Valley Junction building demolished for new restaurant, retail store

Construction has started on a building in Valley Junction that will be home to a sports- bar restaurant and retail store. 

Developer Tim Rypma, who also is involved in other developments in the historic West Des Moines neighborhood, plans a 4,900-square-foot, one-story building at 111 Fifth St. on the southern edge of the mixed-use business district.

Restaurant Bix & Co. has signed a lease for the southern parcel, which includes a large patio facing Railroad Park. The remaining space, between Bix & Co. and the adjacent building housing Big Acai Bowl, is available for lease, preferably to a retail tenant, Rypma said.

To make way for the new building, the team demolished a 1960s concrete masonry structure that housed a CPR Cell Phone Repair store, which moved a block north to 216 Fifth St. 

The proposal gained approval from the Valley Junction Historic Master Plan Steering Committee, which has created a set of design guidelines to preserve the nature and character of the district, the historic downtown of West Des Moines. The guidelines include a pause on demolition until September so the committee can identify historic buildings targeted for preservation.