A recent article on The Big Money, by Jonathan Weber, discusses growth across the country moves away from suburban and exurban fringe and toward center-cities and close-in suburbs.

Here are few excerpts from the article that caught my attention:

What’s behind this shift? Empty-nesters don’t need the big house and don’t want to mow the big lawn. High gas prices are making long commutes less practical. The urban renaissance in big cities…and the revival of charming, vibrant downtowns in small cities…is making the bedroom suburb and the strip mall seem positively dull.

Retailers are the most obviously affected by these trends. For decades, locating a store in a mall on the fringe rather than downtown had a lot of obvious advantages: plenty of easy parking, tons of drive-by traffic from big-box neighbors, and newer buildings with better infrastructure.

These benefits won’t disappear overnight. Over the long run, though, they will diminish in importance, especially if more big retail chains and shopping-mall operators go out of business. Downtown shopping districts, meanwhile, will benefit from increased investment and more proximate residents. If we assume, as many economists do, that the country is “over-retailed,” some downtown development plans based on more shopping will stall, but the center will still prosper relative to the fringe — and more businesses might find the downtown storefront affordable.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some local residents at 418 Liberty Luxury Condos recently got together to help plan, organize and host the first ever downtown garage sale. Any resident that lives in any of the downtown complexes and come register and come to the 418 Liberty Parking Garage on Saturday morning, June 13th to set up their own space and sell whatever items that they may have.

There should be a lot of traffic from the Farmer’s Market a few blocks away and it should be good time for all. If you live downtown and would like to register for your free space to sell that morning, go to: www.downtowngaragesale.com and sign up. LivingDowntownDesMoines.com is one of the many sponsors of the event.

Continuing our series on Des Moines Downtown Neighborhoods, today we will take a look at the Downtown Core Neighborhood. Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below.

Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, ST Howard Development and the Historic East Village Association is hosting a a holiday home tour on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday’s event runs from 4pm to 6pm and Sunday’s event runs from 2pm to 4pm.

By visiting participating lofts you can not only experience contemporary urban living all decorated up for the holidays, up also register to win gifts and specials from East Village shops and restaurants.

Participating in the Home Tour are:

• East Village Square Apartments
• SOHO Lofts
• Capitol Village Lofts
• E5W Condos (Under Construction)
• East Village Court Condos
• and 540 E. Grand Ave

Continuing our series on Des Moines Downtown Neighborhoods, today we will take a look at the Western Gateway Neighborhood. Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those traveling to Des Moines that need a place to stay overnight, downtown Des Moines has seven hotels for them to choose from. Those seven are:

• Downtown Marriott
• Embassy Suites
• Holiday Inn Downtown
• Hotel Fort Des Moines
• Quality Inn & Suites Event Center
• Renaissance Savery Hotel
• Suites of 800 Locust Street

Now I’m not in the hotel business but the number of hotels we have downtown seems a little limited. Not only in choices (i.e. no five star hotels) but also in the number of rooms for the size of the city (1,745 rooms by my count) and the events that we are currently drawing. There have long been talks of a new hotel near the Iowa Events Center as well as turing one of the older buildings downtown into a boutique-style hotel, but to-date nothing concrete has appeared. I think we could use a hotel in the Court Avenue neighborhood, and one towards the west-end of the Western Gateway Park as well as a another near the Iowa Events Center that is connected via the skywalk.

I did some research on a lot of different travel sites and complied together in one place some information on our six downtown hotels. Hopefully this will help you or your visitors decide where to stay based on their needs when visiting downtown Des Moines. I think first you should be aware of the “star rating” system that is being used:

These are hotels that offer only the highest level of accommodations and services. The properties offer a high degree of personal service. Although most five star hotels are large properties, sometimes the small independent (non-chain) property offers an elegant intimacy that can not be achieved in the larger setting. They are generally located in the heart of downtown or in resort locations. The hotel lobbies are sumptuous, the rooms complete with stylish furnishing and quality linens. The amenities often include: DVD players, CD stereos, garden tubs or Jacuzzis, in-room video library, heated pools and more. The hotels feature up to three restaurants all with exquisite menus. Room service is usually available 24 hours a day. Fitness Centers and valet and/or garage parking are typically available. A concierge is also available to assist you. Typical National Chains: Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, W. Downtown Des Moines: None

Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing our series on Des Moines Downtown Neighborhoods, today we will take a look at the Court Avenue Neighborhood. Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing our series on Des Moines Downtown Neighborhoods, today we will take a look at the Sherman Hills Neighborhood. Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Downtown Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below. Beginning with this post, there will be a series of posts that will include some in-depth information about each of the neighborhoods. Posts will include: a short description of the neighborhood, some links to local restaurants, bars, shops and attractions, as well as a slideshow of pictures from the neighborhood. Today we will begin with the East Village Neighborhood.

Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, me and couple of my friends took the 2008 Doors of the Past Walking Tour in Sherman Hill, Des Moines’ oldest neighborhood. From its beginnings in the 1870s until today, this neighborhood has maintained a prominent place in the city’s heritage and its architecture has earned distinction as Des Moines’ first local historical district in 1982.

Sherman Hill is a neighborhood that has seen a renaissance in the last ten years, but there is still more to do. The pictures I took along the way show some really nice homes and others that are in of desperate attention. According to the neighborhood’s website: There are numerous factors that draw people to Sherman Hill and have helped fuel the renaissance of the neighborhood. Sherman Hill is an “urban” neighborhood that offers a rare concentration of rich architecture and history that can be found few places in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The proximity of Sherman Hill to downtown, the Ingersoll and Cottage Grove Business Districts, and Iowa Methodist Medical Center all contribute to Sherman Hill’s desirability.

Sherman Hill became one of the City’s first recognized neighborhood associations in 1993. In recent years the Sherman Hill Association has succeeded in its efforts to enhance more aspects of quality of life in the neighborhood. That dedication has resulted in many improvements to the area. Among their more notable accomplishments are the addition of historic street lighting, the success of the annual Walking Tour, the preservation of homes slated for demolition in other parts of the city, and reduction in crime, increased property values and numerous rehabilitation projects spearheaded by the residents and the association.

Sherman Hill offers a unique mix of Victorian, Queen Anne, Italianate, Turn-of-the-Century Four Squares, Double Houses, Stick Style and Flemish architecture.

Read the rest of this entry »