Does anyone have an idea how travelled and who is travelling on Hwy 30 is these days? I can see folks from Carroll driving on Hwy 30 if they want to get to Ames or Des Moines. Any further west, like Denison, I'm guessing people head south to I80 then to Des Moines. Perhaps the question is moot if no one plans on opening a new business anywhere in or around Jefferson.
The only businesses I can see developing in Jefferson are the ones that sell product to folks outside of Jefferson, like a manufacturing place. Any other business, like a clothing store, a furniture store, businesses that would sell to the people of Jefferson probably would not go over well because they just can't compete price-wise with the bigger stores in Des Moines or the Wal-Marts in Carroll or Boone. Gas would have to go up to $10, maybe $20 a gallon to make it too expensive to travel Ames or Des Moines to shop.
And don't forget...how many people in Jefferson would drive all the way out to Hwy 30 to shop? Not many, I'm sure. The business then would be totally reliant on Hwy 30 traffic.
Does this question have to do with the rumors that the city council was, maybe is, planning to spend some big bucks to enhance the downtown area? My opinion...Jefferson could spend $100 million on the downtown and it would have only a marginal effect on long-term growth (anything greater than a year). Anything less, Jefferson would be better off spending the money tearing down old houses and buildings on outskirts of town, then sell the land for farm acreage.
Regardless of the traffic pattern on highway 30, it is painfully obvious to me that you have not travelled on these roads lately. Nobody travels on old 30 in the area, unless they are going from Jefferson to a farm outside of town. Literally. New 30 carries traffic from Carroll, Glidden, Scranton, Jefferson, Grand Junction, Ogden, Boone, Ames, and points further east. There is perhaps 100 times more traffic than on old 30. Of course, this is probably not saying much.
When Wal-Mart opened in Boone, they insisted on building along new 30. When Wal-Mart opened in Carroll, they also insisted on building along new 30. These guys know what they're doing. Now, Jefferson will never attract a business like that. But, I can name at least two dozen business that have opened in Jefferson over the last several years, and they all gravitated toward the downtown district (old 30).
There is some truth to the fact that locals consider that if they have to drive across town (5 minutes),it is just ungodly far away. This is a phenomenon which I need explained to me.
Jefferson (~4,200) can't compete with Carroll (~10,000) or Boone (~12,600). The population of Jefferson and all of Greene County probably doesn't come close to the threshold it takes to bring some of the national chains such as Wal-Mart, Target, etc.
I understand that Lincolnway (Old 30) is no more than a local road with minimal traffic, but I have my doubts that the traffic pattern on Hwy 30 (New) would be enough to revitalize Jefferson, even if the entire downtown was moved north.
Hwy 30 (New) goes through the heart of Carroll, including it's downtown. The new Wal-Mart Supercenter is built on the west side of town at the intersection of Hwys 71 and 30.
I'm well aware of the population differences in these counties. That is why I stated "Jefferson will never attract a business like that".
Nobody in their right mind believes that Jefferson's business district will be revitalized. The point I am laboring to make is simply that a new business (of which Jefferson does occasionally promote) should look to building in an area that actually gets some out-of-town traffic.
Just because you are aware of the statistics doesn't mean all the thousands of readers of this website know them. Wait, are we alone here, Rick? lol
What business do you want along Hwy 30? A shoe store? A sporting goods store? I suspect Jefferson has all they want or need when it comes to retail stores. Boone, Ames, Des Moines are close enough for Jeffersonians to find some real shopping.
Guess what? Here's what I think. If they would block off Old 30 at the Airport and at Danger Hill and build roadways that shuffled people to new 30 and around Jefferson's downtown nothing would change except that more people would bitch about waiting for trains. That's the mentality here. If it's broke, don't fix it.
Jefferson needs to sell some land near Hwy 30 (new) to an Indian tribe. The Indian tribe builds a casino. Old folks seem to like to gamble and Jefferson/Greene County has lots of old folks. The nearest Casino is Prairie Meadows on the east side of Des Moines, 73 miles away.
The upside: You increase the traffic into Jefferson. Perhaps a new motel will be built. Who knows, maybe a few little shops will spring up nearby. You keep Jefferson money from flowing to Prairie Meadows. The Jefferson police force will finally have something to keep them busy. JSPC high school adopts a casino oriented curriculum.
The downside: A handful of church folks might get upset.
Hyptothetical: Tornado wipes out downtown Jefferson with the exception of the courthouse and the Mahanay Tower, though all the windows are blown-out of these two buildings.
Unless the state or federal government footed 100% of the bill to rebuild the downtown, it would not be rebuilt, in my opinion. Perhaps Hy-Vee would put together a business plan to replace their pharmacy, but I suspect that would involve moving and building closer to the hospital, if at all. I'm sure their rent is pretty cheap where it is. It might come close to bankrupting Jefferson to replace the windows in the courthouse and tower. But, then again, perhaps this very website would take the lead in a fundraising effort! Or not.
Speaking of rent, I wonder who the landlords are of the downtown buildings. Does anyone know? From my experience in other towns, banks end up owning a lot of rental space due to defaults. I don't know if it's true or not with the Jefferson downtown area.
I can answer my own question about who owns the downtown buildings. It's all online at http://greene.iowaassessors.com. This might be a worthwhile link to add to your website webmaster(s). For the nosey, there's a plethora of information to be found.
Besides values, date built, buyer/seller info, there are pictures of each building. It might take a little effort, but I'd like to see all the downtown building pictures at one spot on your website.
18 comments:
I got to hand it to you, Rick, that would be a damn good question if anyone in Jefferson was actually looking to start up a new business.
