Hughes-Irons Flats

CLIENT: Pottawattamie County Development Corporation
LOCATION: Council Bluffs, IA
ARCHITECT: Alley Poyner Macchietto

Lund-Ross completed the historic renovation of the Hughes-Irons building in downtown Council Bluffs. The two-story brick structure was built in 1917 to house the Hughes-Irons Motor Company, an auto sales and service center. Today the building is part of the 100 West Broadway Historic District in downtown Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The building was in extreme disrepair when Lund-Ross started construction in January 2010. The second floor of the building had served as an auto repair garage for 54 years, and the building required extensive structural repairs.

Lund-Ross built 17 apartments on the second floor and the new 8,480-square-foot Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce offices on the ground floor. New mechanical, electrical, and sprinkler systems were installed, and the rough-in of 6,924 square feet of additional commercial space was completed on the first floor. (Lund-Ross returned to the Hughes-Irons Building in 2011 to remodel the additional commercial space into Dixie Quicks Public House and RNG Gallery). Original architectural elements like wood and ceramic floors, garage doors, leaded glass transom panels, and the historic building façade were cleaned and restored.

Lund-Ross completed work on the Hughes-Irons building under an aggressive nine-month construction schedule, and the Hughes-Irons building opened on time in November 2010. The project was honored with a regional Excellence in Construction Award in 2011 and earned national acclaim when it was honored as one of America’s best construction projects by Associated Builders and Contractors in 2012.