Adam RollinsThe city of Waukee, Iowa, has approved a $400 million civic campus project to reshape the city’s civic, commercial and recreational center. The project will be split up across three phases over the next 25 years.
The civic campus will be built on a 220-acre property, creating a dedicated neighborhood to serve the needs of both the city and residents. Notably, the campus will feature a city hall, library and other civic amenities including park and recreation areas. The city plans to expand a local golf course included in the master plan.
The area will be open to mixed-use development as well. Currently, the city plans to incorporate townhomes, single-family homes, senior living and commercial spaces into the campus’ design. The city will also realign and extend streets, build trail network additions and install a new lake.
The first phase of the project—taking place between 2025 and 2029—prioritizes infrastructure improvements to prepare the site for future development. These improvements include building 10th Street to serve as one of the neighborhood’s main thoroughfares. Stormwater detention and existing street enhancements will be complementary efforts. Additional initiatives in the first phase will center around progressing designs for key civic features and building bridges, pavilions and boathouses.
The second phase will take place between 2030 and 2034 and signal the beginning of major civic building construction. The city plans to build the city hall, civic plaza, library, maintenance areas, skate park, pickleball courts and various park amenities and street infrastructure.
The final phase will start in 2035 and end by 2039, primarily focusing on recreational projects. These include expanding the golf course to 18 holes and building the food hall, incubator space, clubhouse, driving range and remaining roads. Throughout the development process, the city will issue Requests for Proposals for mixed-use and residential construction. These will be revenue-generating projects for the city, supplementing funding sources for the civic campus project.
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay
