WEST DES MOINES, Iowa —
After years of uncertainty, the future of Valley West Mall may soon be in the hands of a new owner.
A Dallas County judge approved the sale, clearing the way for the deal to enter its final stages, according to court documents. The buyer’s identity and purchase price remain sealed, and the sale has not yet closed.
West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble said he expects the transaction to close in a month.
“I believe that they’re going to be closing within the next 30 days on the mall,” Trimble said. “So we are actually going to have a buyer to work with."
After the property was foreclosed on, the mall became avialable to sale in early 2025. A deal was nearly closed with another buyer that July, but ultimately fell through in April after receiving multiple extensions while trying to resolve the lease for JC Penny.
A new purchase agreement and other sale details remain confidential under a court order.
The mall property includes more than 855,000 square feet of space on a single parcel. Court filings describe the property as severely distressed, citing storm damage, water and electrical problems, rising insurance costs and temporary closures.
Trimble said the city has been discussing its goals with the potential buyer, but no redevelopment plan has been announced.
He said the city wants a walkable destination where people can spend an entire day, with a mix of restaurants, retail, entertainment, housing and public amenities.
“We want something really unique, really outside of the box,” Trimble said.
The mayor also said the project must complement, rather than compete, with existing West Des Moines developments.
“We need to make sure that as we’re developing the Valley West Mall site, that we’re not poaching businesses from Jordan Creek Town Center,” Trimble said.
The city previously discussed offering as much as $110 million in incentives for a major redevelopment proposal. Trimble said that figure was tied to an earlier developer and would depend on the quality and economic impact of a future plan. It is not a guaranteed payment to the new buyer.
The city has already taken steps to make redevelopment possible. In 2024, West Des Moines rezoned the mall site under a planned-unit-development designation. The zoning allows for a combination of high-density residential, commercial, office and light-industrial uses, along with public spaces and pedestrian-oriented design.
The JCPenney lease could still interfere with the sale. The agreement leases the space for the department store until 2032 . Trimble said the city hopes the company will cooperate with redevelopment rather than wait until the end of the lease.
“We hope that they’re good corporate citizens and that they want to work with us going forward,” Trimble said. “And that means starting to do demolition and starting to redevelop that site immediately and not waiting until 2032.”
While Valley West’s future remains unsettled, Jordan Creek Town Center is also undergoing changes. Trimble said Yard House is expected to replace Joe’s Crab Shack, Matty’s Mediterranean is planned for the former On the Border location, Ugly Dumpling is replacing Bar Louie and Kura Sushi is planned for the former Panera space. Bravo Italian Kitchen also recently closed, with its replacement not yet identified.
Trimble said Jordan Creek attracts roughly 20 million visitors annually and remains critically important to the city; driving his goal for Valley West’s redevelopment to add something new to West Des Moines without weakening existing commercial areas.
For now, the next major steps are the closing of the sale, the release of a redevelopment concept and negotiations with JCPenney over the timing of changes at the mall.
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