Miami-based Team to Bring Artistic Vision to Historic 6th Avenue Building

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 20:32

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Peters: 515-314-4243, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

M. Jessica Rowe: 515-556-7787, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Miami-based Team to Bring Artistic Vision to Historic 6th Avenue Building

DES MOINES, IA – The historic Wherry Building, located at the corner of 6th and College Avenues, will soon feature a decorated façade designed by the celebrated, Miami-based architect/artist team of Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt.

The Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation (GDMPAF) and the 6th Avenue Corridor, Inc. are teaming together to bring the new public art project to 6th Avenue.

Since 2010, the organizations have partnered to facilitate a process that keeps an artistic vision and respect for culture and diversity at it core. In 2011, the GDMPAF funded local artist Chaden Halfhill’s early integration into the planning development for this 1.2 mile transportation corridor. In 2012, GDMPAF allocated $250,000 to a major art project for the 6th Avenue Bridge; the City of Des Moines provided funds to restore and rehabilitate the structure. City officials and community leaders were part of the local, nine-member jury who reviewed the national Call for Artists.

“Our partnership with the 6th Avenue Corridor champions the community’s desire for aesthetic developments along this street,” said Jessica Rowe, director of the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation. “I am most excited that this public art project nurtures the city’s wider strategies for economic, social, and cultural development.”

Roberto Behar & Rosario Marquardt, who collaborate under the name R&R Studios, are known for their large-scale permanent public art installations. Their work has been described as colorful, meaningful and whimsical.

Read more: Miami-based Team to Bring Artistic Vision to Historic 6th Avenue Building

Des Moines Register: Sixth Avenue could be 'green' model for Des Moines

Friday, 07 December 2012 00:00

The future look of the Sixth Avenue corridor could serve as a model for environmentally sound streetscape planning throughout Des Moines, city leaders believe.

Officials said Thursday that Mayor Frank Cownie would hold a news conference Monday morning with an administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to talk about a project linking the EPA with the city’s streetscape plans for the corridor.

For the Greening America’s Capitals project, the EPA plans to provide design assistance to create a sustainable streetscape along a one-mile segment of Sixth Avenue.

“The Sixth Avenue corridor serves as the northern gateway to the city’s downtown, and is an official Main Street Iowa Urban Neighborhood District, and has direct access to the Des Moines River,” city spokeswoman Amelia Morris said in a release. “The city plans to use the Sixth Avenue project to guide designs for other planned streetscape improvements throughout the community.”

Read more: Des Moines Register: Sixth Avenue could be 'green' model for Des Moines

Des Moines Register: Des Moines moves forward on Sixth Avenue improvement plans

Wednesday, 07 November 2012 18:04

6th Avenue Corridor Inc. has worked for three years to develop the streetscape ideas

Streetscape plans for the 1.2-mile stretch of Sixth Avenue from University Avenue north to the Des Moines River bridge have been approved by the City Council and are being studied by neighborhood leaders who received a project update last week.

At a meeting of the 6th Avenue Corridor Inc. on Oct. 24, nearly two dozen residents and business owners heard more about the project.

Proposed improvements call for narrowing the existing five-lane roadway to three lanes with one on-street parking lane. Also, “sharrows,” or shared-use vehicular and bike lanes, would be used.

The plan calls for design and construction of the improvements to be divided into several phases, as money becomes available. The city requires that project costs be shared and 6th Avenue Corridor leaders have said they plan a fundraising campaign to get under way soon.

“This is an exciting project that will tie together our strengthening businesses along Sixth Avenue with the historic home renovations occurring throughout the River Bend neighborhood,” said Aaron Todd, 6th Avenue Corridor board president.

Read more: Des Moines Register: Des Moines moves forward on Sixth Avenue improvement plans

Des Moines Register: Remodeled apartments, lofts planned along Sixth Avenue

Wednesday, 07 November 2012 18:00

Changes coming soon to the area known as the Sixth Avenue corridor likely will include a completely remodeled historic apartment building at Sixth Avenue and Hickman Road, and a series of new live/work lofts to be built farther south on Sixth, near Forest Avenue.

Hatch Development Group is pursuing those projects as a way of investing in the area, which is undergoing a commercial and residential revitalization.

Jack Hatch, owner, and Carol Bower, development director of Hatch Development Group, spoke to more than 20 people attending a business community meeting of the 6th Avenue Corridor Inc. on Wednesday night.

Hatch said the apartment renovation of the old Bailey Court building on the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Hickman Road will be a $5 million project. Plans are for the building’s apartments to be upgraded and renovated. The group will submit an application for historic tax credits and low-income housing tax credits.

Read more: Des Moines Register: Remodeled apartments, lofts planned along Sixth Avenue