The city of Ankeny is launching a plan to revitalize South Ankeny Boulevard from First Street to Oralabor Road to create a commercial district that will be sustainable and complement those vibrant shopping areas on Delaware Avenue and the District at Prairie Trail.

The city is working on a vision for the corridor, a process that includes a public input meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, at New City Church, 849 S. Ankeny Blvd.

“We’re currently doing a complete evaluation of the current market conditions, traffic patterns, real estate market, visitor data and trying to get a better understanding of how the corridor is used today,” said Derek Lord, director of economic development for the city of Ankeny.

There are also two surveys on the city’s website to get public input. One is a land use map survey. The other shows images of different types of development to help gauge people’s preferences.

“The reason we’re looking at this corridor is it was a very traditional highway-oriented commercial development area,” Lord said. “It was kind of the center of the city’s commercial area in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. As the interstate was developed, a lot of that activity moved east, and more recently the District at Prairie Trail has attracted significant consumer retail investment to the west. This corridor is uniquely positioned 1 mile west of Delaware and 1 mile east of the District, and we want to do our part to identify what the vision for this area should be and work to attract new investment to make sure this corridor remains a viable commercial shopping district in our community.”

The city has hired Des Moines-based consulting firm Confluence to help with the study.

Part of the work will be looking at different ways to enhance existing buildings. There are also about 50 acres of undeveloped land.

“And that has the potential to be a different mix of uses,” Lord said. “It could be commercial, retail, mixed-use building, multifamily, and one of the things we’ll be looking at is does the current zoning and land use make sense for this corridor?”

“It’s at the point of its evolution where we need to encourage more investment to make sure it remains relevant and vibrant for future generations.”

The plan to redevelop South Ankeny Boulevard will not be a short-term process.

A second public meeting will be scheduled for late this year or early 2025 to review draft recommendations. There will be stakeholder meetings with property owners and investors in the area before it goes to the city’s planning and zoning commission and City Council for approval.

“It’s important for people to understand this is a planning study to help guide investment in the future,” Lord said.

He said it’s important to address the use of the corridor as the city continues to grow.

“The corridor is looking tired and it’s going to be important for our community,” Lord said. “South Ankeny Boulevard is centrally located in our community. It has significant vehicle traffic, but it also has significant trail traffic with the High Trestle Trail going through the corridor.”

He said early studies show most people spend 15 to 30 minutes when they stop in the corridor, and the city would like to see that number increase.

“It would be great if we can … drive more intentional retail and commercial uses that will bring more people to support the area and encourage them to stay longer and enjoy Ankeny.”