Prefabrication, full 3D model sharing among all trades and bathroom pods built in a factory in Ohio are things that don’t happen on every project in Iowa. The Hawkeye State is one of only seven where design-build remains a limited option. Still, thanks to innovative delivery and some lessons learned from a similar project, Iowa is now ground zero for one of the most integrated hotel projects in the U.S., the $101-million, 330-room Hilton Des Moines Convention Center.
Officials in the state capital were tired of losing out on national and regional convention business to the likes of Omaha, Kansas City and St. Louis. With the Wells Fargo Arena completed in 2005, Des Moines had a downtown convention center event space and room for other events at nearby Veterans Memorial Auditorium, which was renovated in 2011. All that the city of 215,000 lacked was a convention center hotel to house the crowds that would fly into town.