Grow your own, Iowa City

Despite a strong negative public reaction (including from yours truly), Iowa City economic development folks say they're actually learning some useful information in responses to an ongoing retail survey.

Like the fact that nearly one respondent in five has said they go all the way to Des Moines to shop. Or that, despite all the grief people have been giving the city for the survey's apparent focus on national retailers, almost 40 percent of respondents say they want an Apple store downtown.

Iowa City Economic Development Coordinator Wendy Ford is the first to admit the survey isn't scientific - it's just a way to get some feedback.

And it's part of a much larger project outsourced to consultant John Millar, who is touted as an expert of sorts on college towns' hidden economies - i.e., good old mom and dad.

The hope is once Millar crunches enrollment information from the University of Iowa, replacing the $0 household income the Census records for most students with the average household income for their hometowns, it will inspire retailers to give the kids some place to spend it.

“The main goal is trying to do good for Iowa City,” Ford told me late Friday, sounding a little fed up.

Who can blame her? Even as she was fielding complaints for spending $15,000 on an iffy Internet survey, Coralville announced it was using a $9.5 million carrot to lure Von Maur to anchor retail offerings at Iowa River Landing - the new open-air, mixed-use development south of Interstate 80 at First Avenue.

No one's come out and said Von Maur will close its current store in Iowa City's Sycamore Mall, but that's a pretty safe bet.

So, to recap: Iowa Citians say they want local flavor, then they spend their money in Des Moines. They complain the city's courting chain stores when they send out a poorly worded survey; meanwhile Coralville offers millions to woo the city's only remaining major department store across the river. It starts to feel a little unwinnable.

Which it is, if Iowa City hopes to out-Coralville Coralville, or dry up the trickle of shoppers heading to Des Moines' Jordan Creek.

Neither of those things is happening. But Iowa City still is. Despite all the setbacks and changes, it still is one of the state's unique, vibrant city centers. Wherever Iowa City grows from here has to come out of its own funky, yes, sometimes skunky soil.

Iowa City owes its success to the people who build and support it. That's not something you can franchise - you've got to build it from the ground up.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net