New Des Moines U.S. Courthouse

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

On April 18, 2016, GSA announced a new U.S. courthouse for the Southern District of Iowa had been identified as a top priority by the federal Judiciary, and discretionary funding included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 would be used to construct a new facility in Des Moines, Iowa.

Congress officially authorized construction of a new courthouse on Nov. 22, 2016.

Current status

The project currently is in the design phase. The design team began developing preliminary concepts in August 2018 for the selected site in accordance with GSA Design Excellence guidelines. The CMc is engaged in design phase services, providing cost and constructability input in to the preliminary concepts.

Latest updates

GSA closed on the purchase agreement to acquire the site in October 2018.

Next milestone

Final design concept selection is expected in late May, and selection of artist(s) for Art in Architecture program is scheduled for summer of 2019.

Project details

Total authorized funding: $136,602,000 for site acquisition, design, construction, and related expenses
Project delivery method: Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc)
Lead design architect: Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Anticipated milestones:

• May 2019: Preliminary design concept selected
• Summer 2019: Selection of artist(s) for Art in Architecture program
• February 2020: Final design
• Fall 2019 (tentative): Construction start
• Fall 2022 (tentative): Construction completion

Awarded contracts:

• Jacobs Technology (Construction Manager as Agent, CMa) | May 2017
• Neumann Monson Architects ​(Design Architect of Record) | July 2017
• Ryan Companies US, Inc. ​(Construction Manager as Constructor, CMc) | June 2018

Final Environmental Assessment [PDF - 11 MB] | August 2018

News releases

• GSA executes contract to purchase property for new Des Moines federal courthouse
• GSA awards design phase services contract for new federal courthouse
• GSA publishes Final Environmental Assessment for new federal courthouse
• GSA announces next steps toward identifying site for new federal courthouse
• GSA announces preferred site, public comment period for new Des Moines courthouse
• Courthouse Environmental Assessment nears completion
• GSA announces list of sites for new Des Moines federal courthouse
• GSA announces Congressional authorization of Des Moines courthouse
• GSA seeks Expressions of Interest
• New Federal courthouse coming to Des Moines
• GSA announces $947 million courthouse investment plan
• FY 2016 funding meets Judiciary needs

The shortcut to this page is: gsa.gov/desmoinescourthouse