Big plans unveiled for Court Avenue District - theater, urban HyVee, etc.

[capitalcityguy]

5 developers vying for hot piece of property on Court Avenue. Should be cool to see what eventually comes of this:

New downtown Hy-Vee, theater, indoor farmers market proposed

UPDATED 5:56 PM CST Feb 10, 2014


DES MOINES, Iowa —City officials are pouring through plans from five groups hoping to develop a prime property on Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines.
Each plan is unique, one offers a new 35,000 square foot Hy-Vee store, another a movie theater and another an indoor farmers' market -- in addition to rental homes and parking.

The proposed Hy-Vee would have retractable walls on the Court Avenue side for easier access during the downtown Saturday Farmers' Market.
The developers include Hubbell Realty, Knapp Properties and Hy-Vee, Mandelbaum Properties, OPUS and Sherman Associates.




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Read more: New downtown Hy-Vee, theater, indoor farmers market proposed | Local News - KCCI Home​

Also, similar story:

WHOTV13: DOWNTOWN PLANS: New Hy-Vee Among Proposals | WHOTV.com

 

[bringmagicback]

They need to figure out how to do parking garage with Lower level retail. They need grocery and movie but I feel a hyvee would take away from the downtowny ness.

 

[CysRage]

That sounds really cool! Downtown DSM is really ready to take off, not that it wasn't great before any of this.

 

[dmclone]

IMO Hy-Vee would be the best option. There is now plenty of entertainment downtown.

 

[BloodyBuddy]

Not sure HyVee contributes to the downtown feel. Plus I don't really want HyVee as part of the Farmers Market. Would detract from the local feel.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Not sure HyVee contributes to the downtown feel. Plus I don't really want HyVee as part of the Farmers Market. Would detract from the local feel.

Hy-Vee is more local than the 50% of the market that comes from Missouri, Nebraska, and Illinois to sell their produce they trucked up from Texas.

 

[BloodyBuddy]

Hy-Vee is more local than the 50% of the market that comes from Missouri, Nebraska, and Illinois to sell their produce they trucked up from Texas.

I realize that, that's why I don't buy from those people. Just talking about the atmosphere. Big honking HyVee would be a detraction IMO

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

i know its not downtown but Fareway is trying to move into the old Tokens behind Rassmussen and the Filling Station.

kinda pumped for that...

 

[3TrueFans]

A hip, street-wise urban Hy-Vee sounds interesting.

 

[Bret44]

A hip, street-wise urban Hy-Vee sounds interesting.

Boombox on it's shoulder?

 

[Clone9]

Skinny jeans Hy-Vee?

 

[dmclone]

Does Target hurt downtown Minneapolis?

 

[DSMCy]

I like the Hy-Vee idea. At some point downtown has got to offer a grocery store for all the new apartments they are filling.

 

[JP4CY]

I always thought Trader Joes would have went downtown before HyVee.

Whoever gets there first will have a good customer base.

 

[dmclone]

Last time I saw stats, there were less than 10k people that live downtown. So similar to a place like Grimes. If done right you would also pick up a lot of the business from the people who work downtown but live in the burbs.

 

[Rods79]

I realize that, that's why I don't buy from those people. Just talking about the atmosphere. Big honking HyVee would be a detraction IMO

You're probably thinking too much about a typical Hy-Vee out in suburban land, just without the sea of parking spaces. Most of the images of the proposals I have seen look similar to the grocery stores we have in downtown DC...smaller scale street presence situated in a pedestrian-friendly area with other street level retail. Similar to one of our Whole Foods markets:

Having a grocery store is really the next crucial step for downtown area growth in Des Moines.

 

[FarminCy]

You're probably thinking too much about a typical Hy-Vee out in suburban land, just without the sea of parking spaces. Most of the images of the proposals I have seen look similar to the grocery stores we have in downtown DC...smaller scale street presence situated in a pedestrian-friendly area with other street level retail. Similar to one of our Whole Foods markets:

Having a grocery store is really the next crucial step for downtown area growth in Des Moines.

Agreed. If downtown wants to continue to attract full time residents they need a grocery store in the area.

My sister lived in downtown Chicago for 12 years and they have all sorts of urban grocery stores. They look nothing like what we are used to seeing and fit in the area perfectly. They are crucial to keeping an area growing.

 

[The_Architect]

Wasn't there a grocery store just a few years ago where Sbrocco is now? That didn't last long.

 

[wolverine68]

I'm also excited for this...

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/...-to-develop-450-room-convention-hotel/article

My dad lives in the Plaza, be interested to hear his opinion...

 

[capitalcityguy]

Wasn't there a grocery store just a few years ago where Sbrocco is now? That didn't last long.

True, but I'm not sure that tells us much. There's a big difference between that little store opened up by a bunch guys who own/run a group of successful bars/restaurants vs Hy-Vee opening up a 35,000 sq foot store.