CPL Inc- the Heart of Omaha’s Mexican Community

The CPL Inc neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, has a unique history characterized by its industrial roots especially the railroads. The neighborhood’s name, CPL Inc, is believed to be derived from a prominent company or industrial entity that played a significant role in its early days. By the mid 20th century the CPL district industrial and transitioned into an attractive walkable working class community with a thriving business district along 24th Street. By the 1970s there was a very established Mexican community in CPL and across the largest South Omaha community. The community is anchored by Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was founded in 1919. The influx of Mexican immigrants into the community helped stabilize the CPL neighborhood and prevent it from hallowing out as other working class communities had down in Omaha.

For CPL to became a top notch urban district is simply needs more population and in-fill development. I do not seen this in its near term future as housing prices are very affordable, not lending well to new construction. Listed rental options are very limited and green space is sparse other than several ball fields.

Click here to view my CPL Inc album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Pretty good access to Dwtn. 10 min drive, 25 minute bus ride, ok bike access but not via a bike lane.
Sidewalk and ADA infrastructure is generally good but a good number of intersections don’t have ADA curbs and some blocks are either missing sidewalks or have very narrow or disappearing sidewalks.
Excellent economic diversity here.
Decent school amenities with a public elementary & middle school and a couple private Christian school. Mixed ratings however.
My sense is the neighborhood is pretty safe. Some grit due to the industrial legacy of the community but the large influx of Hispanic residents has largely stabilized the community.
Excellent historic commercial architecture along 24th Street. Historic residential is generally plainer turn of the 20th century work housing but some detailing in the housing units.
Great urban form and streetscaping along 24th street, the main urban business district of CPL. Missouri and 13th Street are wider avenues but mainly residential. Some autocentric commercial stretches on Missouri but not terrible.
Decent amount of restaurants, bars, and other commercial mixed throughout the neighborhood.
Thick tree cover in the eastern half of the district. Limited in the western half where the 24th st biz district is located.
Good food and beverage amenities, several night clubs, a small Latino History Museum, but not much else culturally.
Good retail amenities including several Mexican grocerias, a drug store, dollar general, tons of clothing and boutiques, several salons, a florist, a hardware store, several banks, a couple furniture stores, several bakeries, a Catholic Church, a couple community health clinics, and a local post office.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

The western half of CPL has good public transit. Ok access in the eastern half.
Ok urban density.
A couple of bike lane segments in CPL but not a direct connect to Dwtn nor to other areas. A couple bike stations as well.
Very large Hispanic population around 70% but that leads to not much racial diversity here.
Modern in-fill is very limited. A handful of urban apartment buildings and auto centric commercial.
Only a handful of listed rental options. All were pretty affordable.
Lots of affordable homes but not a ton of variety. 2-beds sell btwn 50K-200. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 60K-250K.
Parks are limited to several ballfields and a sliver of Mt Vernon Gardens on the eastern edge of the neighborhood.”

Benson- An early 20th century streetcar suburb annexed into Omaha in the 1910s

The neighborhood is named after Erastus Benson a land speculator, investor and philanthropist who was an early investor in marketing Thomas Edison’s inventions. In the mid-to-late 1910s, Omaha embarked on a course of annexing its suburban communities to its north and west. In a shrewd move, Benson anticipating annexation, decided to build as many civic improvements as they could knowing that after annexation the City would be responsible for assuming these debts.

Benson’s best urban attribute is its in tact 4-block historic commercial district along Maple Street, now a designated Historic District. This brings a great array of walkable cultural amenities (esp. restaurants & bars) and plenty of locally owned retail. Benson also has solid public transit access, convenient access to Dwtn, several walkable schools, good housing diversity, lots of parks, decent tree canopy, and a high level of safety.

While there is a concentration of denser housing from the 1910s-1920s surrounding Maple street, much of Benson is medium density bland mid-century housing. Benson also has some awful stroad stretches along Radial Highway, 72nd Street, and the Western half of Maple Street. For Benson to be considered a top notch urban district it needs more density, urban in-fill along its stroads, more racial diversity, and much better bike network.

