Des Moines cancels $15.5M storage facility project
Why it matters: City leaders are optimistic about transforming the Market District into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood.
Eliminating the storage project paves the way for development that could better align with that long-term vision.
Catch up quick: The City Council in 2021 agreed to sell two acres of public land and awarded $1.2 million in incentives for a storage project at 503 SE 12th St.
The property is located on the edge of the District, a $750 million revitalization area and at least one resident questioned the council about whether incentivizing storage units was the best use of money and prime real estate.
Driving the news: On May 19, the City Council voted to terminate the development agreement for the project after Climate Control developers indicated they no longer intend to build it.
Cody Christensen, DSM's development services director, tells Axios that city officials were informed that rising construction costs, increased interest rates, and the death of a partner in the company influenced the decision.
"Though this is unfortunate, having additional land available for development in the area provides opportunities for other proposals," he said.
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It's the summer of the burn-it-down ballot measure in Los Angeles. For the past three months, labor unions and business groups have been locked in a protracted fight over a law, approved by the City Council in May, hiking the minimum wage for hotel employees and workers at Los Angeles International Airport to $30 per hour by 2028. Both sides, in an attempt to gain the upper hand, have proposed ballot measures that, if approved, would disrupt the city in enormous ways, leaving an impact that would go well beyond the hourly pay of housekeepers, valets and LAX skycaps. Unite Here Local 11, the politically powerful union that represents hotel and restaurant workers, is looking to put four ballot proposals before voters that, according to critics, would wreak havoc on the city's economy. 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Organizers with Unite Here Local 11, who had fought for at least two years to secure the higher wage, responded with their own package of ballot proposals, including a plan to require a citywide election on the development or expansion of large hotels, concert halls, museums, sports facilities, convention center space and — according to city leaders — some 2028 Olympic venues. Unite Here, which has a history of knocking on doors for its ballot measures and favored candidates, also submitted a voter petition to expand the $30 minimum wage to every worker in L.A. And it filed two measures targeting outsize executive pay. One would require companies with a pay disparity of more than 100 to 1 between CEOs and their median worker in L.A. to secure voter approval to use space at the harbor, airport, convention center and other city agencies. The other would hike the city business tax on such companies. After Unite Here filed its four petitions, business leaders raised the stakes even further, turning in a proposed measure to repeal the city's business tax. That effort, if approved by voters, would provide financial relief for businesses but also strip more than $800 million from the city budget, or about 10% of the general fund, which pays for police and fire protection. Bass warned that the measure would eviscerate funding for public safety and other services. David Green, president of Service Employees International Union Local 721, called the move 'irresponsible' and 'retaliatory' — and said it would hit a city already reeling from a $1 billion budget shortfall. 'If you're part of this community ... why would you go to the voters on something that's going to hurt anybody that lives in and around the city of Los Angeles?' he asked. Business leaders have defended their efforts, saying a repeal would spur economic activity and generate income for the city. Christopher Thornberg, whose L.A.-based research firm produces economic studies for industry groups and government agencies, voiced skepticism about the repeal effort, saying there are other, much bigger issues holding the city's economy back. Still, he wasn't surprised to see business leaders start playing hardball. At City Hall, he said, they have been effectively locked out of the conversation for years — and desperately need a way to gain 'some sort of leverage' with elected officials. 'Perhaps the [business tax] is that leverage, to get someone on the council to pay attention to them,' the economist said. 'Because they're not. They're just not at the table.' Thornberg, whose firm has issued critical assessments of minimum wage hikes, voiced concern about each of the Unite Here proposals. He warned that the plan to force hotels, sports arenas and other projects to go before voters would hurt the city's ability to carry out 'basic economic development.' He predicted that the proposed citywide minimum wage hike would drive businesses and their customers to other parts of Los Angeles County. On top of that, Thornberg said, the proposal targeting exorbitant CEO pay would likely shut down location shoots in L.A., since it would apply to companies seeking film permits on city property. 'Unite Here has built a reputation on the idea that they are the most ... crazy people in the room and will blow up everything to get their way,' he said. 'What they're doing is clearly living up to that reputation.' Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here, pushed back on claims that the union is being reckless. With workers struggling to pay for food and housing and demoralized over President Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown, the fight to preserve the $30 per hour tourism minimum wage has received a groundswell of public support at a bleak time, she said. 'People might say it's crazy or insane, but it's actually courageous and bold, and it should be inspiring to people more than anything,' she said, adding: 'The community ... is looking to feel hopeful, to win something, when everything just feels like it's going to hell.' Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who championed the $30 tourism minimum wage, disagreed with the assertion that the ballot measure battle is out of control. A former Unite Here organizer, he said he is inclined to support the citywide $30 minimum wage. Soto-Martínez also voiced interest in the union's push for higher city taxes on companies with exorbitant CEO pay. He had a dim view of the push to repeal the tourism minimum wage, calling it 'despicable.' Airline companies, working alongside the hospitality industry, poured millions of dollars into its signature drive, gathering more than 140,000 signatures within 30 days, he said. 'It's just another example — and the public should know this — of corporations feeling like they can do whatever they want because they have those resources,' he said. The prospects for the repeal are uncertain. Officials with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk are still working to determine whether the measure has enough valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. Organizers with Unite Here, as well as Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, which represents LAX employees, led a vigorous campaign to convince voters who regretted signing the petition, saying they had been misled by signature gatherers, to withdraw their names. Last week, county officials reported that they had analyzed a sample of 7,040 signatures, or 5% of the 140,774 submitted by the airline and hotel industry group. The officials found 4,373 valid signatures, shy of the roughly 4,600 needed to avoid a full hand count. Among the invalid signatures were 853 withdrawn by voters, making union leaders more confident about keeping the referendum from reaching the ballot. 'I wouldn't want to be in their shoes today. Their numbers are not in a comfortable range,' said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11. 'The odds are better that they are struck by lightning than get [their measure] ... on the ballot.' Even if the referendum fails to qualify, Unite Here Local 11 plans to press ahead with its four ballot initiatives. Petersen said his union's members have been invigorated by the fight to protect the $30 tourism minimum wage — and will soon begin gathering signatures for the other proposals. 'We know our issues are extremely popular. People really do believe workers need to make more money and CEOs need to pay more taxes,' he said. Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., said he believes voters will reject those measures, once they learn the effect will be to 'force companies to leave L.A.' The proposals from Unite Here's leaders are less about supporting workers and more about sending a message, Waldman said. 'They want to exact retribution and revenge on anyone who challenges them ... and they don't care how many jobs it costs to do it,' he said.
