Originally designed by Chicago architect Henry Raeder and constructed by Frederick Louis Maytag in 1926, Hotel Maytag was both innovative and luxurious for its time. The building served as Newton, Iowa’s main event hub until the mid-1960s, when its main ballroom closed, and its interior spaces were reorganized to create apartments, offices and commercial spaces. Over the next several decades the structure would undergo multiple ownership changes until 2017 when rehabilitation and renovation efforts began in earnest. Thanks to a partnership between the City of Newton, Hatch Development Group, RDG Planning & Design, Earth Services and Abatement and Estes Construction, the Hotel Maytag building has now been transformed, bringing new life and energy to the Newton town square and community. RDG’s design revitalizes the structure’s original historic features, from classical plaster detailing, moldings, wood wainscoting and terrazzo floors in the ballroom, to a restored dining room, lobby entrance and movie theater. The project brings to life 45 new workforce and market-rate apartments, with 39 of those apartments reserved for low- to moderate-income tenants, a rehabilitated Capitol Theater, a rehabilitated Midtown Cafe and several new retail shops. The theater, now known as the Capitol II Theater, has emerged as an essential cultural landmark and incorporates technology-rich, modern upgrades and expanded concession offerings set against its uniquely historic aesthetic, positioning the theater as a competitive economic asset. Likewise, the restored ballroom, now known as the Maytag Event Complex, has reemerged as a thriving event center and, thanks to a partnership with Des Moines Area Community College, serves as a full-service banquet facility that can accommodate a single large event of up to 250 people or several small groups simultaneously.
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