Floor one is leased by the City of Des Moines to provide hourly public parking. Floor two provides apartment residents in the neighborhood with a much-needed parking option. Floor three provides nearby office buildings with parking for their employees, as well as providing parking for the neighboring church congregation on evenings and Sundays.

The project consisted of ten foot wide by thirteen foot tall structural precast concrete wall panels and structural steel with interior spans of forty feet. The specialized dock equipment and “in floor” heating were interesting aspects in the construction.

Other aspects of the project included a specialized floor hardener for the interior concrete slab, office and restrooms at the receiving area, and the new storage area.

Much of the design and construction effort was spent working out cost efficient ways to remove multiple load-bearing masonry walls inside the existing “c” shape, 225,000 square foot building to create an open and efficient factory plan. It was also required to cut into the existing slab to create 19 equipment pits for equipment presses and other major equipment. In addition, 26 new overhead doors had to be cut in, along with loading dock pits, into an existing load bearing wall for Jeld-Wen’s new plant layout.

The Science Center of Iowa engaged Nelson Construction and Development to create a viable parking option for the 300,000 annual patrons. Nelson was charged with the responsibility of creating an efficient design that would accomplish four main goals:

• Allow enough parking without ‘hiding’ the magnificent SCI building.
• Make the structure cost efficient so the parking rates would be fair to their patrons.
• Meet and exceed the Court Avenue design standards as specified by the City of Des Moines’ newly adopted landscape standards for parking ramps.
• Expandability, the ramp can have two additional floors added if the need arises.

The ramp is a vital part in the success of the museum and why the SCI and the City of Des Moines made such a strong commitment to the project.

Nelson Development worked diligently to meet the need for open spaces for SCI visitors, volunteers and staff, as well as special events. In addition, it supports the patrons of the Downtown Farmers Market, future housing projects, I-Cubs Games, and the Arts Festival.

The ramp is designed to grow to five levels or approximately 500 spaces to meet the growing needs of the Science Center of Iowa’s growth and development.

The City of Des Moines asked Nelson to design a parking structure that looked more like an urban building than parking structure. The result is a design that creates the appearance of a continuous downtown office building with the functionality of a full-service parking garage. The benefits of this parking spaces are realized by multiple projects within a few blocks of its footprint.

Of the total parking spaces available, a portion are reserved for residential tenants of neighboring condominium projects, including 418 Liberty, others are rented to commercial office users, and many are used by the Hyatt Place hotel’s valet parking service.

The City of Des Moines recognized the need to improve its parking and the appearance of this area by including Tax Increment Financing in the development agreement to provide the developer with the assistance needed to assemble the land and building the project. The construction time was less than eight months from ground breaking to certificate of occupancy.