Click here to view my Benson album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Convenient access to dwtn being only a 10 min drive and 25 min bus ride.
Solid public transit access.
Good street connectivity that is well connect and generally has small blocks albeit there are some larger blocks on the southern edge of the neighborhood.
Excellent economic diversity and solid age diversity
Generally good sidewalks and curb cuts but a 1/3 of intersections without ADA curbs and some streets missing sidewalks in the Southwestern corner of the district.
Pretty good historic commercial architecture along Maple St.
While often poorly rated Benson has a lot of walkable schools for all ages and has several Catholic and private schools including a larger Jesuit High School.
Some 1 bed rentals that lease anywhere in the 1ks. More 2-bed options leasing anywhere from $800-2K. Good amount of 3-beds that lease close to 2K. A couple large affordable housing towers here.
Good for sale diversity including a decent # of 1-bed detach SF homes selling anywhere from 50K-150K. 2-beds sell btwn 75K-350K. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 90K-550K with the most expensive housing concentrated in the Country Club District.
Overall a very safe area.
Good array of small and medium sized parks well dispersed throughout the district. Also a public swimming pool several ballfields and ball grounds and the large Benson Park just north of the neighborhood which includes a lake and extensive golf course.
Good tree canopy.
Retail and cultural amenities are overwhelming concentrated along Maple St especially the 4 block core between Radial & Military. Solid cultural amenities including plenty of food & beverage businesses, a couple breweries, lots of night clubs, a couple live music venues, plenty of galleries, and a performing arts center in a historic theater.
Good retail amenities including several groceries, a pharmacy, lots of boutiques, gift shops, and unique locally owned stores in the core of Maple, a comic store, a couple toy stores, several banks, plenty of dessert joints & gyms, some home good & furniture stores, a local post office and library, plenty of churches and a handful of medical office. A couple supermarkets and big box stores located on edges.”

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* So so density for an urban area.
* Limited bike lanes and really no direct bike connection to Dwtn. A handful of dedicated bike stations in the neighborhood.
* Limited racial diversity as this is at least an 80% White district.
* About half of the housing stock is pretty bland mid-century post war housing or ranches. Best historic residential is in the County Club district. Also some good 20s and 30s modest homes concentrated around Maple Street the commercial district.
* Outside the core 4 blocks of Maple, the street becomes a mixture of residential, mixed use, and stroad. Streetscaping generally isn’t great outside of the Core of Maple. Radial Highway and 72nd are both poor quality stroads but at least have disinvested sidewalks.
* And a handful of urban infill apartments. Some autocentric infill as well on the stroads mentioned above.

Downtown Omaha, NE

Downtown Omaha developed as the beginnings of Omaha in the 1850s. The Union Pacific Railroad was quickly headquartered here in 1862 and the town exploded. Downtown first developed north of the Union Pacific Railroad station in what is now called The Old Market. The warehouse district has mostly been preserved and is now a bustling walkable district and Omaha’s most important tourist area. Just Northeast of here was the Jobbers Canyon, a large area of massive warehouses. Sadly this was torn down in 1989 but thankfully much of the area has been transferred into high quality Dwtn park space. Another notable historic district was the Sporting District, famous for crime and prostitution in Omaha in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This historic area at 16th and Harney street has some of the best preserved buildings from the turn of the century in Dwtn. Much of the core of Dwtn has been transformed into the outstanding Gene Leahy Makk and the riverfront contains the expansive Heart of America Park and extensive riverfront park space. Lots of dead spaces on the western edge of Dwtn and especially north of I-80 (outside of Creighton University). But some good momentum building with lots of mixed-use development surrounding the ballpark and some good in-fill around Capitol Avenue. The 20 -acre Mercantile development should break ground soon and will help fill in some of Omaha’s dead blocks near Central High School. Also some good momentum north of the Ballpark with the Millworks Commons development, which is a 50 acres urban redevelopment project.

Overall Omaha has 8 Billion dollars of redevelopment planned along with a new streetcar project to connect to Midtown. This will go a long way towards reenergizing its many dead spaces that have persisted for decades along the western and north edges of Dwtn. I wish more Downtowns had this level of ambition.

