1717 Ingersoll Avenue

[ShermanHillGuy]

The person that bought it will move their business their and will also let some of the space be used for other purposes (still being discussed). I know who purchased it but can't yet reveal.

[dogbo]

Will the business be new to downtown?

[ShermanHillGuy]

Yes, but not to the DM metro

[MusicMan]

In addition to the buyers business, an entertainment venue of sorts has been mentioned. Approximately 1/3 of the space will probably be partitioned and sold to another local business. As far as I know none of the land will be used for residential.

[WayOutWest]

Looks like Simonson & Associates Architects are the new owners of the building, which corresponds with a rumor I heard that an architecture firm was to be the main tenant. Hopefully this means the building will get a major face lift, I doubt an architecture firm would want to be in a building that looks as it currently does.

[spacebetween]

Interesting, Simonson & Associates are listed as one of the sponsors for CORE Magazine's Anniversary party which is going to be held at the same location. http://www.core-magazine.com

[Young DSM Social Club]

Where is Simonson currently located?

Nice addition to the Ingersoll area ... we've been losing a lot of white collar companies lately (a CPA firm and a large law office all relocated recently).

[Better Life dude]

Their current location is:
Simonson & Associates Architects, L.L.C.
2420 128th Street
Urbandale, IA 50323

[DMRyan]

Simonson & Associates is moving into the old Stiver's building, but they appear to be leaving room for a few additional tenant spaces, including a restaurant/bar. They're proposing to tear down that ugly asphalt retaining wall right along Ingersoll too.

The western portion of downtown is on fire right now. I'm guessing the old Crescent Chevrolet building is next in line to see a new use.

[WayOutWest]

The old Crecsent site is up for sale for a cool million. They are going to have to rethink that price if anything is going to happen there soon.

[wmjindsm]

Update article from the Des Moines Business Record:

Two tenants to relocate and occupy old dealership downtown, add restaurant

BY ERIC ROWLEY
Two local firms will join forces to give the vacant Stivers auto dealership a green face lift.

Simonson & Associates Architects LLC and Gilmor & Doyle Ltd. have major green renovation plans for the 24,028-square-foot building at 1717 Ingersoll Ave. Both businesses could be housed in the building as soon as this summer.

Project manager Eric Wessels of Simonson & Associates said they're hoping to achieve a silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines. The building will have a new reflective roof to reduce solar absorption, a "gray water" recycling system that will collect rainwater for use in the building's toilets, a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, energy-efficient entrances, 10 skylights, a resurfaced parking lot and a lighting system controlled by sensors to adjust the interior lighting for peak efficiency.

For Justin Doyle, manager at Gilmor & Doyle, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is a highlight for the building. Doyle said the system can recover lost heat from the building and will use an array of room sensors to heat or cool each room individually depending on the number of occupants.

Both firms are planning on integrating designs and products that they use and sell into the building. "We're looking forward to showing off our skills to our customers," said Doyle. "It's not very typical to do, and it's a unique opportunity."

The architecture firm will occupy 10,000 square feet of space in the building, and Gilmor & Doyle will occupy 9,900 square feet. Both firms plan on adding staff once they're fully moved in.

Wessels added that the old auto showroom will be converted into a restaurant. Details could not be released on the future eatery, but Wessels said he has fielded inquiries from many interested parties including one that moved its business plan ahead by an entire year to fill the possible spot.

Both firms are located in Urbandale and when the move is complete will have more than double their current space.

Wessels said the remodeling of the building could start as soon as this month, and the cost of the environmentally friendly project is estimated at $1.4 million.

Wessels sees the new spot in Des Moines as a great location for the growing architecture firm.

"We picked this building because of its location," Wessels said. "We wanted to move downtown and wanted to be a part of that mix."

Doyle said he's thrilled about the move from Urbandale to refurbished new building downtown.

"Our whole staff is excited about moving into the core," he said. "It's closer to our client, it has a high visibility and closer proximity to entertainment. It's just a new cool building."

