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Italian American Cultural Center presents $20 million Butler Mansion renovation plan and seeks support from Polk County
Summary
Jeff Lamberti told Polk County supervisors the Italian American Cultural Center owns the Butler Mansion and is beginning a phased $20 million renovation, with demolition planned in May and construction in June and an expected opening in September 2026; the organization said it has raised over half the funds and will apply for state/federal funding.
Jeff Lamberti, chair of the board of governors for the Italian American Cultural Center of Iowa, appeared before the Polk County Board of Supervisors on April 8 to present the organization’s renovation plan for the historic Butler Mansion.
Lamberti said the center owns the Butler Mansion and is in active construction planning for restoration and adaptive reuse of roughly 45,000 square feet. He outlined a schedule that calls for light demolition in May, construction start in June and an anticipated opening in September 2026. He described the overall project as approximately $20,000,000 in scope and said the organization has raised “well over half the money.”
Lamberti said the project can be phased if needed; one candidate phase is a $5.5 million enclosed bocce pavilion to follow initial work. He said the organization plans to submit an application this week for federal funds that previously were committed but unspent, and that county support would aid fundraising and signal community backing.
The board thanked Lamberti for the presentation and for outlining the fundraising status, schedule and anticipated public uses for the facility, which Lamberti said will be open to the entire state for events, meetings, classes and community use.
