DES MOINES, Iowa (CelebrityAccess) — Plans for a proposed music venue in Des Moines fell through after the city decided on Thursday that it would hold on to the East Village riverfront building for a little while longer at least.
As previously reported in CelebrityAccess, Live Nation had been considering converting the Argonne Armory building, located at 602 Robert D. Ray Drive, into a pair of music clubs, with a capacity of 2,000 and 800 people, respectively.
However, according to the Des Moines Register, the city, which currently uses the property for office space, put the kibosh on the plan after feasibility test concluded that relocating staff from the building would cost more than previously anticipated.
“It took us a little while to get there, but in the end, it’s an expensive proposition,” Des Moines economic development director Erin Olson-Douglas told the newspaper.
Live Nation’s plan for the armory building was one of three proposals received by the city to repurpose the property but faced opposition from local groups, including the owners of local music venues such as Vaudeville Mews, and Wooly’s.
“When it comes to what could be potentially a subsidized relationship, we think the city should look at the people that are [promoting music] here currently,” Amedeo Rossi, project manager of 80/35 Music Festival and owner of the Vaudeville Mews told the Register.
Other developers who’d expressed interest in the building included Blackbird Investments, who eyed the property for condos and Hubbell Realty Co., who pitched restoring the building and adding residential units, the Register reported.