[Better Life dude]

Great news for a neighborhood area that is booming with development.

[Ingersoll1978]

Two companies moving from Urbandale to Downtown?

[rasmeth]

Great location choices!

[wmjindsm]

They have really started some work this week on the lot. Today they are digging up the black-topped front of the property.

[Aulus]

They have really started some work this week on the lot. Today they are digging up the black-topped front of the property.

Yeah, they stripped off the asphalt layer on the Ingersoll side like a kid chewing off the coating of a Dairy Queen dipped cone but have done nothing about the weeds and overgrown grass right by the building and on the parking along 17th Street and their back lot.

Perhaps it is the old cynic in me that expects that the now exposed earth on the Ingersoll side of the lot is just going to be left to sprout more weeds which will catch more ambient, windblown trash and further blight the neighborhood.

At any rate, why is it that the owner of this property just does not give a damn about how trashy this property looks? Just the fact that the owners of the old Crescent Chevrolet property, a mere ten to twenty feet away from them, can manage to keep that property looking neat and tidy is a clear indictment as to what poor corporate citizens the owners of the old Stivers lot are.

Why is the city not forcing them to do the right thing? Why is the city pushing their big "spruce up Ingersoll" agenda, yet letting these corporate slumlords have their way?

[Ingersoll1978]

Why is the city not forcing them to do the right thing? Why is the city pushing their big "spruce up Ingersoll" agenda, yet letting these corporate slumlords have their way?

If I were you, I'd contact Simonson. Tell them as a neighbor, you find the property to be neglected with overgrown weeds. We bought property south of of 31st/Grand from a developer (one of four lots). A few months ago, a neighbor contacted the developer with similar concerns. They called us and arranged for the four properties to be mowed together. It's been taken care of since.

I'm sure Simonson would want to be a good member of the community. If they don't take care of it, complain to the city or your local city council member (which I believe is Christine Hensley).

[wmjindsm]

From WHO-TV 13 (whotv.com)

September 19, 2008--There are big plans for the former Stivers Lincoln-Mercury and Crescent Chevrolet buildings in downtown Des Moines. The transformations will take a lot of public money to turn the former showrooms into office space and a restaurant.

Across Ingersoll Avenue, Jesse Van Der Pol has great views of downtown -- except when he looks to the north. "Broken down car dealerships that are no longer there," he explains. Weeds and broken windows took over the old Stivers building. The former Crescent Chevrolet location is in better shape, but sits empty. "It's too bad because they're both really cool buildings and they could probably do some really neat stuff with them," Van Der Pol said.

Developers are tackling both projects and the government is helping them out. The Stivers project is getting a $550,000 grant from the city. The Crescent project receives $465,000 plus state funds and a Polk County interest-free loan. It all adds up to about $1.1 million.

Des Moines economic development administrator Matt Anderson says public funds on the front end will pay off down the road. "In year seven, 100% back to the city and to the taxpayers and that is a higher level that in ever was and ever would have been as a car dealership," Anderson says of the Crescent deal.

The Crescent building is planned to become the new headquarters for Terrus Real Estate. Stivers will become the new offices for Simonson and Associates Architecture, but the old showroom will become a new restaurant.

Trina Braafhart rents the Gateway Lofts to people like the idea of improving their view. She's very excited for the new eatery. "Walk across the street to have a nice meal or to even order take-out. I think the residents that live here will be ecstatic about that," she said.

Work has already begun on the Stivers building, which should be finished by the end of the year. The Des Moines City Council has one more vote to finalize funding for the Crescent building.

video story @ http://www.whotv.com/global/story.asp?s=9042939

[DMRyan]

Wow Aulus, overly critical of this project? The site was not maintained over the summer, but word that this project could be substantially finished by the end of year with a decent amount of site work already underway is one huge step in the right direction. The project will eventually feature components of the Ingersoll Streetscape, including street trees and planter beds on the sidewalk--removing that ugly asphalt retaining wall.

