The Dallas County portion of West Des Moines, where Jordan Creek Town Center and neighboring retail developments have sprung up in the past two years, gained a significant number of retail sales in fiscal year 2006, a full year after the mall was built, compared to sales before the mall was built in fiscal year 2004. Meanwhile, Des Moines’ retail sales have decreased dramatically, according to a study of “Recent Trade Shifts in the Polk Metropolitan Region” completed by Liesl Eathington and Dave Swenson in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University.

The report addresses concerns about the impact of the Jordan Creek Town Center development on overall retail and service health of the region.

According to the report, which looked at retail sales in Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison and Guthrie counties, the Dallas County portion of West Des Moines had the largest increase in total real retail sales (adjusted for inflation), with a $310.8 million increase in sales in 2006 compared with 2004. Altoona and Ankeny ranked second and third, with Altoona’s sales growing by $104 million and Ankeny’s sales increasing by $74.6 million.

Meanwhile, Des Moines experienced the region’s greatest sales loss, with a decline of $193.6 million from fiscal year 2004 to 2006. About one-fourth of that loss was attributed to population loss and a slight decrease in average incomes of city residents. The net value of retail and service trade that shifted elsewhere was $143.7 million. The Polk County portion of West Des Moines had the second-largest drop in retail sales with a decrease of $22 million in the two-year period. Based on the population and income growth in that part of the city, sales levels would have been expected to increase by $22.3 million.

Real total retail sales in the entire five-county area increased 5.5 percent from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2006, far exceeding the statewide rate of 1 percent. Retail and service sales in the metropolitan area grew by $387.8 million. This increase exceeded the 3.6 percent growth in population, which suggests that people from outside the region are also shopping in the district