Changes to downtown streets, high-end suburban movie theaters, new hotels and interstate makeovers will transform the Des Moines metro in 2018.

The building boom that has defined Des Moines since the recession will continue with several projects expected to break ground or open in the new year.

Here's a breakdown of the projects that will take shape in the coming year.

Federal courthouse decision

The General Services Administration is expected to announce in January where it will build its new federal courthouse in Des Moines.

The federal government was forced to amend its search after the Des Moines City Council reached an agreement with Hubbell Realty Co. that essentially prevented the courthouse from being built at the fed's original choice: the former Riverfront YMCA site, 101 Locust St.

Des Moines will be obligated to buy the YMCA site from Hubbell for $5.2 million if Hubbell chooses not to develop the land by May 31. (Also look forward to that announcement this year; Hubbell has proposed a hotel, a condo development and possibly restaurant or retail space on the 2-acre parcel.)

Potential sites for the courthouse include city-owned land in the Market District, just north of East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway on the east bank of the Des Moines River; a site just south of East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway; or expanding the existing federal courthouse at 110 E. Court Ave.

The GSA has said it will consider other options.

More downtown bridge closures

Drivers were relieved when the Grand Avenue bridge partially re-opened to traffic in November. It was closed for re-construction for more than a year.

Crews will wrap up work on the bridge's bike lanes and public parking in 2018. But soon after both the Locust Street and Court Avenue bridges will close.

The Court Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River closes in April for a $7 million historical rehabilitation. Built in 1918, it's the oldest downtown bridge. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The historic architecture will remain as crews update the limestone and facade and complete structural repairs. It will be closed until next winter.

The Locust Street bridge closes in August or September for a total reconstruction. Similar to the Grand Avenue project, the Locust Street bridge will be demolished and re-built with two lanes of traffic, bicycle sharrows and public parking. The $8 million project will take more than a year to complete.

More:10 things to watch for in downtown Des Moines in 2018

Long-awaited convention center hotel

After more than two years of planning and construction, the 330-room Hilton Des Moines Downtown is scheduled to open March 21 just south of the Iowa Events Center.

The $101 million project is expected to improve Des Moines' chances of landing national and regional conventions. Its eight stories include 26 suites, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, 14,000 square feet of meeting space, connection to the downtown skywalk, an indoor pool and fitness center, and the Park Street Kitchen & Bar with an outdoor patio and fireplace.

The hotel's management team moved in Dec. 20 and will begin taking reservations in January.

Also opening in 2018 is the remodeled Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel. The 96-year-old hotel is getting a larger restaurant, new lobby and bar, and a breakfast and lunch eatery. Every floor of the hotel was remodeled.

New interstate interchanges

A full-diamond interchange at Northwest 100th Street and Interstate 35/80 in Urbandale in expected to open by the end of the year.

Ramps were graded in 2017 and will be paved and opened to traffic in 2018. Urbandale re-constructed the 100th street bridge and expanded 100th Street from Plum Drive to Northwest 54th Avenue to prepare for the interchange.

With it, Urbandale has re-branded the six miles of Interstate Highway 35/80 between Merle Hay Road and Hickman Road as the Urban Loop. The Rider Corner moniker has been dropped.

In Ankeny, construction will begin on a diverging diamond interchange at First Street and Interstate 35 and the interstate will be widened from four to six lanes between Oralabor Road and Northeast 36th Street. There will be lane closures on I-35 throughout the project, which will be completed in late 2020.

Tons of indoor entertainment

New indoor entertainment options will open in the metro, including Smash Park, an indoor pickleball and game center, and B&B Theatres, a combination bowling alley and movie theater.

Smash Park, 6625 Coachlight Drive in West Des Moines, mixes food, drink and play, with eight pickleball courts, stand-up shuffleboard, pingpong tables, bocce ball, Foosball, bags, Jenga and life-size Connect Four. Owners Monty and Kerri Lockyear broke ground in early December and anticipate opening in the summer.

B&B Theatres will feature a 12-screen theater, 12-lane bowling alley and take-out restaurant in Ankeny's Prairie Trail development. The theater will have reserved recliner seating. It is expected to open in 2018.

Also breaking ground next year is a new luxury movie theater and IMAX, called The Palms, on Hickman Road in Waukee. Construction is expected to begin in early 2018.

Waukee has approved a rezoning request from Fridley Theatres for the project. It will consider an economic development incentive package next year. If built as proposed, the IMAX will be the largest screen in the country.

New life for Fort Des Moines

The first wave of residents should move into Fort Des Moines in the spring. The south-side project will convert four century-old Army barracks and two horse stables into 142 low-income apartments.

All of the apartments will be income-restricted, available to those who make less than 60 percent of the local median income, about $35,000 a year for an individual.

The Fort Des Moines barracks sit just north of Blank Park Zoo, near Southwest Ninth Street and Army Post Road.

A national landmark, the fort was built in 1917 and was home to the nation’s first African-American officer training school and the first Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps training center, where more than 72,000 women completed training during World War II.

Data center progress

Construction is expected on the new $1.375 billion Apple Inc. data center in Waukee. It isn't slated to open until 2020, but you should see some dirt turning in 2018.

In West Des Moines, Microsoft is expected to complete the final stages on its Mountain and Alluvion data centers.

State-of-the-art office buildings

Kum & Go's corporate headquarters in the Western Gateway is slated to open in 2018.

Called the Krause Gateway Center, its striking design by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano has the potential to become a downtown landmark. The design complements the adjacent sculpture park and portions of the project will be open to the public.

It is the first major office development downtown since Wellmark built its headquarters in 2009.

R&R Realty's Paradigm Office Building is expected to be finished in the summer. There will be two, two-story office buildings connected by a rooftop patio. The $9 million project is on 6 acres near the southwest corner of 121st Street and Meredith Road in Urbandale's Urban Loop.

R&R Realty also is expected to open its Westfield Complex along Jordan Creek Parkway just south of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines. The $27 million office building will be four stories and reminiscent of a downtown building with a large central atrium, underground parking, rooftop patio and an area for food trucks.

Progress on the city's dueling towers

Expect to see progress on The Fifth and The Blackbird, downtown Des Moines' first high-rise towers to be built in decades.

Mandelbaum Properties has begun tearing down the aging parking garage on Fifth Avenue between Walnut Street and Court Avenue. Des Moines has given Mandelbaum an April 30 deadline to start construction on the 690-stall garage that will replace it.

The 39-story tower has an estimated price tag of $170 million and should be completed in 2022.

Groundwork is expected to begin in 2018 on The Blackbird, a 33-story residential tower being built by Blackbird Investments. It will replace a vacant lot at Walnut and Seventh streets once occupied by the downtown Younkers department store.

The project has an estimated price tag of $104 million.

Downtown parking changes

Beginning in January, downtown Des Moines parking meters will begin charging on nights and Saturdays.

At the same time, the city will lower parking rates in its seven parking garages.

Des Moines officials have vowed to work with private lot owners to open up more free parking on nights and weekends.

The first wave of changes starts in January in the Court Avenue District. The East Village will follow in the spring. Remaining downtown meter times will change by the end of 2018.

A cool view of downtown

See all of Des Moines' changes from a new lookout at MacRae Park on the south side. The lookout is expected to open in 2018.

MacRae Park, established in 1897, is located on a bluff overlooking the Raccoon River and offers some of the best views of downtown Des Moines. Located at 1021 Davis Ave., the city plans a $4 million structural lookout point and a new play feature.