A more critical eye could certainly be turned to the now former Stew Hansen's used car lot and the old Crescent Chevy used car lot that are sitting vacant. Too bad development and the economy are in the dumps. If this were 2006 all over again, developers would've probably already jumped on both of these properties.

[Aulus]

OK, I probably should have called Simonson, Simonson & Associates before, but just never got around to it. I did today and found the guy in charge of the project is Eric Wessels. I left a voice mail message for him on this, so we'll see what happens.

If nothing does, I have visited by phone and email with Christine Hensley before, so I'll try enlisting her clout on it.

[Eric Wessels]

I did get the voice mail from Aulus. I appreciate the interest in the project. It has taken much longer to get to this point than I anticipated, but the construction fence has gone up and the site demolition has begun in ernest. The deteriorating sidewalk along 17th is being removed and replaced. As that occurs, the planting areas will be addressed. The plan is to get the concrete and asphalt work on the exterior done as quickly as possible yet this year. The contractor is a responsible firm and we intend to make sure the site is kept neat. Please feel free to call any time.

[Young DSM Social Club]

Excited about this project! Nice to see businesses actually moving from Urbandale closer to the core. Welcome to the neighborhood. I look forward to the new restaurant.

[Eric Wessels]

We're excited to be moving downtown. The new interior space is set up for us to work better in a more colaborative setting. It will be a studio environment that will help younger architects and interns (and the old people) to learn through exposure to projects outside what they may be working on.

[Aulus]

I see that the Simonson group is now in the process of building what looks like a retaining wall on the Ingersoll side of the property, cutting back a bit into the hill to do so.

Good, as the usual practrice until now was to just slap a new layer of asphalt over it and have done with it for five or so years, only to do the same again. This was true when the property was a Ford dealership, then Conway Buick and then Stiver's. It looks to be a definite improvement.

However, the parking on the 17th Street side still looks like crap. Is it just too damn much trouble to send in a couple of guys with a lawn mower and a weed whacker to tidy it up?

[Mastermind]

Is it really that important at this point? They are renovating the building, and there may be snow on the ground in the next 4-5 weeks, I think you can handle the weeds til then.

[MusicMan]

I see that the Simonson group is now in the process of building what looks like a retaining wall on the Ingersoll side of the property, cutting back a bit into the hill to do so.

Good, as the usual practrice until now was to just slap a new layer of asphalt over it and have done with it for five or so years, only to do the same again. This was true when the property was a Ford dealership, then Conway Buick and then Stiver's. It looks to be a definite improvement.

However, the parking on the 17th Street side still looks like crap. Is it just too damn much trouble to send in a couple of guys with a lawn mower and a weed whacker to tidy it up?

It is being used as a staging ground for the High Street appartments and for the 1717 project... calm down, it will be fixed up soon.

[Aulus]

Excuse me?

I was talking about the strip between the curb and the side walk on 17th from the corner of Ingersoll to the alley behind the building, not the lot behind the building. The current owners apparently do not care that it has been looking like crap at least since the spring. Eric Wessels came here two weeks ago and posted the following: "The deteriorating sidewalk along 17th is being removed and replaced. As that occurs, the planting areas will be addressed.", yet it remains the same. Like I've said before, an hour or so with a couple of guys with a mover and weed whacker and the problem is solved. I guess the example of lot care shown just across the street at the old Crescent Chevrolet lot is just too much bother for these guys.

I'm sure 1717 Ingersoll is going to look great eventually. As I've said above, the retaining wall they are putting up on the Ingersoll front of the property is a vast improvement over the way it has been for twenty-some years. I applaud the fact that they are renovating the building for other uses instead of just bulldozing it down to an empty lot. I just wish they'd show a little more pride in how the place has looked for the past months and now.

[MusicMan]

OK.

Yes, it is nice to fix things up. Sometimes it is low on the priority list though. I'm sure it will all look good soon.

[Aulus]

On update, I happened to drive past there tonight and mirabile dictu, they have mowed the parking.

Color me happy, at long last.

[Eric Wessels]

Sorry it took so long. It is also miabile visu. (I looked it up)