Summer doldrums will soon end but in the meanwhile, let's talk about Ames. As one who is in Ames for football and basketball and very seldom otherwise, my perspective is very limited. However, I wonder about the prescriptions some posters have made for the community. I'm especially interested in how posters who propose big changes downtown and to Lincoln Way think a city council can do what they propose given limited budgets and property owners' property rights.
The current re-building of CampusTown started with developers and property owners getting together on agreements for those major developments. A city council can engage in planning and zoning and use public resources to eliminate blight, but would property owners downtown or along Lincoln Way agree to demolitions and replacement if they didn't anticipate a return on their current investment, and their future investment if they remain in business?
About Ames restaurants, I would love to see more quality choices, but I'm an infrequent visitor who provides some incremental business. Ames is a college town and like most of those ( not within a greater, contiguous metro area), depends on the disposable expenditure of college students and staff. That sets some limits. By the way, my preference is for independent, chef managed eateries, so while I understand some wanting more chain restaurant choices, I think that's not really a good thing.
The current re-building of CampusTown started with developers and property owners getting together on agreements for those major developments. A city council can engage in planning and zoning and use public resources to eliminate blight, but would property owners downtown or along Lincoln Way agree to demolitions and replacement if they didn't anticipate a return on their current investment, and their future investment if they remain in business?
About Ames restaurants, I would love to see more quality choices, but I'm an infrequent visitor who provides some incremental business. Ames is a college town and like most of those ( not within a greater, contiguous metro area), depends on the disposable expenditure of college students and staff. That sets some limits. By the way, my preference is for independent, chef managed eateries, so while I understand some wanting more chain restaurant choices, I think that's not really a good thing.
