Owners seek to revamp now-vacant iconic Court Avenue building into entertainment hub

The three-story downtown entertainment building on the corner of Court Avenue and Third Street is undergoing big changes that its owners hope revitalize not only that space, but the entire downtown entertainment district.

The building is now vacant. The owner of the last remaining tenant, Downtown Tap & Patio, announced Friday it would close immediately.

The historic brick building at 216 Court Ave. in Des Moines is the "epicenter" of downtown, according to Tony DeSalvo, a member of the building's ownership group, based out of Cedar Falls. His team is proposing a makeover that includes not only a name change — from "Court Center" to "The CC" — but also a reimagination of what the multistory entertainment space can be.

The 35,000-plus-square-foot building will be divided into three parts under the ownership group's new plan: a restaurant on the first floor, outfitted with outdoor patio seating, an "entertainment or amusement-type venue" such as a bowling alley on the second floor, and a "Nashville-style live music venue" on the third floor.

"It's a new name, new approach, new beginning," DeSalvo said.

The century-old building has been a staple of downtown and most recently housed popular bars and a music venue, but in the last year, it has come under scrutiny after a Des Moines Register report showed the building produced a disproportionate number of calls for service for assaults and weapons-related crimes compared to other addresses in the district.

Jeff Hassman, another member of the ownership group, attributed the safety problems and reputational struggles of the building to the previous tenants, which he said his group inherited when it took over ownership of the building nearly two years ago.

"The challenge this building had is it had the wrong mix of hospitality options," Hassman said, emphasizing that the previous six tenants in the building were mainly bars focused on alcohol sales.

DeSalvo and Hassman said their new vision seeks to transform the building's use by creating a diversity of entertainment options that patrons can enjoy throughout the day.

City Council member Josh Mandelbaum, whose ward includes Court Avenue, said the proposal is a welcome change for the downtown district. The city recently contracted with the Responsible Housing Institute to analyze the entire district, which the group concluded in a May 2023 report had "entered a state of decline" in part due to the problems facing Court Center.

Mandelbaum said he feels the group's vision is in line with the institute's recommendations, which in addition to added safety measures also included the hiring of a "night manager" and changes to business licensing.

"One of the things that RHI emphasized was the diversity that you want in your entertainment district," he said. "You don't want your entertainment district to just be a place where people go to get drunk cheaply and quickly. You want your entertainment district to offer a range of options. And I think that's what's happening here."

Owners say they've done what the city has asked on safety

Concerns over safety following a series of shootings, assaults and an incident where adult entertainers exposed themselves and performed sex acts at a nightclub in the building led the Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment to review the entire building's conditional use permit at a meeting last December. The board ultimately decided to prevent businesses in the building from selling alcohol after midnight instead of 2 a.m., dealing a financial blow to the tenants, which struggled to stay in competition with nearby bars.

Hassman said the board's decision led the ownership group to work with the city to implement changes and ultimately kickstarted the revitalization plans. The group decided not to renew leases with tenants already in the building except for one, Downtown Tap & Patio, which has a separate entrance on Third Street. Mandelbaum said as tenants have slowly left the building over the past few months, calls for service in the district have declined.

"We are absolutely committed to this being a safe and enjoyable environment," Hassman said.

Hassman said he feels his group has "done as (the board) asked" and "cleaned up the building," and he said the group plans to go back to the city's zoning board in August to ask for a reconsideration of the alcohol permit restrictions.

"Just think about the vested interest everyone has in making this successful," he said, noting it would be more difficult for the plans to succeed if the businesses were unable to serve alcohol past midnight.

Lawsuit filed by remaining tenant still pending

As the ownership group looks to start implementing its revitalization plan by the end of the year, a lawsuit filed by the last remaining tenant in the building is still pending.

Eric Hartung, the owner of Downtown Tap & Patio, filed a lawsuit June 9 arguing that the zoning board's decision in December had led to the loss of $42,000 a month and that his business would lose at least $500,000 if the city didn't lift the time limitation before the end of December.

He said in a statement Friday the business is closed, citing "the complete failure of the landlord’s management team at Court Center to properly oversee the safety and welfare of its tenants and their customers over the past several years."

“I held on as long as I could. Unfortunately, my landlord’s promise they would get the City to lift the midnight curfew back in March 2023 simply hasn’t happened,” Hartung said.

Before the announcement, DeSalvo said he and the other owners are "disappointed that the situation has occurred," and said his team has tried to work with Hartung and made "big concessions" to try to assist his business following the board's decision to end alcohol sales after midnight.

DeSalvo said that the ownership group's development plans had included keeping Hartung's business in the building.

"We wish we could work it out," he said.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' troubled downtown Court Center to become entertainment hub