Invest DSM has purchased 10 residential properties in the Drake neighborhood and plans to make significant upgrades to the homes, an undertaking that fits with the nonprofit group’s goal to strengthen neighborhoods.
The group paid $1.26 million for the properties in the 1000 block of 22nd and 23rd streets between Drake Park Avenue and Day Street in Des Moines. Included in the acquisition was the historic Peak Mansion. The sale of an eleventh property is expected to close at the end of August.
New Life Center, a church located at 1031 23rd St., had owned the properties. It also owns the remaining properties on the block.
“It’s a rare opportunity that you have an entire block owned by one landowner,” said Amber Lynch, executive director of Invest DSM. The nonprofit group wanted to acquire the properties before other investors, particularly those from out of state, purchased them, she said.
“We don’t feel like that would be beneficial to anybody involved,” Lynch said. The acquisition “was really hard to pass up because of our mission of strengthening neighborhoods.”