The opening of downtown Des Moines' first commercial building made from eco-friendly timber.

The addition of several high-end boutique hotels.

And the first homeowners moving into the city's newest urban neighborhood, Gray's Station.

These are a few of the 10 things to keep an eye on next year in downtown Des Moines.

The Des Moines Downtown Chamber of Commerce released its list of things to watch for in 2019 during a program Thursday at the Science Center of Iowa.

Here's what we have to look forward to:

1. Design from around the world

Several projects set to open next year will bring "rich international design elements" to Des Moines, said Tim Leach, the Greater Des Moines Partnership's senior vice president of downtown development.

An East Village office and retail building at 111 E. Grand Ave. is the first in Iowa to use an eco-friendly building material called mass timber that's popular in Europe and Canada. The four-story building, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows, will feature exposed timber beams. The ground floor will feature a second St. Kilda restaurant location. It's expected to open in February.

Across the river, a three-story office building known as Miesblock, 665 Grand Ave., will mimic the neighboring Catholic Pastoral Center with its sharp lines and "dark character," said Ryan Moffatt, economic development project manager for Des Moines. The first floor will have clear glass, while the upper levels will have a perforated metal screen that could be a "dramatic feature," especially if back-lit, he said.

The name and design gives a nod to renowned German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who designed the Catholic Pastoral Center, a hidden gem for local architects and history buffs.

A separate six- to eight-story apartment tower is planned for the Miesblock. It will be built along Seventh and High streets, starting in 2019 or 2020.

More:Diocese of Des Moines unwraps $10 million makeover of historic gem

2. Details on the federal courthouse

Des Moines expects to see design concepts for the new $137 million federal courthouse early in 2019. The federal General Services Administration recently purchased the former Riverfront YMCA property, 101 Locust St., where it plans to build a 230,000-square-foot courthouse.

City officials want the government to include public meeting spaces, pedestrian access to the Principal Riverwalk and a retail component, such as a restaurant or coffee shop. GSA has not publicly released any design details, but the city has been assured it will "not be a fortress" that closes off the riverfront, Moffatt said.

Construction is scheduled to start in fall 2019. The courthouse would open in 2022.

More:Would a federal courthouse do justice to Des Moines' riverfront? Hubbell Realty says no.

3. Skate park (finally) opening

Skateboarders should be grinding rails at the long-awaited Lauridsen Skatepark by next summer. With 65,000 square feet of skate-able surface, the Des Moines skate park will be the largest in the Midwest. It will span 5 acres of riverfront property in downtown Des Moines, northwest of Wells Fargo Arena. Supporters broke ground on the project in October — 14 years after it was first conceived.

Its opening represents the early steps of a bigger plan to turn the Des Moines River into a recreational amenity with white water rafting, kayaking and surfing.

More:Skateboarders will be able to skate on Des Moines' newest sculpture

4. First notes at Water Works Park

By next summer, the new amphitheater being built at Des Moines Water Works Park will have already hosted its first concert.

A $7.8 million overhaul of the park will transform 90 acres into an amphitheater and playground with room for food trucks and art vendors.

More:Coming to Des Moines Water Works Park: amphitheater, playgrounds, food trucks

Construction is also expected to begin next year on a tunnel below Fleur Drive, connecting Water Works Park and Gray's Lake Park. The underpass will be located just north of George Flagg Parkway and give cyclists and pedestrians a safer way to move between the parks.

Gray's Lake will gain another link to downtown next year when Hubbell Realty Co. builds a pedestrian bridge over the Raccoon River. The bridge will connect to the trail network along Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

5. Movement on the southern edge

Des Moines' newest neighborhood will start to take shape when construction starts on Gray's Station's first apartment building and townhomes. Ninety owner-occupied townhomes should be ready mid-year. The apartment complex, The Linc, is scheduled to open in early 2020.

Gray's Station is a 75-acre urban neighborhood on the southern edge of downtown Des Moines, south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, between Southwest 16th and Southwest 11th streets. It's considered a "signature project" for Des Moines, Moffatt said.

More:Take a video tour through Hubbell Realty's new downtown neighborhood Gray's Station

Just to the east between Southwest Ninth and 11th streets is another large development called Gray's Landing, which is gearing up for a second phase. Preliminary plans for the $154 million project call for a hotel, two senior apartments, two market-rate apartments and a commercial building.

The development is already home to a Holiday Inn Express, The Nexus at Gray's Landing and The Edge at Gray's Landing apartments, and a New Horizons Academy child care center.

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

6. The second tower

Construction on the Blackbird Tower, 515 Walnut St., is expected to start late next year, Moffatt said. Blackbird Investments purchased the eastern half of the Kaleidoscope at the Hub from EMC in May, moving its original plans for a tower from the former Younkers site.

The Des Moines-based company has yet to say whether the move to a new location will change its plans. The original design calls for a 33-story tower with 336 apartment units and a a cantilevered rooftop pool.

More:The Kaleidoscope food court will be demolished for Blackbird's 33-story high-rise tower. Meanwhile, EMC plans a $24 million expansion.

7. A third EMC building

EMC Insurance Cos. purchased the former Younkers site from Blackbird Investments. The company said it will expand its corporate headquarters, but has yet to release plans. Moffatt said the city is negotiating an economic development agreement with the company. He expects to see movement at the site some time in 2019.

8. A civil rights legacy

A landmark downtown building named for civil rights pioneer Edna M. Griffin is undergoing a historic rehab to make way for 35 apartments with street-level retail and office space. The 133-year-old Griffin Building, 319 Seventh St., will also gain some sort of tribute to Griffin, though those details haven't been released.

Sometimes called the Rosa Parks of Iowa, Griffin led sit-ins and protests at Katz Drug Store in 1948 after being denied service because she was black. Her lawsuit against the drugstore's owner led to the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that made it illegal to deny services based on race in the state.

9. More downtown hotels

Downtown Des Moines is in the midst of a hotel boom, and that will not slow down in 2019. This time, the trend is leaning toward "decidedly more upscale hotels to the likes we haven't seen yet," Moffatt said.

Significant progress is expected on converting the Midland Building, 206 Sixth Ave., into a 138-room boutique hotel operated by Aparium Hotel Group. It will have a restaurant on the first floor.

The renovation of the "marquee project" at Hotel Fort Des Moines is expected to be complete late in 2019, Moffatt said. The 101-year-old hotel at 1000 Walnut St. will reopen as part of the Hilton Curio Collection. It will have three to four street-level restaurants.

And construction is expected on the hotel portion of The Fifth, the 40-story multi-use development at Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street. The 21C Museum Hotel will have 131 luxury rooms, including a 2,500-square-foot presidential suite on the top floor, and feature modern art in the lobby and on the skywalk level.

More:Downtown Des Moines poised for hotel building boom

10. New housing types

Officials expect to see a slow down in new housing projects downtown over the next few years. Nearly 2,000 units opened in 2017. That should slow to about 500 per year. They also expect to see a shift to more senior housing units and owner-occupied condos.

In addition, Des Moines is considering requiring all new developments that receive city financial assistance to have at least 10 percent affordable units. One of the first projects with that is Rowat Lofts, which should open next year in the Market District.

More:Downtown Des Moines hit with glut of vacant apartments