Malls · Iowa
Kaleidoscope at the Hub
Kaleidoscope Mall opened 1985, demolished 2023, slated for housing tower by 2027 amid Des Moines growth in downtown area today · summary, model-written
Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this recordhttps://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ia/des-moines-kaleidoscope-at-the-hub/
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 profile13 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)
This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this200+ tax-credit housing units within 1 km
This site: 1,119 units in 13 properties hud-lihtc · all sites with this3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 3 within 10 km computed · all sites with thisBike network nearby
This site: 169 ways openstreetmap · all sites with thisGrocery within 800 m
This site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with thisHigh heat wave risk
This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh inland flooding risk
This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh natural hazard risk (FEMA NRI)
This site: Relatively High; tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, hail, strong wind, winter weather, ice storm fema-nri · all sites with thisHigh tornado risk
This site: Very High fema-nri · all sites with thisNational Register place within 500 m
This site: Des Moines Saddlery Company Building; Warfield, Pratt and Howell Company Warehouse nps-nrhp · all sites with thisRenter-majority tract
This site: 88% census-acs · all sites with thisStrategy
Redeveloped
This site: The west part of the former Kaleidoscope from 7th Street to 6th Street remains, but it is now referred to as the Hub, not Kaleidoscope Mall. extraction · all sites with thisNew use
Housing
This site: …as announced that Blackbird Investments planned to build an apartment tower at 515 Walnut Street. extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Demolishedextracted, unreviewed |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Redevelopedextracted, unreviewed documentedIn May 2018, it was announced that Blackbird Investments planned to build an apartment tower at 515 Walnut Street. |
| New uses | housingextracted, unreviewed reported |
| What is there now | The west part of the former Kaleidoscope from 7th Street to 6th Street remains, but it is now referred to as the Hub, not Kaleidoscope Mall.extracted, unreviewed documentedThe west part of the former Kaleidoscope from 7th Street to 6th Street remains, but it is now referred to as the Hub, not Kaleidoscope Mall. |
| Retrofit year | 2019extracted, unreviewed reported |
| Redeveloper | Blackbird Investmentsextracted, unreviewed reported |
Planning
| Planning notes | In May 2018, it was announced that Blackbird Investments planned to build an apartment tower at 515 Walnut Street.extracted, unreviewed reported |
|---|
Site context
| Transit within 800 m | no rail station; 22 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap |
|---|---|
| Motorway junctions within 2 km | 7, 7B, 8A, 8BOpenStreetMap |
| FEMA flood zone | no NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL |
| EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m | 76: 615 THIRD ST, LLC; 7TH & GRAND RAMP DEVELOPER, LLC; ACTION PRINTERS INC; AUREON COMMUNICATIONS; AUTO-JET MUFFLER CORPEPA FRS |
| Census tract 19153005101 | 6,450 people, 3,794 per sq mi; median household income $56,838; median gross rent $1,151; 88% renters; 16.2% vacant units; 2.7% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year |
| Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m) | 6 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 1 schools, 1618 parks or playgrounds, 3 health, 7 civic, 67 food and drink; 169 cycleway segments, 1294 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap |
| Opportunity Zone | noHUD |
| National Register places within 500 m | 15: Des Moines Saddlery Company Building; Warfield, Pratt and Howell Company Warehouse; Hawkeye Insurance Company Building; Iowa-Des Moines National Bank BuildingNPS |
| 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 |
| Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract) | overall percentile 0.35; socioeconomic 0.46; housing and transport 0.87; 23% below 150% of poverty; 24% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR |
| Other atlas sites nearby | 3 within 10 km, 4 within 25 km: Standard Glass and Paint Company Building (0.5 km); National Biscuit Company Building (0.5 km); Southridge Mall (7.3 km)computed |
| Overture Maps | no place match; building footprint 6,852 m², 42.0 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0) |
| Attention: Wikipedia page views | 16,307 since 2015; 1,355 in the last 12 months (-11% vs the prior 12); peak 2023-07 with 416Wikimedia |
| Tract change 2013–2023 | tract boundary changed between the 2010 and 2020 census; no 2013 comparisonCensus ACS |
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract) | relatively high overall (score 92.6); expected annual loss $4.1M; high: tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, hail, strong wind, winter weather, ice storm; community resilience very highFEMA NRI |
| Tax-credit housing within 1 km | 13 LIHTC properties, 1,119 units: Elsie Mason Manor (150 units); Ymca Supportive Housing (140 units); Ligutti Tower (139 units)HUD LIHTC |
| 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 | 808 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); 22 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Kaleidoscope at the Hub opened as an indoor mall in 1985, developed by Hubbell Realty with ownership from Equitable of Iowa, Midamerican Energy, and Hubbell. In 2018 Blackbird Investments announced plans for an apartment tower at 515 Walnut Street, and by 2019 the eastern half of the mall was vacated and removed. The site was boarded up in 2023, fully demolished that year, with the new tower expected to be completed in 2027.