Click here to view my Downtown Omaha album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Decent density for an urban district. Very vertical skyline for a City of this size.
* Generally solid sidewalks and ADA infrastructure. Some ADA curb missing on the edges of the Dwtn & the Old Market.
* Quality public transit in the Pre WWII part of Omaha and some of the post WWII development but really only with in the City limits. The western suburban third of Omaha has virtually not public transit options and similar situation in the suburbs with the except of some public transit service in Council Bluffs.
* Thankfully not a full inner belt around Dwtn Omaha but still two highways cutting on the edge of it.
* Pretty good Bike share system across Omaha with especially good service in Dwtn and Midtown but decent service is several other neighborhoods.
* Great racial and economic diversity living in Dwtn.
* Decent # of activities for kids including Children’s & Science Museum. a minor league ballpark, and several large parks.
* Public elementary and high school within Dwtn and one elementary school located just north of Dwtn. All are poorly rated.
* Good array of rentals and generally very affordable. Studios lease for $600-1.4K, 1-beds anywhere from $700-2K, 2-beds for 1.1K-3K, and 3-beds are generally pretty limited. Decent for sale options. 1-bed sell btwn 200K-600, 2-beds for 400K-900K, and a decent # of 3-beds in a similar range with some 1M condos.
* Dwtn is generally safe but has the standard American Dwtn issues of homeless and drinkers. Plenty of dead, and gritty spaces on the edges of Dwtn that invite this.
* Dwtn has some World Class parks that many American cities should be envy of including the Heart of America Park with a lagoon, extensive riverfront park, Gene Leahy Mall with diverse amenities and a outdoor stage, Lewis & Clark Landing Park, Miller’s Landing Park and a handful of smaller plazas.
* Good student population thanks to the 8K students add ending Creighton located on the north edge of Dwtn. Not much else however.
* Solid amenities including plenty of food & beverage businesses, several art galleries & live music venues, good # of museums & historic sites, several performing arts centers including mostly modern ones. Other amenities include a ballpark, a couple arenas, a large convention center, and a modest Dwtn library.
* Decent retail amenities but mostly concentrated in the Old Market. This includes lots of boutiques, clothing stores, antiques, a couple bookstores and specialty stores. Also plenty of dessert joints & banks, and a couple gyms.
* Well preserved warehouse district in Old Town. Decent early 20th century mid rise buildings in the core esp. at 16th and Harney St.
* Nice wide sidewalks with pretty good streetscaping overall. Not as good north of 480.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Generally nicely gridded streets but lots of wide one way pairs and blocks are pretty large.
* Decent Bike lanes within Dwtn but they don’t connect much to surrounding inner ring neighborhoods, which themselves lack bike lanes. Solid bike system in the western suburbs and pretty good in Council Bluffs as well.
* Overwhelming downtown population is either students, young professionals or empty nesters.
* While Dwtn’s park amenities are great I would like to see more smaller parklettes and plazas spread throughout. They are very concentrated along the Riverfront and the Mall moving perpendicular from the riverfront.
* Maybe 30K jobs in Dwtn Omaha. An ok number and Civic leaders are really trying to add another 30K of jobs even after the pandemic.
* No supermarket or drug store dwtn. Only a couple churches dwtn. Limited retail options outside of OId Town especially non-food and beverage businesses.
* Lots of dead space Dwtn outside of Old Town and the Arena District. Eastern side of Capitol Ave is fortunately starting to fill in.
* Decent urban infill along parts of Capitol, surrounding the ballpark, and around Gene Leahy Mall. But most modern buildings are soulless mid-century towers with limited street life creating significant dead zones dwtn.
* Lots of surface parking lots Dwtn especially the western half of dwtn but even more so north of 480.

Midtown Crossing/Blackstone- Some of Omaha’s Most Dynamic Urban Districts

This Midtown + neighborhood was developed during the turn of the 20th century and includes some of Omaha’s best urbanity. Farnam district is arguably Omaha’s best urban biz district and includes the modern Midtown Crossing’s district (Omaha’s New Urbanist town center), plenty of great urban in-fill, and the historic Blackstone biz district hosts some of Omaha’s best nightlife. Blackstone also host some great turn of the century mansions and there are several other decent mixed-use districts along Leavenworth and Grand Avenue. Medical Center anchors the western edge of the neighborhood and integrates pretty well into the rest of the district.

While this is a top Omaha urban district there is still plenty of room for improvement. Grand and Leavenworth host plenty of semi-autocentric stretches that need renewal and densification. There is also a lack of locally owned boutique businesses and a walkable post office or public library.

