Industrial sites · Iowa
Standard Glass and Paint Company Building
Completed industrial-to-housing retrofit in downtown Des Moines with contextual market support; no occupancy or rent data available. · summary, model-written
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Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile3 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 3 within 10 km computed · all sites with thisReinhabited
This site: record · all sites with thisHousing
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit builtWikipedia no source |
|---|---|
| Strategy | ReinhabitedWikipedia no source |
| New uses | housingWikipedia no source |
Links out
Every link is built from an id this record holds (parcel number, filer CIK, Wikidata item, Census tract, coordinates) or from the name and city typed into a search. Nothing here is a guessed address. Search links are marked search in their source note; commercial listing links are marked for search engines not to follow. Hover a link for why it is here.
Official records (3)
government and regulatory records for this site, built from ids on the record
- Polk County (19153) profile (data.census.gov)from data.census.gov
- FEMA flood map (NFHL) at this point (search)from msc.fema.gov
- EPA ECHO facilities within 1 milefrom echo.epa.gov
Reference (5)
encyclopedic and research references
- Wikipedia articlefrom en.wikipedia.org
- Wikidata item Q7598243from wikidata.org
- Wikimedia Commons photos within 500 mfrom commons.wikimedia.org
- Retrofitting Suburbia (book site)from retrofittingsuburbia.com
- Des Moines, Iowa on Wikipediafrom en.wikipedia.org
Place (8)
map and street views by coordinates
- Google Mapsfrom google.com
- Street Viewfrom google.com
- Bing Mapsfrom bing.com
- Apple Mapsfrom maps.apple.com
- OpenStreetMapfrom openstreetmap.org
- Walk Score at this pointfrom walkscore.com
- Transitland mapfrom transit.land
- USGS National Mapfrom apps.nationalmap.gov
Market (1)
listings and owner pages; commercial, so search engines are told not to follow
- LoopNet: for sale in Des Moines, IA (search)from city search
News (2)
news searches and archived pages
- Google News: “Standard Glass and Paint Company Building” (search)from name search
- Bing News: “Standard Glass and Paint Company Building” (search)from name search
History and original facts
| County | Polk County |
|---|---|
| Census division | 4 · West North Central |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: The Standard Glass and Paint Company Building, an industrial facility built in 1913, was converted into loft apartments. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, what is there now, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.
Planning
| No zoning change, subsidy or policy tool recorded for this site. |
Before and after
Before: the mall
Nothing extracted yet.
After: the retrofit
| Contractor | J.E. Lovejoyquote |
|---|
Hover "quote" to see the sentence each value came from. Planned figures are labelled planned. Method.
Site context
| Housing permits, Polk County (IA), 2024 | 540 units in 5+ unit buildings, 114 in 2–4, 2,295 single-family; 2023: 858 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 3 within 10 km, 4 within 25 km: National Biscuit Company Building (0.1 km); Kaleidoscope at the Hub (0.5 km); Southridge Mall (7.2 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 30,016 jobs in 1,667 establishments; average annual pay $41,317; employment location quotient 0.96; employment -1.4% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 44,323 jobs; 419 in retail trade, 2,269 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 19153005101)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 37th income percentile as adults; 2.8% incarcerated at the 2010 count (347 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 0% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 17.9%; median family income $81,544; 635 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | Des Moines Independent Community School District (PK-12); 4 public schools within 1 mile: Downtown School; Edmunds Elementary School; Walnut Street School; Virtual CampusNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 813 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 686 county-logged events: 202 thunderstorm wind, 200 heavy rain, 162 hail, 40 flood; $94,129,700 property damage reported; 1 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 50309, 2026-09 | median list price $328,675 (+14.9% on the year); 73 active listings; median 114 days on market; 16% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 1,594 establishments (+4%); 33,537 jobs (+20%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $279,097 (+0% 1 yr, +19% 5 yr); typical rent $1,220/mo (+2% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 11,921 vehicles a day on WEST MLK JR PARKWAY, E (principal arterial, 6 lanes); 24 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
The Standard Glass and Paint Building (now 10th Street Lofts) is a completed industrial-to-housing conversion in downtown Des Moines. It was built in 1913 for a glass/paint business and is currently operating as housing. The site is within 0.1km of the National Biscuit Company Building (also converted to housing) and 7.2km from Southridge Mall. Polk County shows strong housing market growth (19.4% ZHVI increase over 5 years) and active residential construction (2,295 new units in 2024). The location has high traffic volume (11,921 ADT) on a 6-lane arterial road. No occupancy rates or specific housing metrics are provided in the record. The county's population growth (4.9% 2018-23) is noted as a factor but not independently verified in the context data.
Why. The record confirms the retrofit is complete (status: built), aligns with local housing market trends (ZHVI growth, active permits), and is positioned near other converted industrial sites. No data on current occupancy, rent levels, or specific housing demand metrics is provided.
Where it stands. The site is operational as housing with contextual support from market data and peer conversions. Unknown: current occupancy, rent rates, or detailed housing demand metrics.
For a planner
- Downtown location with high traffic access (6-lane arterial)
- Near other industrial conversions (National Biscuit Building 0.1km away)
- Polk County housing market shows sustained growth (19.4% 5-year ZHVI rise)
For a developer
- Completed retrofit avoids conversion risk
- Strong market context (2,295 units permitted in 2024)
- No data on current occupancy or rent levels available in record
What we do not know yet
- No occupancy or rent data provided
- County growth rate (4.9%) is listed in opp_reasons but not verified in context data
- No specific housing demand metrics beyond ZHVI growth
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- National Biscuit Company Building, Des Moines, IA · Industrial sites · same strategy: reinhabit; also in IA; 0 km away
- Midlands Mall, Council Bluffs, IA · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in IA
- Old Capital Mall, Cedar Rapids, IA · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in IA
- Davenport Lofts, Davenport, IA · Other · same strategy: reinhabit; also in IA
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- county grew 4.9% 2018–23
- housing in the record
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
Background
The Standard Glass and Paint Company Building, also known as 10th Street Lofts, is a historic building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Ashton and Ross Clemens, who were brothers, had the building built in 1913 to house their company, which was said to be the largest glass and paint business west of Chicago. Local contractor J.E. Lovejoy was responsible for its construction. It was one of several warehouse buildings on the southwest corner of the downtown area. Established by the Clemens brothers, Standard Glass and Paint Company was in existence from 1903 to 1979. It was Des Moines' leading wholesale and retail supplier of a variety of building and remodeling supplies.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Sources
- Standard Glass and Paint Company Building · CC BY-SA 4.0
1 quoted sentence
Standard Glass and Paint Company Building
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