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I know what you mean by dead downtowns though. I'm always attracted to cities that use downtown as an attraction to lure both locals and visitors. I was on another part of the forum and they were comparing downtown LA to downtown Denver. Denver won hands down as the more fun and interesting downtown even though Los Angeles is a much larger city and their downtown is more renowned.
Some cities' downtown are just a place of daily business. Office high rises, the occasional lunch spot, and maybe a few bars and clubs. Other cities liven theirs up with a pedestrian mall, a small shopping center, late night restaurants, and affordable hotels. I think Denver, Minneapolis, and Colombia do a good job at making their downtowns fun and eventful. Other cities like Omaha, Sioux Falls, and Des Moines have less eventful downtowns and can use catching up. Omaha, for example, has been doing a lot of projects to compete with other cities but I think crime in downtown Omaha is still a major issue.
I think a BIG thing is that it also depends on when you visit downtown Sioux Falls. During the winter, I find downtown SF to be dead...
During the summer, it definitely livens up, especially on the weekends. There's plenty of festivals/events/parades etc. There's also many projects planned. The riverfront along Phillips is planned to be developed.
I think Omaha has a healthy downtown. The Old Market district is awesome! Crime isn't necessarily bad in downtown... I think its worse in North Omaha, just to the north of downtown.
I think Omaha has a healthy downtown. The Old Market district is awesome! Crime isn't necessarily bad in downtown... I think its worse in North Omaha, just to the north of downtown.
It has gotten better recently. The area around Creighton is still pretty sketchy though and I've seen a lot of bums by the Pepsi Center. Even Old Market has a lot of bums.
The Old Market is very nice, however when we went down there parking seem very limited, but then again we were trying to hunt for a rare open spot in the cobblestone section. Great places to eat down there, and its just another example of what Sioux Falls could be doing for development if an Events Center were to be built downtown.
Why does downtown have such a negative stigma? Sioux Falls represents in my mind the old west snake-oil salesman. If you can't make coin off of these hillbillies you need to change your pitch. That's why the Big Box Store and the Glorious Mini-Mall hold such a large percentage of real estate. This city's business community will bend over backwards to bring in whatever eye-catching, ritzy store they can to attract the all-important "out-of-town shopper." (Because the only people making coin in this part of the country are farmers, bankers, government officials and churches--don't let 'em fool ya with low unemployment rates or Forbes' List or any of that mularkey, it's a packaged sell!) The biz community has a very narrow idea of the sort of person they want shopping/living downtown, all so that this cradle-to-grave cowtown can appear more palatable, chic, and most importantly PROFITABLE than it really is.
I have lived in nearby towns and in SF for the last decade and I think this will be my last. SF is no more a sprawling metropolitan commercial center as it is one small town after another, laid end-to-end. It shouldn't surprise anyone that there's 3 places in town (ahem-metro pop: 235K?) to have heart surgery done when there's a fast-food joint on every other block. (Amazingly though, you have to drive out of town to find a reputable steakhouse. No lie.) It is the ultimate mallrat city. If you love suburbia but hate the commute, PLEASE move here. They want more of you.
Also, one can see a live band in downtown Fargo or Omaha, good ones too. The only music you'll hear in downtown Sioux Falls is wine-bar "jazz" or, if there's a parade, a marching band.
That may change once the the area between the Falls and Downtown and the East Bank get further developed. An events downtown will certainly help in drawing people and generating more hubub downtown.
The thing about Sioux Falls is that, it is growing so fast that the city has a lot of unique advantages currently..
The cities that are being compared to Sioux Falls that have a lively downtown shouldn't be compared to Sioux Falls for the reason that the dynamics are different.. Those cities have a major university that influences the need for culture in the downtown area..
Anybody who denies the fact that Sioux Falls downtown is in fact booming, needs to do some better research, because it really has the boom effect going on right now..
On another note, some people use sprawl as a reason for slamming a city, but sprawl isn't something you can just stop.. There are about 5 people to 1 that do not want to live in a mid-high density area of a city. Sprawl is a sign of a growing city as is a growing mid-high density part of a city. And this city is not lacking in any area.
Final note.. While I am sure that Columbia MO has a nice downtown that city as a whole has a lot of issues. Columbia isn't even on the same plane at the Falls..
I think Downtown Sioux Falls has a lot going for it. I wouldn't say Downtown Fargo is better...unless you judge a downtown on the basis of a few stores along one street.
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