Star Lofts

Star Lofts will be Iowa's first Zero Carbon Certified building (as certified by the International Living Future Institute). The site was previously occupied by a distressed gas station, and will be transformed into this 3-story mixed-use building located along the thriving "Avenues Corridor" of Des Moines. Featuring exposed glulam columns and beams as well as exposed CLT decking, the building exudes a natural aesthetic while achieving a 70% reduction in embodied carbon. High efficiency MEP systems have been selected to ensure a ~28% reduction in operational energy, the remainder of which will be offset by new, additional on- and off-site solar arrays. The building features a first-of-a-kind flooring assembly that achieves 55 STC/50 IIC while leaving the top layer as exposed concrete. The building features ~6,500 SF leasable commercial space on the first floor and 20 apartment units of affordable housing (between 30-80% AMI) on floors 2 and 3. Tenants will be offered supportive services and free yearly all-access transit passes to the Des Moines Area Regional Transit system. There will be greenspaces and public art reatured onsite. The building is scheduled for completion at yearend 2024.

This video provides insights from the design of two mass timber multi-family projects in Des Moines, Iowa, focusing on their approach to fire-resistance and acoustics of the mass timber floor systems. One of the projects in this video is this project, the other is Junction Lofts.