Des Moines Dowtown (West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive: home, construction, income)

[tollfree]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

Basically everything? Please name one staple item or other regularly purchased items that a person living in Des Moines can't find nearby in town but instead has to drive to West Des Moines to find?

Most people have to drive somewhere to do major or speciality shopping. That is not unusual at all...anywhere. I mean seriously, how often in a year do have to go to the Apple store?

When people say they want to live near amenities, they mean the things they need day in and day out. e.g...groceries, favorite coffee shop, restaurants, etc. Conversely, if they say they want to live near shopping, most don't mean they want to be able to walk to the mall.

See....when you stretch to try and make your points...you just end up making yourself look silly.

People buy electronics, it's part of life. You ignored what I said about the good Best Buy, strictly focused on the Apple store to make a trivial point. The southside Best Buy in DSM is a joke. Want to buy furniture with a big selection? Homemakers...again, suburban Des Moines. Want to buy clothes? Good luck finding any good selection in real DSM.

Anyone who lives in DSM proper to feel "urban" is kidding themselves. You will have to goto suburban DSM more often than not.
The "coveted" food stores...Trader joe's and Whole foods are not in the amazing, awe-inspiring, downtown Des Moines, or real Des Moines.

Although, anyone can sustain life anywhere with the necessities, I agree with that.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

People buy electronics, it's part of life. You ignored what I said about the good Best Buy, strictly focused on the Apple store to make a trivial point. The southside Best Buy in DSM is a joke. Want to buy furniture with a big selection? Homemakers...again, suburban Des Moines. Want to buy clothes? Good luck finding any good selection in real DSM.

Anyone who lives in DSM proper to feel "urban" is kidding themselves. You will have to goto suburban DSM more often than not.
The "coveted" food stores...Trader joe's and Whole foods are not in the amazing, awe-inspiring, downtown Des Moines, or real Des Moines.

Although, anyone can sustain life anywhere with the necessities, I agree with that.

Thank you for correcting your prior comment that stated people need to drive to West Des Moines to basically buy everything and instead confirming it is really only necessary for major shopping trips for pretty specific catogories of items.

BTW...why does anyone need to go to Bestbuy? I'm pretty sure it has been a half dozen years or so since I've stepped into one.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

Thank you for correcting your prior comment that stated people need to drive to West Des Moines to basically buy everything and instead confirming it is really only necessary for major shopping trips for pretty specific catogories of items.

BTW...why does anyone need to go to Bestbuy? I'm pretty sure it has been a half dozen years or so since I've stepped into one.

I never go to Best Buy, either, but if I did I'd likely head to Ankeny. (where they have a large variety of stuff the west side has. Hey they even have an Olive Garden now, but I am sure that is just to "copy" WDM )

[moonsparkle]

Having grown up in suburban Des Moines (not WDM though), I always noticed West Des Moines did bring out a jealousy in people across Iowa (not just Des Moines metro). If Iowa ever had it's own "Beverly Hills", it would probably be West Des Moines by Glen Oaks. I remember in high school, knowing that Valley was the "cool" high school in the metro. People may dismiss this as trivial, but it's really not that different than one neighborhood being "cooler" than another.

West Des Moines has had Olive Garden since the mid 90's (I remember going there as a kid), Ankeny just got theirs in 2010. West Des Moines has always been ahead of the curve (subjective given it's Iowa), but living here most of my life, there's been a growing anti-WDM crowd for a while now since the downtown resurgence. It's at the point where people taking pride in avoiding one side or the other is just dumb in my opinion.

All the better shopping (whether it be clothing, cars, big screen TV's, organic food) is found in West Des Moines/Clive and not other parts of the metro. There's a reason for that, it didn't happen by itself, and that's what Ronnie seems to be implying.

[ElleTea]

The decision to add a chain restaurant (like Olive Garden) is not made because the city wants it. It is made bny the corporate office using many factors such as population and growth to make that choice. So, the fact that Ankeny just got an OG, just means that Ankeny (and the metro) has grown enough to be able to support more than one. I have been told that OG doesn't generally over saturate markets with their restaurants, so it was a good thing to have enough growth to add a second location. Ankeny also make sense, as that location can serve the eastern and northern side of the metro.

Growth in the suburbs is the norm in any city of any size. Many retailers perfer to build their own buildings or move into brand new places. It's just the way it is. It's not unique to the DM metro.