Why. not stated in the record
Where it stands. The mall is demolished (status: demolished, 2023); historical owners listed are Equitable of Iowa, Midamerican Energy, and Hubbell, but current control is not specified in the record.
For a planner
- Redevelopment strategy identified with new use housing
- Planning notes show an announced apartment tower (2018) and expected completion (2027)
- Open questions include post-demolition ownership, integration with existing skywalk, and timeline for final build-out
For a developer
- Site size not provided in the record
- Control historically split among Equitable of Iowa, Midamerican Energy, and Hubbell; current owner unclear
- Entitlement stage: announcement made 2018, projected completion 2027
- Market signals: opportunity score 10.0, reasons include retrofit already built, closed/demolished site, 4.9% county growth 2018‑23, and housing noted in the record
What we do not know yet
- Exact parcel size and dimensions are missing
- Current legal owner after demolition is not stated
- Specific causes of mall decline (anchor loss, competition, debt) are not provided
- Environmental or flood‑risk constraints are absent from the record
- Details on demolition completion date and any remediation work are unknown
- Financial terms of the planned tower (cost, financing, subsidies) are not included
Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT 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
- Lakeforest Mall, Gaithersburg, MD · Malls · opened 1978; same strategy: redevelop
- Burlington Center, Burlington Township, NJ · Malls · opened 1982; same strategy: redevelop
- Century III Mall, West Mifflin, PA · Malls · opened 1979; same strategy: redevelop
- Crossroads Mall, Largo, FL · Malls · opened 1984; same strategy: redevelop
Elsewhere on the web
Pages with photos
- Kaleidoscope at The Hub (Opened 1985) - Des Moi… reddit.com
- Kaleidoscope at The Hub - Des Moines, IA | Dblackw… flickr.com
- Photos: Kaleidoscope at the Hub through the years desmoinesregister.com
- Kaleidoscope at the Hub mall, gl… alamy.com
- Kaleidoscope at the Hub demolition begins to make way for new Des ... yahoo.com
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- closed or demolished site (sourced)
- 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.
History and original facts
| Opened | 1985extracted, unreviewed |
|---|---|
| Original developer | Hubbell Realtyextracted, unreviewed documentedKaleidoscope at the Hub was an indoor mall in downtown Des Moines, Iowa built by Hubbell Realty in 1985. |
| Anchors | Musicland |
| County | Polk County |
| Census division | 4 · West North Central |
| Notes | Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.
Background
Kaleidoscope at the Hub was an indoor mall in downtown Des Moines, Iowa built by Hubbell Realty in 1985. The original ownership groups included Equitable of Iowa, Midamerican Energy and Hubbell. The east "block" of the mall had a vibrant Food Court with approximately 7 restaurants at any given time. The first tenant to open in the mall was Panda Chinese Food in the Food Court. Other stores that were leased in the building include Vogue Vision, Skeffington's formalwear, Laura Ashley, Musicland, Ritz Camera, Michael J's, Seifert's, Johnston & Murphy, Walker's Shoe Store, Peck & Peck, Alphabet Soup toys and many more. The Kaleidoscope was accessible from the skywalk or from the ground level. It was in close proximity to many Des Moines attractions including the East Village and Casey's Center.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 1985 Opened as indoor mall
- 2018 Announcement of apartment tower
- 2019 Eastern half vacated and removed
- 2023 Mall boarded up for demolition
- 2023 Building gutted and demolished
- 2027 Expected completion of 515 Walnut Tower
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kaleidoscope at the Hub · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year opened
11 quoted sentences
Kaleidoscope at the Hub was an indoor mall in downtown Des Moines, Iowa built by Hubbell Realty in 1985.
Kaleidoscope at the Hub was an indoor mall in downtown Des Moines, Iowa built by Hubbell Realty in 1985.
The west part of the former Kaleidoscope from 7th Street to 6th Street remains, but it is now referred to as the Hub, not Kaleidoscope Mall.
The building was gutted in April, was fully demolished soon thereafter.
More in Iowa
Midlands MallCouncil Bluffs, IA · 1994Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: officeOld Capital MallCedar Rapids, IA · 2009Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: education and office4th Street LoftsDavenport, IA · 2007Reinhabited · 56 unit complex of loft apartmentsColumbia at Mechanicsville StationMechanicsville, IARedeveloped · Replaced the 41 acres (17 ha) 588-unit McDaniel-Glenn HomesCrossroads MallWaterloo, IARedeveloped · mixed use retail/housing developmentDavenport LoftsDavenport, IA · 2005Reinhabited · 73 units of loft apartments