5 ideas to get people back downtown
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Left to right: Dan Houston, Billy Weathers, Mayor Connie Boesen, Morgan Chicchelly and Paul Rottenberg. Photos: Courtesy of interviewees
Downtown Des Moines, especially west of the river, is still struggling to bounce back from the pandemic.
Why it matters: The loss of office foot traffic and energy is striking in a hub that once made the city feel alive — fewer people walking to work or meeting for lunch has led to both a visible and fiscal decline, leaving storefronts looking like relics.
What's new: Things are steadily changing for the area, including City Hall and American Equity moving into the Western Gateway area next year and the redevelopment of the Financial Center.
- The Wells Fargo campus also found an unknown buyer.
Yes, but: It's harder to get developers excited about revamping an existing skyscraper than building new in the Market District or MLK Corridor.
What they're saying: We reached out to local movers and shakers about how to get people back downtown.
Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen: "You're already seeing our downtown move from a business hours district to an all-day destination as more and more people make downtown their home," she said.
- "To keep building that momentum, I want to see entertainment and retail of all types continuing to open downtown and continue growing the vibrant options downtown has to offer."
Dan Houston, executive chairman of Principal Financial Group: "Des Moines must continue to cater to all ages with a vibrant environment, diverse dining and a unique culture — backed by investments in public art, walkability and the riverfront, including the ICON Water Trails."
- "We must mentor future leaders to sustain a vibrant downtown and that's best achieved by having these leaders experience downtown Des Moines firsthand," he added.
Billy Weathers, local hip-hop artist, activist and owner of The Contrary:
- "Des Moines is a very interesting place. I, along with hundreds of other creatives and small business owners, are trying to make it a cool spot that people actually want to build in, but the more hoops and hurdles and (regulations) that we have to face on a daily basis to just do mundane things that seem to exist pretty easily in other cities, I think the harder it'll continue to be."
Morgan Chicchelly, founder of Des Moines Girl: "I've always thought the riverfront is underutilized. ... In other major cities, they really try to utilize that river walkway space more, whether it be restaurants, activities, gatherings," she said.
- "It just feels like there could be indoor/outdoor restaurants, beer gardens — even set up yard games here. You see (the river) and then you have to move on, either to Gray's Lake or to Principal Park or wherever else you're going."
Paul Rottenberg, president of Orchestrate Hospitality: "I'd like to hear that there's some level of strategizing. The way we got to where we are today is we had really visionary master plans that came out of the late '90s and they were pretty concrete ... that's where we got the [Western] Gateway Park, which resulted in a whole lot of good development."
- "What I hear a lot is people trying to explain it away about how (downtown) is getting so much better all the time and we're not feeling that," Rottenberg said.