downtown question (Des Moines, West Des Moines: skyscraper, insurance, condo)

[desert sun]

Des Moines has an impressive sklyine for such a small metro population,do they fill up all the buildings or is there vacant space?

[DSMGuy]

Downtown DM has a very high occupancy rate and has been very stable. That will likely change soon because Nationwide Insurance is finishing a large addition to its downtown campus. Aviva Insurance is moving its downtown headquarters to West Des Moines when its building is done in 2009 or 2010. Wellmark will also be building a new headquarters downtown during the same time period which will leave a lot of open space in the Ruan Center complex downtown.

As companies like Principal Financial Group expand, this space will likely fill up.

DM has 8 or 9 buildings over 300 ft tall, which is pretty unusual for a metro of about 550,000. The last 300+ footer was built in the mid-90's, so there has been a dry spell. The tallest building going up in DM currently is a 13 story office building/parking garage combination.

[SharpHawkeye]

I wish Wellmark had decided to turn their new headquarters project into a nice 30 story building, but I know that takes a lot of spec space. I think the main activity downtown now is companies buying up blocks of parking lots and building mid-rises. It's good to have that density...but it'd be nice to see a new skyscraper go up!

[RonnieJonez]

It does have a nice skyline for its size but the level of vibrancy is equal to that of Pyongyang.

The only building that looks nice is the Principal, the Ruan is too rusty and the rest aren't even very high although they are at least newer than the Ruan.

[DSMGuy]

Style515 crawls back out of the murky oooze. Welcome back!

[pepe1]

In the architecture community, there really is an even split between those that love the Ruan Building and those that hate it. Personally, I am not big fan of the Corten Steel exterior. Ultimately, the building succeeds as a local landmark because everyone seems to have an opinion about how it looks.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by pepe1

In the architecture community, there really is an even split between those that love the Ruan Building and those that hate it. Personally, I am not big fan of the Corten Steel exterior. Ultimately, the building succeeds as a local landmark because everyone seems to have an opinion about how it looks.

I think for a building to be viewed as aesthetically pleasing, that opinion would lie in the hands of the general public and not the few in the architectural community.

I also, was like "why did they just let that building rust like that" when I first saw it. After having learned it was designed that way I just thought "what an ugly design". The buildings in Omaha aren't much better for that matter.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

It does have a nice skyline for its size but the level of vibrancy is equal to that of Pyongyang.

The only building that looks nice is the Principal, the Ruan is too rusty and the rest aren't even very high although they are at least newer than the Ruan.

I used to work in Des Moines about 3 days week and even on the weekends I found it virtually impossible to find much to do downtown. The courtyard district is just too small and not much there.

We did however to out to West Des Moines and found a couple decent clubs.

[El Rhino]

Des Moines' downtown area is getting better in terms of finding things to do after 5PM, between Court Ave, the "West Gate" area and that joke of a project "East Village". There's a decent amount of bars, coffee houses, specialty retail, restaurants and so-on compared to what downtown looked like even just five years ago.

The "West Gate" area has a couple blocks with worthwhile stuff, the library and some visually appealing design. This might change for the worse due to the Allied Insurance building they're putting up there and knocking some things down to build a parking garage... or it could make things better. Who knows.

Court Avenue and 4th Street are pretty much the same. There's a few decent spots, a few spots for the tragically hip and a several soulless bars/nightclubs that aren't even worth mentioning (at least not to me).

The "East Village" place has a few good spots but personally I think it's DRASTICALLY overratted. People talk like it competes with Omaha's Old Market and it doesn't...at all.

[DSMGuy]

C'mon El Rhino, you gotta admit the East Village (yes they could have come up with a better name) has come a long way. There are several new buildings with condo/retail and a lot of those biker bars in old rundown buildings have gone away now that they've been renovated. The ugly parking lot at the foot of the capitol has been replaced with an attractive garden. There is a nice outdoor ice skating rink there too. I don't know what you were hoping for, but it looks pretty transformed to me.

Also, except for the Smithson bars, Court Avenue is improving too. It isn't Old Market, but it is improving.