The Ankeny Brief
If you're new to Ankeny, Prairie Trail is the part of town people mean when they say they're headed to "The District" for dinner, a movie, or a summer night on the town square. Here's the plain-English guide: what it is, what's there, when to go, and the story of how it got built on an old Iowa State dairy farm.
Prairie Trail is a roughly 1,031-acre planned neighborhood on Ankeny's east side. The District is its walkable core: about 60 acres of restaurants, bars, shops, a movie theater with bowling, and a town square that hosts events all summer. It was Iowa's first New Urbanism community, built on the former Iowa State University Dairy Research Farm.
The District is where a lot of Ankeny goes out. It leans local and regional rather than pure chain strip, with patios that fill up on warm evenings. A few of the anchors:
Tenants come and go, so it's worth a quick check of current hours before you drive over. For the wider town, see our guides to the best restaurants in Ankeny and the best breweries and bars.
The entertainment anchor of the town square is a B&B Theatres complex that pairs a multi-screen movie theater (reserved recliner seating) with an attached bowling center, arcade, and food and drinks under one roof. Add the boutiques, like Purple Poppy, and the open green spaces, and you can make an easy afternoon or evening of it without moving your car. For the full menu of options around town, see things to do in Ankeny or let our Things to Do finder pick for you.
The town square was designed to be used, and it is. The biggest date on the calendar is Ankeny SummerFest, the community's mid-July festival, held at The District with live music, a carnival, and fireworks. Through the warmer months you'll also find smaller live-music nights and gatherings on the square. Check our Ankeny events calendar for what's coming up, and the weekly Ankeny Brief for the short list of what's new this week.
The Ankeny Brief is a free weekly email: new places opening, what's happening at The District, home sales, and the local news you can actually use. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
For most of the 20th century, this land was the Iowa State University Dairy Research Farm, a working farm surrounded by a growing town. In 2002 the Iowa Legislature agreed the farm was hemming Ankeny in and approved selling it. The City of Ankeny bought the roughly 1,000 acres in 2005 for about $20 million, then sold it for the same price to DRA Properties L.C., the development company founded by Ankeny native and Albaugh Inc. founder Dennis Albaugh, as master developer.
Streets and utilities went in starting in 2006, and the plan followed New Urbanism ideas, the first such development in Iowa: a mix of housing types, walkable blocks, homes close to shops, and a real town square instead of a strip-mall parking lot. Today Prairie Trail holds more than 750 single-family houses, 200 townhomes, and 700-plus apartments alongside its 200 acres of parks. For more on the family behind it, see our who's who on Albaugh, and for the whole town's story, the history of Ankeny.
A roughly 1,031-acre planned community on Ankeny's east side, built on the former Iowa State Dairy Research Farm. It was Iowa's first New Urbanism development and mixes homes, apartments, parks, and a walkable town center called The District. More than 4,000 people live there.
The roughly 60-acre commercial and entertainment core of Prairie Trail, built around a town square, with restaurants, bars, shops, a movie theater and bowling, and outdoor event spaces.
Local and regional spots including 30 Hop, Tribute Eatery & Bar, Whiskey River, and Cinnaholic, plus boutiques and event spaces. Tenants change, so check current hours before you go.
DRA Properties L.C., the Ankeny company founded by Dennis Albaugh, is the master developer. The City of Ankeny bought the land in 2005 and sold it to DRA, which began construction in 2006.
Most of Prairie Trail falls in the 50023 ZIP code, on Ankeny's east and north side. See our Ankeny fast facts for the full ZIP breakdown.