Does anyone have an idea how travelled and who is travelling on Hwy 30 is these days? I can see folks from Carroll driving on Hwy 30 if they want to get to Ames or Des Moines. Any further west, like Denison, I'm guessing people head south to I80 then to Des Moines. Perhaps the question is moot if no one plans on opening a new business anywhere in or around Jefferson.
The only businesses I can see developing in Jefferson are the ones that sell product to folks outside of Jefferson, like a manufacturing place. Any other business, like a clothing store, a furniture store, businesses that would sell to the people of Jefferson probably would not go over well because they just can't compete price-wise with the bigger stores in Des Moines or the Wal-Marts in Carroll or Boone. Gas would have to go up to $10, maybe $20 a gallon to make it too expensive to travel Ames or Des Moines to shop.
And don't forget...how many people in Jefferson would drive all the way out to Hwy 30 to shop? Not many, I'm sure. The business then would be totally reliant on Hwy 30 traffic.
Does this question have to do with the rumors that the city council was, maybe is, planning to spend some big bucks to enhance the downtown area? My opinion...Jefferson could spend $100 million on the downtown and it would have only a marginal effect on long-term growth (anything greater than a year). Anything less, Jefferson would be better off spending the money tearing down old houses and buildings on outskirts of town, then sell the land for farm acreage.
Regardless of the traffic pattern on highway 30, it is painfully obvious to me that you have not travelled on these roads lately. Nobody travels on old 30 in the area, unless they are going from Jefferson to a farm outside of town. Literally. New 30 carries traffic from Carroll, Glidden, Scranton, Jefferson, Grand Junction, Ogden, Boone, Ames, and points further east. There is perhaps 100 times more traffic than on old 30. Of course, this is probably not saying much.
When Wal-Mart opened in Boone, they insisted on building along new 30. When Wal-Mart opened in Carroll, they also insisted on building along new 30. These guys know what they're doing. Now, Jefferson will never attract a business like that. But, I can name at least two dozen business that have opened in Jefferson over the last several years, and they all gravitated toward the downtown district (old 30).
There is some truth to the fact that locals consider that if they have to drive across town (5 minutes),it is just ungodly far away. This is a phenomenon which I need explained to me.
U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Population estimates:
Carroll County: 20,963
Boone County: 26,584
Greene County: 9,809
Jefferson (~4,200) can't compete with Carroll (~10,000) or Boone (~12,600). The population of Jefferson and all of Greene County probably doesn't come close to the threshold it takes to bring some of the national chains such as Wal-Mart, Target, etc.
I understand that Lincolnway (Old 30) is no more than a local road with minimal traffic, but I have my doubts that the traffic pattern on Hwy 30 (New) would be enough to revitalize Jefferson, even if the entire downtown was moved north.
Hwy 30 (New) goes through the heart of Carroll, including it's downtown. The new Wal-Mart Supercenter is built on the west side of town at the intersection of Hwys 71 and 30.
I'm well aware of the population differences in these counties. That is why I stated "Jefferson will never attract a business like that".
Nobody in their right mind believes that Jefferson's business district will be revitalized.
The point I am laboring to make is simply that a new business (of which Jefferson does occasionally promote) should look to building in an area that actually gets some out-of-town traffic.
Just because you are aware of the statistics doesn't mean all the thousands of readers of this website know them. Wait, are we alone here, Rick? lol
What business do you want along Hwy 30? A shoe store? A sporting goods store? I suspect Jefferson has all they want or need when it comes to retail stores. Boone, Ames, Des Moines are close enough for Jeffersonians to find some real shopping.
I stand by my original post.
Guess what? Here's what I think. If they would block off Old 30 at the Airport and at Danger Hill and build roadways that shuffled people to new 30 and around Jefferson's downtown nothing would change except that more people would bitch about waiting for trains. That's the mentality here. If it's broke, don't fix it.
Jefferson needs to sell some land near Hwy 30 (new) to an Indian tribe. The Indian tribe builds a casino. Old folks seem to like to gamble and Jefferson/Greene County has lots of old folks. The nearest Casino is Prairie Meadows on the east side of Des Moines, 73 miles away.
The upside: You increase the traffic into Jefferson. Perhaps a new motel will be built. Who knows, maybe a few little shops will spring up nearby. You keep Jefferson money from flowing to Prairie Meadows. The Jefferson police force will finally have something to keep them busy. JSPC high school adopts a casino oriented curriculum.
The downside: A handful of church folks might get upset.
Here's a question...if a tornado wiped out the entire downtown area (e.g. Parkersburg), would any of those business rebuild?
They would take the money and run (to Wet Goods).
Hyptothetical: Tornado wipes out downtown Jefferson with the exception of the courthouse and the Mahanay Tower, though all the windows are blown-out of these two buildings.
Unless the state or federal government footed 100% of the bill to rebuild the downtown, it would not be rebuilt, in my opinion. Perhaps Hy-Vee would put together a business plan to replace their pharmacy, but I suspect that would involve moving and building closer to the hospital, if at all. I'm sure their rent is pretty cheap where it is. It might come close to bankrupting Jefferson to replace the windows in the courthouse and tower. But, then again, perhaps this very website would take the lead in a fundraising effort! Or not.
Speaking of rent, I wonder who the landlords are of the downtown buildings. Does anyone know? From my experience in other towns, banks end up owning a lot of rental space due to defaults. I don't know if it's true or not with the Jefferson downtown area.
I can answer my own question about who owns the downtown buildings. It's all online at http://greene.iowaassessors.com. This might be a worthwhile link to add to your website webmaster(s). For the nosey, there's a plethora of information to be found.
Besides values, date built, buyer/seller info, there are pictures of each building. It might take a little effort, but I'd like to see all the downtown building pictures at one spot on your website.
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