Click the links to view my Blackstone, Midtown Crossings, and Leavenworth Albums on Flickr

URBAN STREGNTHS:

* Decent urban density
* Solid ADA and sidewalk infrastructure.
* Excellent public transit access and good access to Dwtn across all modes. Decent bike infrastructure including many dedicated bike stations and a couple bike lanes with one that connected to Dwtn from the eastern edge of the neighborhood.
* Excellent diversity metrics.
* Good for sale diversity but overall product is a bit limited especially housing selling for 300K-500K. Plenty of 1-bed condos selling anywhere btwn 100K-400K. 2-beds sell btwn range from 150K-500K depending on size and age. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 150K-900K. Lots of larger condos and townhouses.
* Excellent array of rental product ranging anywhere from $700- the high 1Ks. 2-beds from $900-1.8K. 3-beds anywhere in the 1Ks.
* Midtown is overall a pretty safe area with limited amounts of blight.
* Decent pedestrian activity. Better than most Omaha neighborhoods.
* Several decent medium sized parks with good amenities including Dewey Park, Turner Park, Leavenworth Park, and UNMC plaza space which includes an ice rink in the winter.
* Excellent food & beverage amenities in Midtown. Other cultural amenities include several art galleries & lots of night clubs, and a comedy club. Night life is concentrated on Farnam in Blackstone.
* Great array of housing styles from historic apartment buildings to modern infill along Farnam to smaller single family homes to large mansions.
* Excellent urban infill and urban form at Mid-town crossing and along Farnam in Blackstone.
* Good retail amenities including a couple supermarkets & grocerias, several drug stores, several banks, a couple dessert joints, a handful of clothing & boutiques., plenty of gyms, several salons, great access to University of Nebraska Hospital and plenty of doctor’s offices, and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Tree canopy is good in residential areas but limited in more commercial and hospital districts.
Only one poorly rated public school located within the neighborhood’s geography. Any other school is located at least a 1/2 from the neighborhood’s boundaries.
Urban form is hit or miss along Leavenworth and Dodge St.
Missing some key retail amenities including a post office, public library and much less boutiques and independent shops that one would expect for such a dynamic urban district.”

Gifford Park- Solid Omaha Urban District located on the Edge of Creighton University

“I expanded the boundaries of Gifford Park western ward to Saddle Creek to capture a small sub neighborhood of Midtown that is not well defined as a neighborhood.

The neighborhood is named after Gifford Park, which was a green space donated by Harold Gifford, who gave his property to the City in 1912. The park to this day is the heart of the community offering various recreational facilities, including tennis courts, a playground, and community gardens. The neighborhood was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century as Omaha expanded further and further out of Dwtn thanks to the streetcars. Gifford Park boast a nice array of architectural styles with larger and grander homes the further west you go. The intersection of 33rd and California was historically a busy commercial center. While nothing like it was in the past, this is a decent mixed-use commercial node in the present day and the best urban business district in Gifford Park. The other commercial districts (Cumming Street, Grand and Saddle Park) are much more autocentric. Gifford Park’s proximity to Creighton University and downtown Omaha makes it a desirable location for students.

Gifford Park also excels with quality public transit, excellent proximity to dwtn, great housing diversity with lots of affordable options, solid park amenities and decent retail and cultural amenities, albeit generally not located in a quality urban business district. For Gifford Park to become a great urban neighborhood it needs to densify and urbanize its stroads, create a legitimate bike network, and create more walkable school options.

