Construction on various preliminary parts of the project areunderway, and 152 single-family homes have already been built, saysa DRA spokeswoman. The site, at the intersection of highways 35 and80, has come a long way since it was a World War II ordinanceplant, and then a experimental dairy farm owned by Iowa StateUniversity. DRA partnered with the city in July 2005 to createPrairie Trail, buying the land for $23.6 million, and agreeing topay another $25 million for infrastructure for the largeproject.

The project, especially the Town Center area, is being developedas a walkable community, a new urbanism development, with variousforms of residential, first-floor retail/residential and publicbuildings all nearby and connected by parks and bicycle paths inthe center of the site. "There will be a lot of walk-up, storefrontretail, with national, regional and local retailers mixed togetheraround a town square," says Dick Ward, SVP of acquisitions andinvestments for Capital Growth.

The Plaza will be at the southern entrance to the site, and willbe anchored by a Hy-Vee grocery store, Ward tells GlobeSt.com."There will also be some freestanding stores, as well as a stripcenter to compliment the grocery store."