Gray’s Landing neighborhood grows with luxury living and active senior living in downtown Des Moines

The Meridian and Slate deliver over 300 new apartment homes

{DES MOINES, IOWA, June 24, 2025}—The Gray’s Landing neighborhood opens two new multifamily properties delivering over 300 apartment homes to Des Moines, in support of continued growth of the city’s downtown. A grand opening event announced the opening of both The Meridian and Slate with the City of Des Moines, Sherman Associates, development partners, community leaders, and residents.

“The Meridian and Slate are key components of our long-term vision for Gray’s Landing,” said Chris Sherman, President of Sherman Associates. “We’ve invested in infrastructure, housing, hospitality, and commercial space to create a walkable, mixed-use district that supports downtown Des Moines’ growth. These projects are part of our multi-phase development plan that will continue to add density, activate underutilized land, and attract both residents and businesses to the area.”

The Meridian delivers 174 luxury apartment homes with a variety of floor plans with premium interior finishes, ranging from studio to three-bedroom units. Amenities include outdoor pool, sauna and game room, fitness studio and group fitness, makers space and coworking lounge, dog run and dog wash station, wellness space with meditation pod and massage chairs, and rooftop bar and terrace. Ten percent of the homes are designated as workforce housing at 80% AMI. The Meridian opened in December and is 26% leased.

The Meridian luxury apartments in Des Moines by Sherman Associates

Slate delivers 132 age-restricted market-rate homes in Des Moines for active seniors who are 55+ with one-bedroom, one-bedroom + den, and two-bedroom layouts as well as underground parking. Amenities include indoor pool and sauna, fitness studio and group fitness, community lounge with grandkids corner, game room and multi-sport simulator, outdoor deck, and pet wash and outdoor dog run. Ten percent of the homes are designated as workforce housing at 80% AMI. Slate opened in late 2023 and is 78% leased.

“The successful openings of The Meridian and Slate reflect the expertise of Sherman Associates’ development and operations teams, and the impact derived from our public-private partnerships,” said Allison Shaw, Regional Director of Operations at Sherman Associates. “These communities demonstrate our commitment to delivering high-quality, well-managed housing that meets the needs of the downtown Des Moines community.”

Slate 55+ community in Des Moines, Iowa developed by Sherman Associates

Slate 55+ community in Des Moines, Iowa developed by Sherman Associates and photographed by Jim Kruger | LandMark Photography.

The developments were made possible through a combination of funding sources including tax increment financing/tax abatement from the City of Des Moines. Slate was a $35 million development project, and The Meridian was $45 million.

Estes Construction was the general contractor and Simonson & Associates Architects was the architect for The Meridian. Ball Team Construction was the general contractor and Kaas Wilson Architects was the architect for Slate.

The Meridian and Slate bring Sherman’s multifamily development and operations portfolio in Des Moines to nearly 900 units. Sherman developed and owns and operates The Edge at Gray’s Landing, the Gray’s Landing Office building, and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Des Moines Downtown in the Gray’s Landing neighborhood; Rumely Lofts, The Randolph, Metro Lofts, and Vine Street Lofts in the Court Avenue District; and Fort Des Moines in South Side. Sherman Associates’ regional office and Starbucks Gray’s Landing Des Moines, also owned and operated by Sherman, are located within the Gray’s Landing Office building.

For more information about The Meridian or to schedule a tour, visit https://meridiandsm.com/. For more information at Slate or to schedule a tour, visit https://slatedsm.com/.

Backgrounder:

Sherman Associates Sherman Associates is a growing commercial real estate development and management firm based in Minneapolis with properties throughout the Midwest, Colorado, and Florida. Sherman develops, owns, and operates its assets with a long-term vision to build neighborhoods, enrich communities, and empower people.

Sherman Associates has developed over 13,000 multifamily units and currently owns and manages over 7,500 multifamily rental units (affordable and market-rate). Sherman also owns and manages over 720,000 square feet of commercial space, five hotels, four Starbucks, three restaurants, and two solar gardens. Stay connected with Sherman on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook.