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City engineering team recommends renovating existing bridge to connect Fifth & Walnut garage to skywalk system
Summary
City staff recommended a preferred design to reconnect the Fifth & Walnut parking garage to Des Moines's downtown skywalk system, favoring renovation of an existing bridge and a sidewalk-level route to limit private-property impacts. The council asked for more study on long-term connectivity to a yet-undeveloped parcel and funding implications.
City engineering staff presented feasibility work on reconnecting the Fifth & Walnut parking garage to Des Moines's downtown skywalk system and recommended renovating the existing 4C/5C bridge and routing a sidewalk-level connection to the garage to minimize impacts to nearby private parcels.
The topic matters because the skywalk system is regulated by city ordinance and the city previously removed accessible vertical access at this block when a prior garage was demolished; Council members and staff said an accessible connection per block is required by ordinance and the lack of connectivity affects how downtown parkers and potential office or residential tenants use the garage.
City Engineer Steve Naber (speaking for the design team) said the downtown skywalk segment that previously served the block was removed in 2017 when the old Fifth & Walnut garage was demolished, and the replacement garage — finished in 2021 — lacks the required accessible vertical access to the skywalk level. The feasibility study considered three approaches: 1) a new angled bridge directly from the Polk County Justice Center to the garage (lowest square footage/cost but columns would narrow sidewalks); 2) renovating and using the existing 4C/5C bridge and extending a sidewalk-level connection into the garage footprint (recommended by staff); and 3) a longer connection that would link through Capitol Square and the Kirkwood block (highest cost and least practical).
Naber said option 2 was his team's recommendation because it preserves opportunities for future private development on adjacent lots while keeping most new structure in the public right-of-way. The presentation included renderings and noted constructability issues, column placement, HVAC and lighting needs and tradeoffs between pedestrian experience and directness of connection.
Deputy City Manager Matt Anderson said the nearby residential tower planned across the street is guaranteed at least 100 paid parking spaces (rising to as many as the developer contract allows eventually), and staff suggested coordinating construction so a skywalk connection could be available at the same time the tower is completed. A project schedule presented by staff showed a procurement start in October, design in 2025 and construction timed to finish in mid-2027 to match the residential tower's timeline.
Council members raised two recurring concerns: pedestrian experience walking under a skywalk with columns versus a higher cantilevered bridge, and long-term connectivity to the undeveloped parcel south of the garage. One councilmember said the columns proposed for option 1 would make sidewalks "really tight" at some corners and preferred the recommended option 2 for its constructability and lower impact on private parcels. Another councilmember urged the team to ensure the design does not preclude future north-south access through the garage or a routed connection through a future development; Naber said the team would add a stair and consider future-proofing options in the garage layout.
On funding, staff said the likely source would be Tax Increment Financing (TIF) with debt issuance; the presentation listed a planning-level cost estimate in the range of $2.6 million for the recommended option but noted the project is not yet a line item in the capital-improvement plan. Staff said some TIF funds could be available to begin coordination and that the final funding plan would return to council for approval.
On legal obligations, council members and staff noted the skywalk ordinance designates a city skywalk system and requires at least one handicap-accessible vertical access per street block; staff said a three-year requirement applies once a block is disconnected and that council could alter the skywalk map if it chose to remove the parcel from the system. No formal vote was taken; council members asked for more time to digest the design options, additional cost details and an assessment of whether the connection should be timed with private development or deferred until a building plan provides internal skywalk access.
Ending: Staff will provide further cost and schedule detail and confirm whether the city's capital program includes funding; the design team will examine how to preserve future south-parcel access so the city does not have to rework the connection later.