Click here to view my Gifford Park Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good urban density.
* Good ADA and sidewalk instructed throughout the district.
* Solid public transit access.
* Very convenient access to Dwtn being only about 2 mile away. One can even walk to Dwtn in 40 minutes.
* Overall good connectivity including plenty of short blocks, alleyways and even some pedestrian paths.
* Great economic and decent racial diversity. Lots of students and young adults live here so not a ton of generational diversity or that many family households.
* Nice for sale diversity. Decent number of 1-bed condos selling in the 100Ks, 2-beds for 100K-300K with nice diversity of housing types. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 125K-500K.
* Lots of rentals as well leasing anywhere from $700 to the low 1Ks. 2-beds lease in the low-mid 1Ks, and plenty of 3-beds leasing anywhere from 1.5K-3K.
* Decent # of small-medium sized parks including Turner Park, Gifford Park, Bemis Park, and Clarkson Park.
* Overall a safe community with some grit along the eastern edge of the district.
* Decent but not great cultural amenities including a handful of restaurants, bars, & cafes, and a brewery. Lots of restaurants & bars a couple blocks south of Gifford Park in Midtown Crossing. Also a couple art galleries, a couple small neighborhood performing arts centers, and the Josyln Castle Historic home.
* Decent retail amenities but much of it is autocentric shopping malls and power centers along the western border of Saddle Creek Rd. This includes a Walmart, Ace Hardware store, a couple supermarkets, and a drug store. Lots of retail in Midtown Crossing just south of Gifford. Within Gifford Park some retail along 33rd is a bike store, Mexican grocerias, and laundry mate. Other amenities include a bakery, a couple churches, several medical offices, a post office and a major hospital.
* More modest hoes on the eastern half. Grander historic homes on the western half.
* A couple decent blocks of mixed-use urban for centered on California and 33rd St.
* Good tree canopy throughout most of the neighborhood.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

A couple good Catholic schools in Gifford Park but public schools are located on the edges of the neighborhood and generally not well rated.
Limited bike lanes and the segments that do existing on disconnected and not helpful towards building a larger bike network. A couple dedicated bike stations however.
Grand street is the largest commercial district in Gifford Park but is a pretty autocentric 5 lane street. Lots of in-fill here, a mix of quality urban infill and autocentric infill. Cumming Street on the northern is very much a 6 lane stroad with mostly residential but some commercial, which is mostly autocentric. The western edge of Gifford Park Saddle Park is the worse stroad in the neighborhood.”

The Dundee Happy Hollow Historic District- One of Omaha’s best urban districts and home of Warren Buffet

I expanded the evaluation area for Dundee slightly to cover some sections between Dundee and Midtown that are not well defined by neighborhood boundaries. I used the Happy Hollow Boulevard as the western border, Leavenworth the southern, Saddle Creak Rd the eastern, and Charles as the northern.

The heart of the Dundee Happy Hallow Historic District was laid out in 1880 centered around Underwood St, which eventually became the heart and central business district of the neighborhood. Dundee by many accounts became the first “suburb” of Omaha as the professional class looked to escape the hustle and bustle of the City Center. The new lots took some time to sell and as a way to encourage their development 2,000 maple trees were planted and lots given away for free. The western and southern edges of the neighborhood filled in during the 1910s & 1920s and are laid out on larger lots along curvilinear streets. Dundee also hosts the long time home of Warren Buffet one of the richest men in the world whose house is located at the corner of Farnam and 55th. In line with his Thrifty character the house is very modest for a multi-billionaire’s home.

Thanks to its close proximity to Dwtn, qualify public transit service, housing diversity, excellent school amenities and decent walkability, Dundee is one of Omaha’s best urban districts. But I still would not qualify it as a top notch urban district as the density is modest, it lacks great bike amenities, it has several autocentric roads and one awful stroad and is missing some key walkable amenities.

Click here to view my Dundee Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good ADA infrastructure and Sidewalks but some curbs are missing ADA standard curb cuts.
* Solid public transit access.
* Convenient access to Dwtn across all modes.
* Some curvilinear streets on the southwestern edge of the district but overall very connected and often short blocks.
* Lots of families and young professionals living here. Decent racial and economic diversity but def a more upscale neighborhood.
* Several well rated public elementary schools within walking distance. A handful of private schools on the boundaries of Dundee.
* Lots of rentals and generally affordable. 1-bed lease btwn $600-1K, 2-beds lease btwn $800-2K, 3-beds lease for btwn 1.5K-2.5 and a good number. Several dedicated affordable apt buildings.
* Good for sale options but only a handful of 1-bed condos. 2-beds sell btwn 170K-350K and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 175K-900K.
* Really only a Cemetery and a couple small gardens within Dundee but a very expansive Memorial Park and golf course on the western edge, which includes a public pool.
* Excellent tree canopy through out.
* Good cultural amenities including diverse restaurants, plenty of bars & cafes, and historic theater that shows Indie films.
* Good retail amenities including a couple supermarkets and a Walmart on the neighborhood’s edge, a drug store, a couple banks, a hardware store, several salons, some clothing stores & gift shops, a couple florists, several dessert joints and the University of Nebraska is less than 1/2 away.
* Overall a very safe community with really no blight or abandonment except at points along Saddle Creek Rd.
* Attractive historic homes and quality historic commercial bldgs along Underwood. Underwood has excellent urban form and massing and is a great heart of the neighborhood.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Decent # of dedicated bike stations but only a handful of disconnected bike lane segments.
Missing any performing arts centers or theaters, gyms, churches, a post office, and public library.
So so density for an urban area.
Biz districts outside of Underwood are much more autocentric. Leavenworth and Dodge St are a mixed bag and Saddle Creek Rd is very much a Stroad with mostly strip malls and power centers along it.
Some good urban infill in parts but more autocentric in-fill overall.”

