For the equine veterinarian, surgical group, or research operation that has spent years building a practice inside a facility that was never quite designed for the work — this is the property that was. A purpose-built 6,700 SF equine veterinary clinic, zoned Medical, extensively remodeled approximately 5 to 6 years ago and essentially untouched since. It is, for all practical purposes, a brand-new clinic waiting for its first patient.
Every detail of the build reflects an operation that understood equine medicine. The clinic at 3350 SE 82nd Street features a dedicated operating room, a recovery room, a pharmacy build-out ready for inventory, a full kitchen, two bathrooms, in-floor radiant heat throughout, dual boiler systems, and dual overhead crane lifts rated for heavy animal handling. Four-foot wide doorways move large animals through the facility without compromise. X-ray lighting is built directly into the walls. Clinic floors carry a microbial coating. An integrated fly system runs throughout the building, and an installed pressure washer is already plumbed in. Eight interior stalls sit inside the clinic itself — recovery, observation, or short-stay housing without ever loading a trailer.
Directly adjacent on a neighboring parcel sits a 60 x 120 covered arena (7,200 SF) that can function in full conjunction with the clinic — lameness work, gait evaluations, rehab, sale prep, or a covered staging area for ambulatory rounds. Practices that have ever tried to do this work in a gravel lot under a tarp will recognize what this is worth.
Surrounding the clinic is the kind of infrastructure that lets a veterinary operation also become a breeding, rehab, lay-up, sport-horse, or research facility without spending another dollar on bones. 168.3 acres. 41 total horse stalls (33 in the main 72 x 162 stable complex, plus the 8 inside the clinic). 14 fully fenced pastures, each with its own automatic waterer and dedicated loafing shed. 37,000 linear feet of wood fencing. A 4,300 SF electric exerciser and training arena. 28 total structures across 10 combined parcels. Des Moines city water serves the site. Asphalt roads connect the entire property. A spring creek runs nearly year-round through 10 to 12 acres of oak timber.
The location is engineered for an equine practice. Prairie Meadows Racetrack — 12 minutes. A built-in referral and ambulatory base of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse owners, trainers, and racing operations. Des Moines metro — 20 minutes, for staff recruitment, hospital coordination, and client base. Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine — 30 minutes north in Ames — one of the top vet programs in the country, and a direct talent pipeline for associates, technicians, externs, and research collaboration.
A historic 1918 farmhouse (1,128 SF, currently leased month-to-month at $6,500/month — $78,000/year in existing income) provides immediate cash flow while the practice ramps. A converted 836 SF caboose cabin with a 796 SF deck offers entertainment, client events, or on-site housing for a resident veterinarian or visiting practitioner.
The economics are uncommon. To replicate this facility today — the clinic build-out alone, before a single acre, stall, or fence post — would cost a fortune. The land, the stalls, the pastures, the arena, the timber, the road frontage, the existing lease income, and the proximity to Prairie Meadows and ISU Vet come effectively in addition to that.
This is not a property where a veterinarian compromises. It is a property where a veterinarian opens the doors on day one and goes to work.