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Des Moines, Iowa — Wednesday, July 16, 2025 — The City of Des Moines is now accepting proposals for the renovation and reuse of the historic Argonne Armory building, located at 602 Robert D. Ray Drive.

The City’s Office of Economic Development is seeking development proposals for this 45,308 square-foot building and adjacent parking lot, which is located near the Women of Achievement Bridge on the Des Moines Riverfront and in the thriving East Village Neighborhood of Downtown Des Moines.

"The chance to redevelop the Argonne Armory building represents a unique opportunity to continue the vibrant growth we’ve seen in the East Village neighborhood," Mayor Connie Boesen remarked. "We look forward to working with interested developers to identify a proposal that will bring people to the downtown riverfront and the East Village."

Built in 1934, the Armory was originally designed to play host to ten Iowa National Guard units and the Argonne post of the American Legion. It initially included a dining hall, kitchen, club room, gymnasium, and rifle range in the basement. The building was then converted to offices and administrative space for municipal purposes in 1976 and has served in this capacity ever since.

The City of Des Moines seeks creative development proposals for the future of this building and aims to secure a development project and partner for a flexible and creative adaptive reuse. As an active participant in Downtown development, the city has an interest in collaboration with development groups to understand proposed project scopes and to help ensure a successful project outcome.

Proposals are due on Friday, October 31, 2025. For more information and to download the full Request for Proposals, visit DSM.city/ArmoryRFP.

Des Moines, Iowa — Friday, May 16, 2025 — The City of Des Moines has received LEED Platinum certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The LEED for Cities rating system recognizes local governments worldwide that have demonstrated commitment to sustainability and resiliency. Des Moines is one of nearly 150 cities to receive LEED for Cities certification and one of only six to receive the platinum-level designation.

"The City of Des Moines has a longstanding obligation to improve our City’s resiliency and providing a healthy environment for our residents," said Mayor Connie Boesen. "This work began many years ago, thanks to the leadership of former Mayor Frank Cownie, and I’m proud of the progress our staff and other stakeholders have made. We are seeing the results of our continued efforts in being recognized as a LEED Platinum City."

In addition to prioritizing city-scale sustainability, Des Moines is also committed to advancing green building. To date, the Franklin Avenue Library is LEED platinum certified, the new Animal Control Facility and Greenhouse are LEED gold certified, while Fire Station 11 and the Municipal Services Center are LEED silver certified. The certification process for Municipal Services Center II is underway. Additionally, approximately 59 privately-owned buildings across the City are LEED certified projects. The City of Des Moines has long been a leader in climate mitigation and resiliency, bringing along other local communities and organizations to make the environment a regional priority.

“Transforming our cities to be more sustainable happens building by building, block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood. The City of Des Moines understands the value of LEED and through certification is setting goals and deploying strategies appropriate for their local community and residents,” said Peter Templeton, president and CEO, USGBC. “Each new LEED certification is one step closer to revolutionizing the places where we live, learn, work and play.”

LEED enables Des Moines to measure and track outcomes and are evaluated against key metrics that include energy, water, waste, transportation, education, health, safety, prosperity, and equitability.

Des Moines, Iowa — Friday, February 7, 2025 — Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders’ recommended Operating and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Plan for the Fiscal Year 2026 have been published as the City works to address a $17 million shortfall in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. 

"This year’s budget process challenged us to find opportunities across the City organization to produce budget recommendations that keep pace with lower property tax revenue growth and increases in costs to maintain our city services,” Sanders said. “Every department is contributing to a balanced FY2026 budget that ensures we are minimizing the impact of budget cuts to the service levels our community expects from the City of Des Moines."

The next step in the budget process will be an all-day City Council work session where the City Manager’s recommendations will be presented to the entire City Council and will be followed by two public meetings where residents can ask questions and learn more about how the proposed budget will affect City service levels. 

Below is an overview of events in the public budget process. In addition to scheduled events, can submit feedback on the proposed budget, view the budget schedule and budget information at DSM.city/Budget. 

• February 19 at 8 a.m.: All-day City Council Work Session to review and discuss City-manager recommendations 

• February 25 at 6 p.m.: Public Budget Information Session at Polk County River Place 

• February 26 at 6 p.m.: Public Budget Information Session at Pioneer Columbus Community Recreation Center 

• March 24 at 7:30 a.m.: City Council holds public hearing on new budget property taxes 

• April 7 at 5 p.m.: City Council holds public hearing on budget