Urbandale, Iowa
Your own front door.
62 apartments on Hickman Road, rebuilt from the studs up in 2025. Studios from $699, with water, trash and recycling included. Every home opens straight to the outside.
- Rent from
- $699
- Apartments
- 62
- Pets
- Welcome
- Parking
- Free, on site
The Building
A roadside motor lodge, taken down to the studs.
This building spent sixty years as a motel on Hickman Road. In 2024 we stripped it back to the frame and rebuilt everything behind the walls: plumbing, electrical, insulation, windows, heating and cooling, roof, and every finish you touch.
What we kept was the part worth keeping. A long two-story building where every apartment has its own exterior door, its own thermostat, and windows on more than one wall. It is a floor plan the newest buildings in the metro cannot offer at this price.
Redeveloped in partnership with the City of Urbandale, and recognized by the Iowa Finance Authority with a 2026 HousingIowa Multifamily Development Award.
Gallery
Have a look around.
Floor Plans
Three layouts, all furnished here with a real queen bed.
Every plan below is drawn to the same scale, with furniture at true size, so you can see exactly what fits before you drive over. Full kitchen, full bathroom, and a living area that is not carved up by hallways.
Studio · 29 apartments
The Compact
231 sq ft · 12 × 19′3″
Fits a queen bed, a lounge chair and a small table.
From $699
Studio · 31 apartments
The Standard
279 sq ft · 12 × 23′3″
Same width as the Compact, four feet deeper. Room for a dining table too.
From $725
One Bedroom · Only 2
The Corner
471 sq ft · 24 × 19′7″
A bedroom with a door, a full sofa, and a kitchen with a dishwasher. Both are fully ADA accessible.
From $899
All three drawn to the same scale. Both studios are the same 12 foot width; the Standard is four feet deeper. Furniture shown at true size: the bed in each plan is a queen.
Or call (515) 334-3345 to book a showing. Showings are not booked online.
In your apartment
- Private exterior entry, no shared hallway
- New stainless steel refrigerator, range and microwave
- Luxury vinyl plank flooring throughout
- Tiled shower surround
- Heating and cooling you control yourself
- Large windows in every room
On the property
- Pets welcome, with a fenced dog park on site
- On-site laundry
- Free off-street parking at your door
- Step-free entry to every ground floor apartment
- Three fully ADA accessible apartments, including both one bedrooms
- Pay rent and submit maintenance requests online
What is included
Water, trash and recycling are covered in your rent. You pay electricity. Fiber internet is wired to the building and available for $50 a month if you want it.
Included in rent
- Water
- Trash
- Recycling
You pay
- Electricity
Optional
- Fiber internet, $50 a month
Pets
- Dogs, $50 a month
- Cats, $35 a month
- $250 non-refundable fee, per pet
- No breed or weight restrictions
Assistance animals are not pets. Service animals and support animals are never charged pet rent or a pet fee.
What it costs to move in
Every dollar it takes to get keys, listed before you apply. No surprises at the counter.
- Application fee$25
- Security depositOne month's rent
- First month's rentfrom $699
- Administrative feeNone
- Total to get keysfrom $1,423
That total is for a $699 studio. It is higher on the larger floor plans, because the deposit matches your rent. Pet fees apply only if you have a pet, and assistance animals are never charged. If the deposit is the thing standing in your way, read the next section.
Will you qualify?
We publish what we look for, so you know where you stand before you spend anything on an application.
- Monthly income before taxesAbout $1,750 a month for a $699 studio2.5× the rent
- Credit score625 or above
- Rental history2 years
- Housing vouchersWelcome here
Not sure whether you clear these? Call and ask before you apply. We would rather tell you honestly than take your $25.
Short on the deposit, or under 625?
Neither one is automatically a no. There are two more routes to approval here, and we will walk you through both.
Instead of a deposit
Deposit coverage
Rather than putting down a full month's rent, you can pay a much smaller fee to a deposit coverage program and keep the difference in your pocket at move-in.
The fee is set from your own situation, so there is no sticker price to quote. Ask and we will get you the exact number before you commit to anything.
If credit or income falls short
Lease guaranty
A guaranty service can stand behind your lease, which often lets us approve an application that would not clear our criteria on its own. It works a lot like a co-signer, without needing to ask anyone you know.
Priced on your own circumstances rather than a flat rate. Ask before you apply and we will have it quoted for you.
We also accept Housing Choice vouchers. If you hold one, bring it and we will work through the paperwork with you.
Available now
What is open today.
Openings, rent and move-in dates are kept current in our leasing system. If you see one you like, you can apply right there.
To schedule a showing
Showings are not booked online. Call or email and we will find a time that works, usually same week. A showing takes about fifteen minutes.
Affordability
You may qualify to pay less.
Eighteen of the 62 apartments are set aside for households earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income, the figure the Iowa Finance Authority publishes each year. We built it that way with the City of Urbandale, and the commitment runs through 2035.
If your household is under that line, one of those apartments may be available to you. Ask and we will check it for you, at no cost and with no obligation.
Income is verified when you move in and once a year after that. The other 44 apartments have no income limit at all.
Neighborhood
On the Hickman Road corridor.
Hickman is one of the metro's main east-west streets, which means restaurants, errands and a convenience store a tenth of a mile away are on the same road you live on. Interstate 35/80 is a short drive north, and downtown Des Moines is a straight shot east.
You do not have to leave the property to walk the dog, either. There is a fenced dog park on site, with a mural we are pretty proud of.
- Convenience storeRight up the road0.1 mi
- DART bus stopPublic transit0.9 mi
- Merle Hay RoadRetail, dining and services1.4 mi
- Interstate 35/80Highway access north and west2.9 mi
- Downtown Des MoinesEast on Hickman Road6.6 mi
Leasing
Come see one in person.
Browse what is open right now and apply online, or call and we will set up a showing. Applications are reviewed in one to two business days.