And really? Who cares. I live near Ankeny and go there for most of my shopping because it is close. I was in West Des Moines yesterday and I think it was the first time I had been in the Valley West Mall area in quite some time. I didn't have to go there, the stores I wanted are in Ankeny (PetsMart, TJ Maxx, Target, etc) but went that way for something different. I go where is closest to me 90% of the time, not because I feel one area is better or worse or because I am boycotting anything. It's about convenience, especially when gas is more than $3 a gallon.

What's funny is, I was excited we were getting a Whole Foods...then when I drove past there yesterday I thought "Oh, yeah. We have a Whole Foods. I've never been there." Guess I didn't need it afterall

I can get anything I need without ever going west of 63rd street. For real.

[moonsparkle]

I know the city itself doesn't decide if an Olive Garden shows up, lol.

All I'm saying is, I do see Ronnie's point. West Des Moines has always been put on this pedestal in relation to the rest of the metro. I would include Clive as well, but it's seen as part of West Des Moines (although it technically isn't). The BMW/Mercedes, Land Rover, Lexus, Infiniti dealers are all in Clive bordering West Des Moines.

Another way to look at it, Jordan Creek could have been put in Ankeny, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, really anywhere. It's just that everything typically goes to West Des Moines/Clive. I think that's why there has always been a resentment towards it.

I never got the big deal about Whole Foods/Trader joe's either, but I understand why they went to West Des Moines. Whole Foods is overpriced in my opinion. $7 for a 1/2 gallon of apple juice.

[tollfree]

Whole Foods is in Clive...not West Des Moines!!!! (Had to beat capitalcityguy to it.)

At least there are a few rational people in Iowa, was starting to worry.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by trancedout

I know the city itself doesn't decide if an Olive Garden shows up, lol.

All I'm saying is, I do see Ronnie's point. West Des Moines has always been put on this pedestal in relation to the rest of the metro. I would include Clive as well, but it's seen as part of West Des Moines (although it technically isn't). The BMW/Mercedes, Land Rover, Lexus, Infiniti dealers are all in Clive bordering West Des Moines.

Another way to look at it, Jordan Creek could have been put in Ankeny, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, really anywhere. It's just that everything typically goes to West Des Moines/Clive. I think that's why there has always been a resentment towards it.

I never got the big deal about Whole Foods/Trader joe's either, but I understand why they went to West Des Moines. Whole Foods is overpriced in my opinion. $7 for a 1/2 gallon of apple juice.

High-end business follows the money.

Easy answer.

[mustang84]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

People buy electronics, it's part of life. You ignored what I said about the good Best Buy, strictly focused on the Apple store to make a trivial point. The southside Best Buy in DSM is a joke. Want to buy furniture with a big selection? Homemakers...again, suburban Des Moines. Want to buy clothes? Good luck finding any good selection in real DSM.

Anyone who lives in DSM proper to feel "urban" is kidding themselves. You will have to goto suburban DSM more often than not.
The "coveted" food stores...Trader joe's and Whole foods are not in the amazing, awe-inspiring, downtown Des Moines, or real Des Moines.

Although, anyone can sustain life anywhere with the necessities, I agree with that.

Why are you so bitter over this? This phenomenon is not exclusive to Des Moines...it happened in nearly every major American city that experienced suburban flight after World War II.

And the trend since the 1990's and especially the last decade is to move back to the city. Rising gas prices are dictating this. Demographics are changing; Boomers and their parents fled to the suburbs, and young people are choosing to do the opposite. As more people move back to the city, businesses will follow.

Why this grates at your nerves so much is what is baffling to most of us.

[mustang84]

Originally Posted by trancedout

I know the city itself doesn't decide if an Olive Garden shows up, lol.

All I'm saying is, I do see Ronnie's point. West Des Moines has always been put on this pedestal in relation to the rest of the metro. I would include Clive as well, but it's seen as part of West Des Moines (although it technically isn't). The BMW/Mercedes, Land Rover, Lexus, Infiniti dealers are all in Clive bordering West Des Moines.

Another way to look at it, Jordan Creek could have been put in Ankeny, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, really anywhere. It's just that everything typically goes to West Des Moines/Clive. I think that's why there has always been a resentment towards it.

I never got the big deal about Whole Foods/Trader joe's either, but I understand why they went to West Des Moines. Whole Foods is overpriced in my opinion. $7 for a 1/2 gallon of apple juice.

It has nothing to do with West Des Moines being on a pedestal. The western half of Des Moines has historically been the growth region of the metro area and it is a more established retail market. Ankeny's growth has been a more recent phenomenon, and Ankeny is still largely a bedroom community. Retail is going to locate where the existing traffic is.