As 2006 began, the plan for a vacant parcel on Court Avenue called for two developers to work together on a proposal. That didn’t go anywhere. Even the developers didn’t understand why it was suggested.

Since then, the neighborhood has buzzed with building projects. The Whiteline Lofts condominium units are finished, construction has begun on two buildings along Fourth Street, the Spaghetti Works renovation is well under way and so are rehabs of the Kirkwood Hotel and the building that housed Nacho Mammas restaurant.

Also, a revival of the Randolph Hotel is on the table, an annex to the Polk County Courthouse has been proposed for the southwest corner of Fifth and Court avenues, and there’s talk of redoing the northeast corner of that intersection, now occupied by a parking garage.

But the empty space on Court between Fourth and Fifth just sits there, used for nothing but a little bit of parking.

City Manager Rick Clark said last week that the city of Des Moines has decided to wait for all the other projects to get done before trying again to develop its vacant lot. “With the amount of new housing coming up in the area, probably the best move on our part is to hold off on pushing this development,” Clark said. “I think the site will show better if we let some of these things happen first.”

That’s probably true. When people move in and add liveliness to the area, developers are more likely to get excited about joining in.

But what lesson should we learn from this? For years, we thought the city should help jump-start its modest little entertainment area by building on that prime site. In the end, private developers – with substantial financial assistance from government – are the ones who have started to push Court Avenue uphill.

Is this an example of letting the marketplace work? Or could progress have been made a long time ago if the city had figured out what it wanted and forged ahead?

When companies with a strong record of performance want to go for a touchdown on city-owned land, let’s hand them the ball.