St. Joseph group revived the project, demolishing the empty eastern section of the Kaleidoscope at the Hub shopping mall that occupied the site. But with interest rates up and inflated prices for materials, groundbreaking didn’t occur until late last February, when Teeling said he had obtained financing from a Boston firm.
If completed as planned, 515 Walnut will contain a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Ten percent of the units will be priced to be affordable to households that earn 65% of the area median income, or $51,415 for a single person.
Named for its address, the building will stand 347 feet tall, ranking among the hundred tallest in the country that are under construction or recently completed. It also will be Des Moines’ and Iowa’s tallest residential building, exceeding the height of the nearby Plaza Building at 300 Walnut St., and will be the city and state’s fourth-tallest building overall, slotting into the narrow height gap between the currently No. 4 Financial Center and the No. 3 downtown Marriott Hotel. The No. 2 Ruan Center and 801 Grand, at No. 1, round out the top five.
Kate Kealey is the growth and development reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 515 Walnut construction restarts after financing delay. When will it be completed?
Reporting by Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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