Two new residential developments are planned for lots once occupied by local landmarks in the Drake neighborhood.
A mixed-use development with ground-level retail space is proposed for the corner lot at 2511 Cottage Grove Ave. that was the home of the popular Black Cat Ice Cream shop until about a year ago. The business moved to a downtown Des Moines location after ending its lease on the building, which was in hazardous condition and needed renovations that would have exceeded its value.
The 101-year-old structure was demolished early this year.
About a half-mile west, 20 townhomes are proposed for a lot where another historic yet blighted structure once stood at 3125 Kingman Blvd., just west of the intersection with 31st Street.
As the two projects navigate the planning phase, nearly 170 housing units already are under construction in the Drake University Dogtown neighborhood.
What’s taking the place of the Black Cat’s former Drake location?
The 8,500-square-foot building planned for the corner of Cottage Grove Avenue and 25th Street will house four apartment units on its second floor. The street level of the estimated $2 million development will maintain the property’s retail use, with three available spaces for commercial tenants.
The anchor tenant, directly on the corner, will have about 2,600 square feet of floor space, the site plan shows. The other two will have less than 1,000 square feet apiece.
A new parking lot with six spaces is proposed for the rear of the property, roughly where Black Cat’s shop sat. There is also street parking available.
Constructed in 1924, the building began as a neighborhood grocery store. Later it was a deli called the Blind Munchies and then became Mikey’s Deli. It was home to Woody’s Smoke Shack for a decade before it was sold in 2018 to Pharmoco Properties Two LLC, according to the Polk County assessor’s website. Black Cat opened there in 2021.
Currently, Smokey Row Coffee at the eastern end of Cottage Grove is the only commercial operation along the 2-mile-long thoroughfare.
DEV Partners, the development firm listed as the title owner for the property, was not available to comment on the project. It has completed the preapplication process with the city and awaits further approvals.
What is planned for the vacant lot on Kingman Boulevard?
Before it was demolished, a large house built in 1890 occupied 3125 Kingman Blvd. It was home to William Peairs, the world-traveling head of a Des Moines-based medical company and founder of a Mexico-U.S. student exchange program. It became a Drake University sorority house in 1940, then was local headquarters for the Mormon Church before it was subdivided into apartments.
A fire at the property landed it on the city’s nuisance list in 2021, with records describing it as “a menace to health and safety.”
Invest DSM, a neighborhood revitalization nonprofit, purchased the property for $175,000 in February 2023 and leveled the house by the following year.
While still in the early stages of planning, the proposed three-story townhomes would include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, each with its own garage. The project is set to go before the Des Moines Planning and Zoning Commission on May 21.
Proposed Kingman townhome project to offer affordable housing
While it is too soon to announce a groundbreaking date, the units would be among the first townhomes in the newly established Central Iowa Community Land Trust. The nonprofit, which debuted in 2025, acquires properties across the Des Moines metro and partners with developers to build housing for sale to income-limited buyers. They can gain equity while the trust retains ownership of the land, allowing it to keep resale prices in range for other qualified buyers.
The estimated $7.1 million development by Home Opportunities Made Easy Inc., Invest DSM and Cutler Development would offer a range of units for people of various income levels, according to a memo on the project provided to Des Moines City Council.
Four of the 20 units will be for individuals who make 60% or less of the area median income, or $48,120 a year, according to the memo. Another 16 units will be reserved for those making 80% or less of the median, or $64,150 annually.
The trust works with prospective homeowners to ensure housing costs don’t exceed 30% of their household’s gross monthly income, said program manager Jaqueline Chico,.
The trust’s role “is to build long-term affordability into the development by protecting the investment being made and supporting homeowners before and after purchase through financial counseling and homeownership education,” Chico said in an email to the Des Moines Register.
The city of Des Moines has pledged $640,000 to the project in expected funds from a federal housing assistance program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The project also needs to pass an environmental assessment before the final agreement will be presented to City Council, a process that is expected to take “several months,” according to the April 20 memo.
The Federal Home Loan Bank and Wells Fargo also have made grants for the project, along with a construction loan.
Kingman Place could be home to Midwest’s first mass-timber townhomes
Not only would the Kingman Boulevard development aim to be affordable, it would also be the Midwest’s first mass-timber townhome project, said Molly Cutler, project engineer and co-owner with her husband of Cutler Development.
Made by pressing planks of wood together to create larger support beams, mass timber construction avoids fossil fuel emissions that come from traditional manufacturing projects. It also provides better insulation and naturally sequesters carbon, which likely has a net benefit in the fight against climate change, developers who use the method say.
“They will feature exposed timber within the bedrooms and living spaces, offering a highly durable structure, reduced maintenance costs, and a timeless aesthetic,” Molly Cutler said in an email. “The use of mass timber will significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of the townhomes when compared to more traditional housing construction materials and methods.”
It’s the latest in a series of Cutler Development mass-timber projects that began with a mixed-used building at 304 Fifth St. in West Des Moines’ Valley Junction. Another at 2701 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines, Star Lofts, was Iowa’s first zero-carbon certified building. And Cutler’s largest to date, Goldfinch Lofts at 3401 Ingersoll, is under construction.
Another development group built a mass-timber, mixed-use building in Des Moines’ East Village. Opened in 2019 at 111 E. Grand Ave. and housing popular restaurants including Clyde’s Fine Diner with a James Beard award-nominated chef, it is credited with being the first to use the method in the United States.
Drake Dogtown business district to gain 167 apartments in 2026
Just north of the two proposed developments, another 167 housing units could open this year on what used to be two vacant lots in the Drake University Dogtown Business District.
The mixed-use UA Station and Valo complexes also will have commercial spaces, offering the potential for more business development.
The UA Station project at the corner of University Avenue and 22nd Street will bring 35 apartments to the site of a Kum & Go store that was demolished after it closed in 2022.
A few blocks from of UA Station and across 25th Street from campus at Carpenter Avenue,a five-story mixed-use building, Valo, just north of the Varsity Cinema, will have 132 apartments.
Iowa’s largest and most famous brewery, Decorah’s Toppling Goliath, was slated to open a Des Moines taproom and restaurant, anchoring the 110,000-square-foot structure, but has since shelved that plan. What will take its place is still to be determined as the developer searches for a new tenant.
Kate Kealey is the growth and development reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on X at @Kkealey17.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What’s replacing Black Cat Ice Cream, historic Kingman home in Drake?
Reporting by Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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