West Des Moines (Valley Junction)- Des Moines’ Best Urban Suburb

West Des Moines, originally known as Valley Junction dates back to its founding in 1893. The area was initially developed as a hub for the railroad. This strategic location helped the town grow rapidly creating an impressive main street that still remains in-tact with many businesses. In 1938, the name was officially changed to West Des Moines to better reflect its geographic position and growing status as a suburban community as the community expanded westward.

Throughout the 20th century, West Des Moines expanded significantly, transitioning from a small railroad town into a bustling suburban area. The population exploded from 5K in 1950 to 31K in 1990. The post-war era saw a boom in residential development. The construction of major highways, such as Interstate 235 and Interstate 35, further facilitated this growth. Wes Des Moines has since doubled its population and now sits at 70K.

The Valley Junction portion of Wes Des Moines and surrounding residential streets is a comfortable walkable neighborhood with great retail and cultural amenities concentrated along 5th Avenue, and good suburb amenities (i.e. schools, safety, and parks). For sale housing is cheap here but the type of housing stock is limited as rentals are sparse and condos non-existent. For Valley Junction to become a top notch urban area it needs a lot more density, better transit access, more vibrancy (especially outside of 5th Ave), more mixed use developments, and a taming of several stroads including Railroad St, W 63rd, and Grand Avenue.

Click here to view my West Des Moines album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Solid diversity indicators especially economic.
A couple of extended bike lanes the pick up on the edge of Valley Junction that traverse to Dwtn and far west into West Des Moines. No dedicated bike stations however.
Good access to Dwtn especially by bike and driving.
Overall a very safe community with really no blight.
Good Sidewalk and ADA infrastructure but ADA standard curbs are missing in about 25% of intersections and not as consistent as Des Moines neighborhoods.
Excellent historic commercial architecture along 5th Street but the historic residential stock is so so and pretty working class.
Some excellent urban commercial infill in spots along 5th Street but also some awful autocentric corridors and uses along Railroad ,W 63rd, and Grand Ave.
Several quality walkable public elementary and middle schools in Valley Junction. The high schools is a couple miles away in the suburban part of the community.
Great park amenities including the gigantic Holiday Park Baseball Complex, Jordan Creek Recreational Trail, and several medium sized parks often connected to public schools.
Good cultural amenities especially food & beverage businesses. Also several art galleries, a couple event spaces, and several bars that host live music.
Good retail amenities too including a supermarket, pharmacy, tons of boutiques, gift shops, and unique independent stores concentrated on 5th Avenue, a public library, book store, a post office, plenty of dessert joints, a couple gyms, a couple banks, several antique stores, plenty of salons, and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Some good pedestrian activity along 5th Avenue but not much outside of it.
Missing larger big box stores and medical offices and the hospital are not walkable to Valley Junction residents.
Pretty low density for an urban area. Same with the transit access.
For sale housing is pretty plentiful and affordable. Really no condo options and housing options is pretty limited. 2-beds sell btwn 70K-275K. 3 & 4 beds sell between 100K-330K.
Rental options are pretty limited but on the affordable side.”

Capitol East- Home to Des Moines’ Mexican Community

Capitol East is one of Des Moines’ older neighborhoods dating back to the late 19th century. Capitol East’s proximity to the state capitol building also made it a desirable location for state employees. The neighborhood originally was a nice mix of working-class families and professionals but by the mid-20th century it faced significant decline. Capitol East has been slow to recover as is reflected in its low population density and the many vacant lots remaining in the neighborhood. Some stability has begun to occur thanks largely to an influx of Mexican immigrants to the community. Some new construction has also begun in the neighborhood as developers begin to take advantage of Capitol East’s convenient location just east of the Capitol complex and only 2 miles from Downtown.

