Connor Delaney at Hansen’s Manhattan Deli
12/31/2025
Connor Delaney is the driving force behind White Oak Realty, the company that has salvaged and redeveloped much of Highland Park and Ingersoll. We asked him to lunch and met at Hansen’s Manhattan Deli. That lunch spot sits between two White Oak properties — Historic Ingersoll Theater and a 1925 strip mall that made new space for Bartender’s Handshake, Loyal Sons Barbershop and two boutiques.
Over “Mama Mias” (capicola, Italian beef, pepperoni, hot pepper cheese, provolone cheese, mild fried peppers and red roasted peppers with mayonnaise, oil and seasoning on hoagie buns) and “grinder” soup (the famous southside sandwich in a bowl), we talked about the art of historic preservation in the city we both love.
Manhattan Deli has been the most requested meeting site for CITYVIEW’s “Lunch with…” interviews. What are Delaney’s other favorite restaurants?
“Jesse’s Embers and Chicago Speakeasy are up there. They have been around long enough to have taken on the personalities of their neighborhoods.”
They also represent the beating hearts of two neighborhoods where Delaney has hung his hat professionally.
“White Oak Realty owns a half dozen properties and has facilitated 20 plus transactions in Highland Park. I’ve always loved this neighborhood. My father moved to Highland Park from Indiana in the 1970s, and mom taught art at Oak Park Elementary for 25 years. That’s where they first met.”
Delaney is the youngest guy involved in building and preserving Des Moines for the first half of the 21st century. Like Bruce Gerleman, Jim Cownie, Tim Rypma, Kirk Blunck, Harry Bookey, Jake Christensen and others before him, Delaney invests a lot of personal affection in his projects. Unlike many of them, he got into real estate-driven neighborhood transformation out of nowhere, without mentors or legacies.
“There wasn’t much of a plan. My parents were both teachers. I graduated from Roosevelt in 2003 and joined the Air Force shortly after. I attended some courses at DMACC but lacked direction. I had a few jobs in retail, got my real estate license in 2013 and opened my brokerage in 2017.
“My first investment property was a late 19th century home owned by the Kingman family. That was late 2015. A friend used a metal detector in the front yard and found skeleton keys, buffalo nickels, Indian head cents, and an 1860s seated liberty dime. I hired a few friends in the trades and did much of the work myself. We made the necessary repairs and sold it. I used that money to buy a home and some land that included a tributary that runs into Easter Lake. At the time, the city was spending millions dredging Easter Lake. I donated the tributary and some of the land to the INHF and sold some of it to city. They are improving the ground but leaving much of the setting natural. That raised the value of the home that remained.
“By then, I realized a basic pattern for success — buy a property, improve other properties in close proximity, apply for any incentives, and find the patience to wait for a thoughtful buyer or tenant. Patience is important, as their success will further the culture and therefore the value of what follows. It can be impactful to concentrate on properties in the same neighborhoods. One success reduces the risk of the next acquisition and so on. Multiple owners, multiple developers, and multiple tenants working toward a simultaneous goal can swiftly lead to impactful change. After the acquisition of The French Way building, White Oak Realty facilitated 20 transactions before major restoration commenced.”
Delaney’s deals have produced a bottom line for Highland Park that now features fully restored properties where quality businesses, restaurants and bars operate — Bar Martinez, Kalon Bridal, Lachele’s Fine Foods, The Fitz. These businesses attract the renters and home buyers that can rebirth a neighborhood.
“Business and property owners are key. Their strategies can reduce risk while increasing value and desirability for all.”
Delaney bought the Ingersoll Dinner Theater building when it seemed hopeless. The building sat idle for decades and had fallen into extreme disrepair. What possessed him to take that leap of faith?
“I had early memories with my grandmother. She kept a scrapbook of our theater visits in the late 1980s that still exists. There are tickets, programs and reviews she clipped from the Des Moines Tribune of Ingersoll Dinner Theater shows. The theater was an important part of her life.
“I love the old Hollywood glamour as well. We will have vintage photos and posters on the wall from when The Ingersoll was a movie theater. There are photos of AH Blank (movie theater mogul who later became one of Des Moines’ great philanthropists) with all kinds of Hollywood stars. We want to invoke another time and place.”
When I mentioned that I was so impressed seeing “The Man Who Would Be King” at the Ingersoll that I saw it three times, Delaney made a note to check out that movie. Nostalgia is powerful, but how does one parlay it into contemporary success?
“We sent out a media release about the challenges faced in reviving The Ingersoll, and Steve Peters called the same night. He and I met for coffee the following morning.”
Peters is the founder of VenuWorks, a company based in Ames that manages north of 55 events centers, theaters, arenas, etc. — all over the country. They have over 3,000 employees. He was the executive director of The Iowa State Center in the 1980s and grew up in Iowa.
VenuWorks manages the 900 seat Chanhassen Dinner Theater in the Twin Cities. It is arguably the top dinner theater in the country.
“If you’ve never been, please go. It is impressive what they’ve done and continue to do. I leave the theater operations and all announcements on that front to the Venuworks team. They do expect The Ingersoll to have musical theater and extended runs in the 2026 calendar year. We have added a large, modernized kitchen to produce nearly 500 dinners daily.”
When I walked through the theater with Delaney in mid-December, there was a whole lot of work yet to be done before New Year’s Eve and the first show.
“We WILL be open to the public on Dec. 31. There are other happenings in the pipeline very soon for this strip of Ingersoll. More to come soon.” ♦
