How much is rent in downtown Des Moines? It has to be pretty hefty. Would be tough to pay that large of an amount and not have a convenient grocery store....
I agree that the downtown needs a grocery store but this is a terrible location for one. 5th and Court are both low traffic, two lane roads with very little free (if any) parking. The location is also not very convenient for the majority of downtown residents who will be Western Gateway, MLK area, East Village. It will be a cluster to get in and out of that place, plus you are clogging 30k feet of prime real estate with a boring property. With the new large apartments complex South of MLK that would be a perfect place for a supermarket. It would have direct access to MLK which is basically the gateway to downtown and easy to hit from all areas of the downtown area. YOu could build it right on the street with an entrance and parking to the side so it would be an easy walk from Court Ave but also drivable.
I can't think of any other "Entertainment district" in the country that has a grocery store as it's primary anchor. There are plenty of places to put a grocery store, I just don't think this is the right one.
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I think this is a pretty good idea, but would it make everyone have to drive to Hy Vee? I think that would be a drawback.
Within three years there will be about 5 times more people living between MLK and the river than on Court Ave. It will be walkable (med size walk) from 10th st, Court ave area and all of the new places popping up south of MLK
Within three years there will be about 5 times more people living between MLK and the river than on Court Ave. It will be walkable (med size walk) from 10th st, Court ave area and all of the new places popping up south of MLK
But they go to the bars once a month on Saturday night! Downtown should cater to these people!I think it's funny that almost all of the people that don't think this is a good location, or are against the idea don't live downtown.
Within three years there will be about 5 times more people living between MLK and the river than on Court Ave. It will be walkable (med size walk) from 10th st, Court ave area and all of the new places popping up south of MLK
I agree that the downtown needs a grocery store but this is a terrible location for one. 5th and Court are both low traffic, two lane roads with very little free (if any) parking. The location is also not very convenient for the majority of downtown residents who will be Western Gateway, MLK area, East Village. It will be a cluster to get in and out of that place, plus you are clogging 30k feet of prime real estate with a boring property. With the new large apartments complex South of MLK that would be a perfect place for a supermarket. It would have direct access to MLK which is basically the gateway to downtown and easy to hit from all areas of the downtown area. YOu could build it right on the street with an entrance and parking to the side so it would be an easy walk from Court Ave but also drivable.
I can't think of any other "Entertainment district" in the country that has a grocery store as it's primary anchor. There are plenty of places to put a grocery store, I just don't think this is the right one.
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So you put a store south of MLK and you have two withing .25 miles of each other? Do people really want to pay to park to go to a grocery store? The majority of apartments on Court Ave are income restricted and basically party pads for people in the service industry, they aren't going to be your primary customers anyway.
I agree that the downtown needs a grocery store but this is a terrible location for one. 5th and Court are both low traffic, two lane roads with very little free (if any) parking. The location is also not very convenient for the majority of downtown residents who will be Western Gateway, MLK area, East Village. It will be a cluster to get in and out of that place, plus you are clogging 30k feet of prime real estate with a boring property. With the new large apartments complex South of MLK that would be a perfect place for a supermarket. It would have direct access to MLK which is basically the gateway to downtown and easy to hit from all areas of the downtown area. YOu could build it right on the street with an entrance and parking to the side so it would be an easy walk from Court Ave but also drivable.
I can't think of any other "Entertainment district" in the country that has a grocery store as it's primary anchor. There are plenty of places to put a grocery store, I just don't think this is the right one.
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So you put a store south of MLK and you have two withing .25 miles of each other? Do people really want to pay to park to go to a grocery store? The majority of apartments on Court Ave are income restricted and basically party pads for people in the service industry, they aren't going to be your primary customers anyway.
CCG, your argument for having it on the skywalk system makes me think it needs to be included in the new Walnut St development. From the sounds of it, they want that area to be more chain type stores and largeer retailers, wouldn't it make more sense to have a store there? You could have it connected to the skywalk and help fill empty space quicker.
The majority of downtown residences are not income restricted and the 1,500 in the pipleline are mostly all market rate. Also, it is not like the income restricted places are Section 8 housing. In fact, what is going to help Hy-Vee is that a lot of their workers will qualfiy for this type of housing thus eliminating the costly expense of commuting as part of their family budget.
IMO, most of your complaints are the type you consider for suburban type planning. Which this isn't. This had to be located close to the core of downtown....not on the other side of a 4-lane parkway (MLK) . They’re not building this to pull in people from neighborhoods that require driving to get there (although some will….which is why the modest flat parking lot was necessary). How's that "walk" to the grocery store in February going sell to potential downtown residents? Most people are drawn to urban settings for the convenience of walking places. Yes there is development going on south of MLK but the high rent district where conveniences are expected is going to be north of MLK.
Additionally, I can't think of anything more short-sighted then having a city like Des Moines known for its skywalk system that serves downtown to protect people from the elements and then building a grocery store and NOT locating it where there is access to the system. (Court Ave location is across the street from an access point). This would seem like the typical joke railed against something only the gov’t could manage to fail to properly plan for.
I can only imagine a potential downtown resident admiring and looking forward to using the extensive skywalk system that seems to go anywhere only to find out they’ll still need to subject themselves humid Augusts and frigid January Iowa weather anytime they plan to walk to the “downtown” grocery store. They’ll be like….why pay downtown prices if that is what you’re offering me?? I can get that lifestyle anywhere….and for less money.
I am not saying downtown, I am saying Court Ave and I know they aren't Section 8, but the majority are very young, 18-25 and in a service profession. Have you been in the apartments around Court Ave? Reminds me a LOT of college, including the puke stains every Sunday morning