Even with its great location only 2 miles east of Dwtn I do not consider Capitol East a viable urban district. It has simply lost too much of its population and urban business fabric along Grand to be considered walkable to me. But given its urban bones and street grid there is hope that Capitol East will fill in and became a great urban district one day. Hopefully with a mixture of immigration and interest from professionals desiring to live close to Dwtn development will pick up here.

Click here to view My Capitol East Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Excellent diversity metrics especially racial. There is a large Mexican population here but also large Black, White and mixed-racial groups.
Very convenient access to Dtwn being only 2 miles away but bike and transit access are underwhelming considering the proximity.
Very consistent ADA curb cuts and generally consistent sidewalks but due to many vacant lots, many of the sidewalks have not been maintained well.
3 solids park well dispersed throughout Capitol East.
Decent Tree canopy.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Public transit access is ok especially considering how close the neighborhood is too dwtn.
Lots of vacant lots and older industrial sites in the neighborhood.
Very low density for an urban district.
A walkable public grade and high school here but very poor ratings.
Rentals are cheap but listed ones are very limited.
For-sale housing is generally very affordable with 2 beds selling anywhere btwn 70K-150K, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 70K-270K.
Crime seems a bit high in Capitol East but not crazy. Lots of vacant lots here and some blighted buildings.
Some nice historic commercial buildings but the residential homes are very working class and unadorned.
Not much modern in-fill but what does exist is generally auto centric crap.
Some urban commercial fabric along the Grand Avenue but lots of holes and vacant lots. The semi-commercial streets of 14th & 15th streets are very autocentric.
A good number of restaurants, including several Mexican restaurants, and a couple bars. Other cultural amenities are limited.
Retail amenities are also pretty limited but there are several Mexican grocerias here, a couple boutiques, a coupe salons”

North of Grand/Woodland Heights- Solid Urban Neighborhoods West of Downtown Des Moines

The North of Grand neighborhood dates back to the early 20th century as a streetcar suburb for the upper middle class. North of Grand remained a relatively stable neighborhood even during the post WWII decline of many inner city Des Moines neighborhoods. Currently it is a much sought after neighborhood which still contain a good amount of available starter homes and affordable rentals. Woodland Heights to the east on the edge of Downtown is more of a mix of late 19th century and early 20th century housing, generally more modest than the North of Grand neighborhood. Woodland Heights experience more blight and disinvestment but has stabilized nicely and contains a significant amount of new construction.

North of Grand/ Woodland Heights is a solid urban district with convenient access to Dwtn and a decent walkable/bikeable neighborhood. Typical suburban amenities with a good tree canopy, safety, decent schools with decent urban amenities thanks to a good # of cultural amenities and some walkable retail along Ingersoll. Also good housing diversity with a good # of affordable for sale homes. This is an great value for your urban living that can often only be found in midwestern cities.

For the North of Grand/Woodland Heights neighborhoods to become a top tier urban districts it needs a lot more density especially along he Grand/Ingersoll corridors. I’d also like to see more retail amenities, parks, and some more walkable schools here.

Click here to view my Woodland Heights and North of Grand Albums on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure.
* Very convenient access to Dwtn across all modes of transportation. A nice east to west bike lane and a couple bike share stations on the eastern edge of the district.
* Pretty good diversity metrics, especially economic diversity.
* Overall very safe neighborhoods.
* Attractive historic homes but nothing spectacular. Limited historic commercial.
* Good tree canopy.
* Most cultural amenities are along Ingeroll Ave the northern border of the neighborhood. Good food and beverage amenities, a couple art galleries and a couple night clubs. Several historic homes open for tours through the neighborhood.
* While Ingersoll is semi-autocentric an excellent streetscaping project is underway greatly improving the urban design. More and more urban in-fill buildings are being built generally moving west from Dwtn.
* Lots of affordable for-sale product and decent diversity but limited 1-bed options. 2-beds sell anywhere from 80K-275K including some condos along Grand. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 100K-400K
* Decent # of rentals pretty moderately priced. 1-beds lease btwn $800-1,500. 2-beds for $850 to 2K. 3-beds in the 2Ks.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Retail amenities are also concentrated along Ingeroll but a bit limited. This includes a drug store, office max, supermarket a block north of the neighborhood, several banks, a couple boutiques, a couple florists, a couple dessert joints & gyms.
Density is so so for an urban area.
Parks within the neighborhood are limited to the Woodland Cemetery and a playground. Greenwood-Ashworth Park is just south of the neighborhood borders and this is one of Des Moines’ best urban parks.

