Waukee Towne Center won't hold its grand opening until late spring 2027, but you can already get your oil changed there, pick up a burger and do a Target run. As of October 8, you can also shop Marshalls.
The 62-acre development at Hickman Road and SE Alice's Road is opening its practical, quick-trip businesses first. The furniture showrooms, the first-to-Iowa restaurants, the lake and the amphitheater are on the 2027 side of the calendar. If you live nearby, the center is already useful this fall. It just hasn't become a place you'd plan a Saturday around yet.
Two Years With One Store in the Middle
Target is the center's anchor and opened in October 2024. It has a Starbucks inside. For about two years it was the only store in the main center. The Des Moines Register reported in late September that the center will eventually have eight retail stores and was "about to have two up and running."
Meanwhile, the outparcels along the edge of the property kept filling in. This is what you can use today, based on the most recent reports and the businesses' own listings:
| Business | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Target, with Starbucks inside | Main center | Open since October 2024 |
| Marshalls | 980 SE Laurel St., Suite 100 | Opened Oct. 8, 2026, open 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily |
| Olive Garden | 420 SE Alice's Road | Open; planned opening date was March 30, 2026 |
| Freddy's Steakburgers | 440 SE Alice's Road | Open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily |
| Hyper Energy Bar | Outparcel | Open as of Aug. 31, 2026 |
| LOF Xpress Oil Change | Outparcel | Open as of Aug. 31, 2026 |
| Dutch Bros Coffee, Crisp & Green, Jersey Mike's | Outparcels | Expected "soon" as of Aug. 31, 2026, according to WHO 13; no confirmed dates |
Everything on that list is a weekday errand or an easy meal: an oil change, a burger, a Target stop, a sit-down dinner at Olive Garden.
Marshalls Is the First New Store in the Center's Core
Marshalls matters more than its size suggests because it's the first store since Target to open in the main retail area rather than on an outparcel. The off-price store covers about 23,600 to 23,700 square feet, depending on whether you go by the developer or the Register. It held a grand opening with longer hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., on Oct. 8. Marshalls' own store page now says "Now Open!" The center's online directory may still list it as "opening October 8."
Marshalls also fits the pattern. It's practical shopping, the kind of trip you'd combine with a Target run. The stores announced for 2027 are a different kind of trip.
What 2027 Adds Is a Different Kind of Trip
In late August, developer Pierson Companies of Burlington announced its first wave of tenants. Together they total more than 100,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space. Business Record reported that several of them are new to Iowa, and quoted Mike Pierson saying "these first retailers are just the beginning."
The lineup centers on home goods. Four home furnishings stores account for 45,200 square feet:
- Arhaus, 15,000 square feet, new to Iowa
- Pottery Barn, 12,500 square feet
- West Elm, 12,000 square feet
- Williams Sonoma, 5,700 square feet
Next comes L.L.Bean, also new to Iowa, at 15,800 square feet. Stores this size are where you go to compare sofas and spend an afternoon, and they make up the 2027 side of the center's plan.
The restaurants are planned for evenings. Parker Hospitality is bringing two concepts. The Hampton Social is a 7,500-square-foot coastal-themed restaurant designed to run "from brunch through late evening." The End Bar is a separate 2,000-square-foot spot for cocktails and watching major sporting events. A 7,000-square-foot 30hop is planned for a lakeside spot overlooking the water and the amphitheater. Game Show Battle Rooms, a 2,400-square-foot live game-show venue, and Noir Nail Bar, a 3,300-square-foot salon, are also new to Iowa.
None of these has an opening date of its own. The developer says only that the center is working toward a late spring 2027 grand opening.
The Lake Comes Last, and Its Size Isn't Settled in Print
The outdoor features depend most on the full project being finished, and the published descriptions don't fully match. The Register describes the $132 million center with an 8-acre lake, Raccoon River Valley Trail access, a playground, an amphitheater and an ice-skating rink. The developer's own site says six acres. It also lists walking and biking paths tied to the regional trail system, seasonal ice skating, fire pits and interactive water features. No schedule has been published for any of these features apart from the overall 2027 target.
The trail link connects to a trail that is already in better shape this fall. The Raccoon River Valley Trail's lighted bridge over the Raccoon River in Adel, about seven miles from the Waukee trailhead, reopened Aug. 21 after being closed for more than a year. The stretch from Ortonville to Adel was resurfaced as well, according to the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association. Once the center's paths are finished, a bike ride could end at the lakefront patio. Until then, the trail and the center are two separate outings.
Getting There While the Rest Gets Built
Construction is ongoing across the 355,000-square-foot site. There's also roadwork farther up Alice's Road in Clive. The City of Clive's Alice's Road project page, last updated Oct. 9, 2026, says paving, trail, earthwork and landscaping work remain. It says the joint Phase 1B section between Boston Parkway and Douglas Parkway is expected to continue through the rest of the 2026 construction season. Conditions there change from week to week, so the Clive project page is the place to check before a trip from the north.
The rest of Grand Prairie Parkway keeps adding quick-stop options too. Axios Des Moines reported that Pancheros opened its second Waukee location on Sept. 8 at 2980 Grand Prairie Pkwy., Suite 100. It's open 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
We track openings like these across the western suburbs because they change how a part of town works day to day, and buyers ask us about them. If a new center down the road has you thinking about your own home's value, or about moving closer to it, Marc & Jill Lee can walk you through how it fits into the Waukee market. Get Moving With Marc & Jill Lee.
