Des Moines council opens talks on Heart of America HQ plan

Des Moines City Council took an early step on June 8 toward a possible Heart of America headquarters in the East Village, but the action did not approve construction or finalize a land deal.

The council communication directs city staff to receive and file the developer-initiated proposal and negotiate preliminary terms for a commercial office building at 401 Robert D. Ray Drive. The proposal calls for a five-story building of about 70,000 square feet on the city-owned parcel.

What the June 8 action does

This was a negotiation step, not a final development approval. The council communication says staff will return later with preliminary terms for a development agreement, and it says the site will also go through a competitive disposition process with a future hearing and a 30-day window for competing proposals.

That matters because the site sits in the East Village across from the vacant former City Hall, making it one of the more visible city-owned parcels in downtown Des Moines. If the proposal moves forward, it would add another office use to a corridor where the city is trying to guide redevelopment of former municipal property.

What is being proposed

According to the city’s council communication, Heart of America is considering mass timber construction and would anticipate using 15,000 to 20,000 square feet for its headquarters if the project advances. The rest of the building’s tenant mix has not been finalized in the public materials.

Heart of America’s website shows an operations support center in Des Moines and Tempo, its East Village residential project, but that background does not mean this headquarters deal is complete.

What happens next

The immediate question is whether city staff and Heart of America can agree on preliminary terms detailed enough to return to council. Later steps still need to happen, including a hearing, the competitive disposition process, and additional council action before the city could approve a purchase agreement or final development terms.

For residents and nearby property owners, the practical takeaway is simple: the June 8 action keeps the project alive, but it remains early in the process. The building is not approved, the land is not sold, and the final shape of the project is still subject to negotiation and public review.

Sources

• Des Moines City Council Communication 26-204
• Axios Des Moines: Heart of America eyes East Village for a new HQ