Council Bluffs, an Iowa boom city (Des Moines, Hills: best cities, condo, hotel)

[ehenningsen]

For those of you who like to know how a city in your state is fareing, I have great news for you..

Council Bluffs is taking off and absolutely soaring to new heights.. It wasn't too long ago when the city was a wasteland, and I had very little hope for the city..

Casino's... One of the nation's largest casino markets (in the top 15-20 annually) has fundamentally changed the city from inside to the outside..

Entertainment.. A large-scale arena right next to HorseShoe Casino (formerly Bluffs Run, dog track still there) called the MAC Arena (Mid American Arena) with an Imax Theatre nearby, two other large scale resort casino's, a new 10-story condo/hotel tower and extrem sporting complex soon to be under construction..

Retail.. Between the large-scale Midtown Crossing and , a new large high-class retail outlet (chosen over KC and Minneapolis) soon to be under construction, all of it right next to the casino's and the MAC arena

Housing.. exploding housing growth, again a ten story condo/hotel tower to be built right next to the MAC, the city now has more and more options opening up daily.. And while a lot of growth has occured around the MAC arena, it is not limited to that area.. A lot of well-to-do growth has occurred in the Hills of the eastern side of Council Bluffs.

The MAC arena area of Council Bluffs will without a doubt be Omaha's second largest entertainment district, and the greastest part of it is that this area is less than two miles from one of the nations most respected local music scene and entertainment areas of downtown Omaha..

Thank the leaders of both the city of Council Bluffs and the state of Iowa, this city has now more options than most under 200,000-300,000 people and is growing at a monstrous pace..

This city is once again on the rise and will join the ranks, if it hasn't already, as one of the best cities in Iowa..

[Dport7476]

I lived in Omaha for a short time about 7 years ago and always thought Council Bluffs was suprisingly beat up and.....crappy. Good to see 'em doing something about it.

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, from the Eastern Iowa perceptive, Council Bluffs is completely off the radar on all levels. I always just kinda "gave" it to Omaha and Nebraska, since that's where almost all of its attention goes - not really Des Moines.

I don't know anything about the city though, only passed through a few times. I always thought of it as a suburb of Omaha.

[pittsteelerfan]

It's a dump! And this is a joke for him saying this! There's more meth-heads there then you can shake a stick at! They have a nick name for the people from Council Bluffs, can't remember it off hand. That place is loaded with white trash, and I'm sure has changed little since I passed thru there last!

[ehenningsen]

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

It's a dump! And this is a joke for him saying this! There's more meth-heads there then you can shake a stick at! They have a nick name for the people from Council Bluffs, can't remember it off hand. That place is loaded with white trash, and I'm sure has changed little since I passed thru there last!

Counciltucky!

But seriously, while the city still has its old problems, it takes time for the new dynamics to take a strong foothold..

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Yeah, from the Eastern Iowa perceptive, Council Bluffs is completely off the radar on all levels. I always just kinda "gave" it to Omaha and Nebraska, since that's where almost all of its attention goes - not really Des Moines.

I don't know anything about the city though, only passed through a few times. I always thought of it as a suburb of Omaha.

Give CB's revenues to Omaha and I doubt it will be "off the radar". That city makes A LOT of damn money. I would be willing to bet it ranks at the top of per capita GDP in the state of Iowa. Not positive, but I wouldn't doubt it.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

They have a nick name for the people from Council Bluffs, can't remember it off hand.

Must be a good one...you are such a quick witted person

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

That place is loaded with white trash!

As opposed to what, black trash?

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by burgerflipper

Give CB's revenues to Omaha and I doubt it will be "off the radar". That city makes A LOT of damn money. I would be willing to bet it ranks at the top of per capita GDP in the state of Iowa. Not positive, but I wouldn't doubt it.

I was just saying from the perspective of people who live throughout Iowa, Council Bluffs is mostly off the radar. It's normally seen as a suburb of Omaha. Nothing wrong with that, there just isn't a whole lot of draw to Council Bluffs. From Des Moines and points east, I really don't think people know it exists other than hearing the name here and there. Most of Iowa's population is all from Des Moines and points to the east, so that doesn't help things either.

As far as I know there isn't a huge amount of industry or jobs. It does have 17% of Iowa's gambling/gaming facilities, and higher than average revenue from those, but still we're talking tens of millions out of a state GDP well into the billions.

The city has grown 2.6% since 2000, and builds around 200 new houses per year. Not really explosive growth. The household income and average home prices are all lower than Iowa's average, and the poverty levels are right along-side Iowa's average.

I have nothing against Council Bluffs, I"m just saying it kinda fits the general mold of Iowa much more than it's a star player. The gambling brings in a LOT for the city...but it's only 2% of Iowa's population.

[GraniteStater]

My question is: Does more retail, casinos, and entertainment equal a higher quality of life for the residents? What is the average wage paid for all of these new jobs? I guess CB is now trying to become more vibrant along with the rest of the Omaha region.

[DMRyan]

Council Bluffs looks a million times better than it used to, mainly because of the casino dollars flowing in for improvement projects. It's a pretty industrial little city really, and its workforce and residents reflect that by and large. There is a quite a bit of development and redevelopment at work here, and it's truly developed into the Omaha area's 2nd playground after their downtown.

I do agree with Chicago60614 that Council Bluffs and all of Western Iowa really are not much of a thought with the remainder of the state.