418 E Grand is a 132-unit apartment development in the heart of Des Moines’ East Village, featuring 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space designed to activate one of the city’s most vibrant urban corridors. Developed by Nelson and designed by BNIM, the project brings contemporary market-rate housing to one of Des Moines’ most sought-after neighborhoods.
Canary Lofts
Canary Lofts is a 135-unit apartment community with ground-level retail in Des Moines’ Drake neighborhood, situated directly across from Drake University’s campus. The ground-up development brings contemporary urban housing to one of Des Moines’ most established and walkable neighborhoods.
Miesblock
Miesblock is a three-story mixed-use building in the core of downtown Des Moines, featuring ground-level restaurant space with full-height windows that engage the street and upper floors wrapped in a perforated metal veil that references the Bauhaus design language of the adjacent historic Mies van der Rohe Catholic Pastoral Center. The project balances contemporary commercial design with a thoughtful architectural response to its historic surroundings.
Westfield Veterinary Hospital
Westfield Veterinary Hospital is a 3,364 square foot veterinary facility in Johnston, Iowa, featuring dedicated surgical suites, kennels, examination rooms, and administrative areas designed with separate HVAC systems for humans and animals to support a clean, disease-minimizing environment. The building was completed from the ground up in five and a half months with a design that sensitively transitions between the surrounding commercial and residential uses.
Valley Court I
Valley Court I is a 9,800 square foot retail center in Clive, Iowa, delivered in five months through an expedited design-build process led by Nelson in partnership with OPN Architects and Strategic Design. The project required creative site engineering—including an underground storm water detention basin—to maximize parking on a compact, sloping, high-visibility site.
Norwalk Family Dentistry
Norwalk Family Dentistry is a 9,800 square foot multi-tenant medical facility in Norwalk, Iowa, featuring a 6,800 square foot nine-chair dental clinic with state-of-the-art mechanical systems and extensive underground rough-in for dental equipment. The design incorporates custom millwork—including a floating wood ceiling and reception desk—along with radius walls and decorative reveals that set the space apart from typical clinical environments.
Nobbies
Nobbies is a multi-tenant retail development in Clive, Iowa, created through the conversion of a former grocery facility into a big-box retail center with three new storefront entrances featuring cultured stone columns and arched steel canopies. The fast-track project was completed in nine months, with the shell renovation and tenant improvements delivered on an accelerated schedule.
Des Moines Building
The Des Moines Building is a historic 12-story downtown landmark, originally designed by Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas and erected in 1931, reimagined by Nelson into 136 market-rate apartments with ground-level office, retail, and restaurant space. The $25 million adaptive reuse project preserves the building’s original Art Deco lobby detailing and iconic 360-degree rooftop patio, with direct access to the downtown skywalk system and a private pocket park created in partnership with the City of Des Moines.
Fleming Building
The Fleming Building is a mixed-use landmark in downtown Des Moines, designed by Daniel Burnham in the Chicago School style and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, restored by Nelson and Slingshot Architecture into 96 market-rate apartments with ground-level commercial space. The project preserves the building’s historic architectural character while delivering modern mechanical systems and interiors to meet current residential and commercial demand.
ReMax
ReMax is a 28,316 square foot mixed-use office development in Windsor Heights, Iowa, designed to fulfill the city’s town center vision along University Avenue with below-grade parking, multi-story office space, and a retail-facing ground floor. The project navigated significant grade changes and a high-profile site while creating a building that complements the scale of the surrounding residential neighborhood.