East Village apartment building tells residents it's seeking to evict bar after shootings

East Village high-rise the Lyon Apartments will attempt to evict bar and events space Pura Social Club after a shooting took place on the premises last weekend, according to a memo sent to the building's residents.

"We are scheduling a call with our attorney to strategize the eviction of the restaurant involved in this incident," said the Monday email signed by the Lyon Apartments Property Management team. "Our goal is to ensure that any entity on our premises does not compromise the safety and peace of our community."

The Sunday shooting, which left two hospitalized, occurred in Pura's parking lot, Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said. The property managers said in their memo it involved guests at the venue, though Pura's owner, Uriah Mixdorf, told the Des Moines Register the shooting actually happened across the street after security staff had cleared out the lot following their 1 a.m. closure.

Until police roped off the intersection of East Fifth and Lyon streets, Mixdorf said, he hadn't been aware that an altercation took place.

"It's unfortunate. It's tragic, but it's completely unfair," he said. "If anybody knows me, my family and my team, they know that we want to do nothing but provide a safe environment. We're not there to encourage bad behavior."

Building owner previously looked to free up space

The building's owner, Denver-based private investment group VareCo, did not respond to requests for comment. However, the group hasn't been coy about its hopes to covert the building's remaining commercial space into apartments.

The 660 E. Fifth St. complex was a sparsely populated senior housing complex called Heather Manor before its 2015 conversion into a mixed-use building with 103 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. At 11 stories, according to Polk County assessor records, it's the second-tallest building in the East Village — only shorter than the Iowa Capitol.

An inpatient clinic attached to the tower vacated when its lease expired a year after the conversion, allowing that portion to become 23 market-rate apartment units and 2,300 square feet of commercial space on the ground level.

Some of that commercial space has been empty since VareCo purchased the building in October 2022, Daniel Doyle, a representative of the group, told the Register in January. The managers since have worked to amend a development agreement with the city to allow a portion of the building's first floor to be converted into seven apartments.

The units could be available in April.

"I don't want to comment on anything currently going on," Doyle said in January when asked about the future of Pura Social Club. "Whenever there's an opportunity for affordable housing, we want to play our part in it."

In the memo, the group told tenants, "We are committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure The Lyon is a secure and welcoming environment for everyone."

Mixdorf said he hadn't been aware of the memo.

"Nobody said anything to us," he said.

Pura owner takes issue with comparison to troubled Ingersoll Avenue bar

Pura opened two years ago in May in a space with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a Des Moines skyline view. Faced with a decline in business, Mixdorf converted the cocktail bar and lounge into an event space in November. They've hosted shows, private dinners, parties and rehearsals as well as rented out their kitchen.

Since then, Mixdorf said, Pura's only had one other incident where police had to be contacted, after a group refused to leave at closing time.

Staff pat down or check over guests with a hand held metal detector before entry, he added. It also has unarmed security guards inside and outside the venue as needed.

After the shooting Sunday, he said, he and his wife received messages on social media and voicemails making them out to be "deviants."

"They're comparing us to Zora," Mixdorf said, speaking of the notorious, now-closed bar on Ingersoll Avenue, which the city sued as a "public nuisance."

"Wait a minute," he said. "Zora had 75 police calls in a single year. We had no calls. It's very upsetting."

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 and ALathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: East Village apartment building tells residents it's seeking to evict bar after shootings