Ames, Iowa

UNION AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

The site initially consisted of seven properties totaling 1.8 acres, all of which housed a combination of residential dwellings and commercial buildings, including a gas station.  The vision was to create a pedestrian-to-campus location and amenity offering directly across the street from top-tier Iowa State University given its steady growth.  Located on the prominent Lincoln Way at Sheldon corner and bordered by Hyland, the 6-story project was designed to enhance the vitality of the site.   Obstacles included environmental contamination, multiple lot consolidation and varying grades.  

An exceptionally well designed and aesthetically pleasing 320,000 square foot, 6-story mixed-use building consisting of 537 beds in a mix of studio, one-, two-, three-and four-bedroom floor plans, along with a small boutique hotel and 7,500 square feet of retail to the market.   In addition to increasing the vitality on site, key design features foster the goal of revitalizing an overwhelmingly auto oriented environment.  Generous and attractive outdoor spaces were provided adjacent to the lobby, retail and on outdoor decks. These in additional to wider sidewalks created more gracious pedestrian corridors than what exists today.   The amount of curb cuts has been minimized limiting interaction of vehicles and pedestrians.   The pedestrian-oriented fabric of Lincoln Way is

The Union on Lincoln Way is now the “cool” place to live and hang out in the heart of downtown Ames.  The residential component of the project provides competitive amenities comprising two outdoor resident amenity decks, an outdoor amenity deck (including a pool/hot tub), club room, fitness center, study rooms, leasing lounge, in-unit washers and dryers, WiFi, and resident- parking.  In addition, 20 boutique hotel rooms are provided to the public catering to professors, future students, parents and professionals visiting the campus.  The additional rooms provide ultimate convenience with immediate proximity to campus that no other hotel provides in the area.