WEST DES MOINES, IA-The Silverman family has purchased the troubled West Glen Town Center for $34.5 million, a steep discount from the original $110 million development cost. The project, which includes more than 400,000 square feet of multifamily, retail and office buildings, was put into receivership and has large vacancy.
The project was built as a walkable Main Street-style community with retail on the first floors and office and residential above, with mostly three-story buildings. The builders included developer Gary Kirke.
The 123 units of multifamily is about 93% occupied, says Brian Morrissey, principal of Metonic Real Estate Services. He represented the family in the purchase. However, he tells GlobeSt.com that the 100,000 square feet of office is about 80% vacant, and some of the retail is also empty.
“The project was completed in a pretty hard economy, and it didn’t lease up to projections,” Morrissey says. Banks took over the project through foreclosure, and sold the site to the Silverman family at a discount, though not until a legal dispute was settled over the price.
Morrissey says his clients, which own apartments in Iowa, plan to spend some money to attract tenants and improve the property. He says landscaping and better paving will be completed soon. “We think the market is better than it was back in 2008, and class A office is now in more demand here,” he says. The project has already had three showings, Morrissey says. Three pad sites for retail are also available for development.
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