Greenwood/Liden Heights Historic District- Des Moines premier Historic Mansion District

I combined several historic mansion districts from the turn of the century including Linden Historic Heights District, Greenwood, and Terrace Hill Historic District. They are all similar in character and urban design. I used Grand as the northern border, MLK Highway as the eastern, Greenwood park as the eastern, and the railroad tracks as the southern. While I used Grand as the official north border I still consider Ingersoll, a block north of here to be the business district serving the neighborhood.

The Terrace Hill neighborhood is the closest to Downtown and contains the oldest housing stock from the late 19th century including many well preserved Victorian Era mansions. The Terrace Hill mansion, official residence of the Governor of Iowa is also here. Further west in the Linden Heights and Greenwood neighborhoods the housing stock is a mix of early 20th century mansions spanning each decade until the 1950s. Greenwood Park in the western edge of this evaluation area is one of the city’s oldest and most beloved parks. The neighborhood is also one of Des Moines hilliest areas whose terrain lends itself well to grand trees and curvilinear streets.

While the district has amazing historic mansions the density is very low for an urban area. The northern edge of the district along Grand and Ingersoll is what allows the district to still function as a relatively urban and semi-walkable neighborhood. Grand host larger condos and apartment buildings from the early-mid 20th century and Ingersoll is a decent urban commercial district seeing a excellent recent streetscaping project and lots of quality urban in-fill close to Dwtn. The district has a wonderful array of housing options and price points and quality schools as well. What the neighborhood really needs to become a top tier urban district is more people and mixed-use projects, consistent side walks in the residential areas, better racial and economic diversity, more public transit options, and more retail amenities.

Click here to view my Greenwood Historic District Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Very convenient access to Dwtn being about 2 mile away. But some points of the neighborhood have limited access via transit and bike given the hills.
Good generational diversity.
Gorgeous historic mansions.
Very safe community. Really no blight.
Decent school access including a walkable public school for every grade. Decent ratings as well.
Good # of rentals mostly concentrated along Grand. 1-beds rent anywhere btwn $700-1.5K, 2-beds btwn $900 and 1.5K. Only a handful of 3-beds.
Good # of for sale condos concentrated also along Grand selling anywhere from 100K-450K, great variety of 2-beds selling anywhere btwn 150K-1M including condos, townhouses, and SF homes. 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere btwn 230K-1.5M with a decent # of condos/townhouses mixed in with the SF homes.
Good parks including the moderately sized Greenwood-Ashworth Park with a rose garden and the expansive Water Works Park along the Raccoon River with a rec trail running alongside it.
Excellent Tree canopy.
Most cultural amenities are along Ingeroll Ave the northern border of the neighborhood. Good food and beverage amenities, a couple art galleries and a couple night clubs. Several historic homes open for tours through the neighborhood.
While Ingersoll is semi-autocentric an excellent streetscaping project is underway greatly improving the urban design. More and more urban in-fill buildings are being built generally moving west from Dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Very low density for an urban district.
* About half of the streets don’t have sidewalks but when they do they typically have ADA standard curb cuts. Consistent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure on Grand Ave.
* Public transit is decent along the blocks closest to Grand but quickly drop off the further south one goes.
* No bike infrastructure in the district but there is a good bike line along Ingersoll along with a couple of bike stations on it.
* The streets connect and there are no cul du sacs here but very curvilinear roads with long complicated blocks.
* Racial diversity is pretty low as this is ~ an 85% White neighborhood. Economic diversity is similar.
* Retail amenities are also concentrated along Ingeroll but a bit limited. This includes a drug store, office max, supermarket a block north of the neighborhood, several banks, a couple boutiques, a couple florists, a couple dessert joints & gyms.