City of Des Moines backs out of entertainment plan for downtown

The city of Des Moines has announced its ambitious plan for an entertainment complex in the downtown Court Avenue District will be put on hold. Mayor Preston Daniels says private businesses didn’t exactly rush to become a part of the plan.He says the city felt it could build on strengths that were there already instead of pushing the entertainment-center plan. Mayor Daniels explains it’s hard to lure strong suburban-type retailers into a downtown core, and there’s also kind of a business recession the past couple years. Instead, Daniels says the city will have incentives for businesses already in the district to try and get them to renovate upper floors where now there are only pigeons, make them into housing, retail, restaurants or offices. Daniels says the city would like to see Court Avenue expand its popular Farmers market into a year-round site with more retail and entertainment opportunities.