DES MOINES, IA (July 11, 2023) – ICON Water Trails is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $425,000 Prairie Meadows Legacy Grant for its future Fleur Drive site. This Learn & Play access point is one of three signature whitewater features planned for ICON’s downtown run. With this investment from Prairie Meadows, more than $97.6 million in public and private funding has been secured for the transformational quality of life project.

Strategically positioned just outside of downtown Des Moines near Hubbell Realty Company’s Gray’s Landing development and the future home of Krause+’s Pro Iowa Soccer Stadium and Global Plaza, ICON Water Trail’s Fleur Drive site provides residents and visitors alike with direct access to the Raccoon River in a fun, engaging environment. An improved beach, fish passageway, and in-river whitewater features will provide the ideal backdrop for users of all ability levels to interact with the water and surrounding urban scenery. The site will be completed by the end of 2026.

“We are grateful to Prairie Meadows for its investment not only in the Fleur Drive site, but also in the vision of ICON Water Trails itself,” Hannah Inman, Interim Director of ICON, said. “We are confident that this project and its impact will undoubtedly add to the legacy of this tremendous community organization.”

In April of this year, ICON Water Trails and its partners broke ground at Principal Point, located at the Scott Avenue bridge. The design, which will mitigate the existing low head dam with two in-water drops, also includes an enhanced fish passageway, recreational waveshaper, and educational plaza. The project is set to be completed by the end of 2026, simultaneous to the work at ICON’s Fleur Drive site.

Upon activation of the downtown run, ICON Water Trails is projected to be the second most visited whitewater attraction in the country with more than $2 million in revenue by year three of operations. The regional initiative, which already has fifteen different regional sites open to the public, will connect more than 150 miles of waterways across a dozen central Iowa jurisdictions. For regular construction updates on ICON’s downtown sites, click here.

About ICON Water Trails

Iowa Confluence Water Trails — ICON, for short — will connect 80+ improvements across 150 miles of rivers and creeks in Central Iowa. Initiated by the Central Iowa Water Trails Consortium, including Capital Crossroads, Catch Des Moines, the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Des Moines Area MPO, Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Great Outdoors Foundation, ICON represents a new commitment to water safety and conservation as well as a concerted effort to drive economic development, visitor attraction and workforce retention. Learn more at ICONwatertrails.com. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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