The Downtown Community Alliance (DCA) conducts the Executive Call Program annually to get a read on the downtown area’s pulse. This year, it spoke with 72 executives who identified what they believe to be downtown’s biggest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

“This is an important thing we do every year,” said DCA Director of Economic Development Tim Leach. “Are we going in the right direction? Are there any big red flags?”

The survey, conducted using the Synchronist Business Information System, has been administered since 2000. The software asks the same questions from year to year, but the DCA also has the chance to ask custom questions that focus on specific areas such as housing, business chambers or in this year’s case, the skywalks.

Following are some of the survey’s key findings.

• Daytime Population: 84,635
• Total Population: 7,949
• Land Area: 3.12 square miles
• Number of Establishments: 2,252

Barriers to growth

Downtown Des Moines may be the main business hub in Iowa, but 58 percent of those surveyed said they felt there were significant barriers preventing their businesses from growing, including the high cost of doing business, local regulation, risk aversion and transportation problems.

“Regulation hits smaller business a little harder,” Leach said, pointing out that he heard complaints about sign ordinances during his interviews with small business owners.

However, Leach said he believes there’s a strong disconnect between perceptions and reality when it comes to businesses’ ability to grow. Leach said a good example of this is parking; though parking may be a little pricier downtown than elsewhere in Iowa, it’s still a “bargain” when compared with other cities nationwide.

“And the city does a great job with parking,” he said. “There are covered garages with access to the skywalks, so you never have to leave your car outside to deal with Iowa’s elements.”

As for Iowa leaders’ risk aversion, Leach said he believes this simply comes down to the bad economy. “There’s money on the sidelines, but everyone is so afraid of when the next shoe will drop,” he said.

Location

The survey also looked into businesses’ plans, if any, to expand, renovate or change locations during the next two years. It found that only 28 percent said they planned to either renovate or expand, and 69 percent had no plans.

Additionally, only 11 percent of surveyed businesses said they were looking to make an investment in a new location.

Leach said he believes the low percentage of businesses looking to expand or move to a new location is a sign of the times, adding that eight years ago, there was a much smaller percentage of businesses that had no plans to renovate or add locations.

“They’re complacent, they’re not looking to remodel, they don’t need new space because they’re not adding people,” he said.

Recruitment

The majority of businesses – nearly 60 percent – felt that there wasn’t much of a problem with recruitment. Out of the 40 percent that did, only 33 percent said they believe their recruitment troubles stemmed from the downtown community; the other 66 percent said their specific industry was the problem.

However, executives did cite one common recruitment problem: bringing in employees from the East and West coasts.

“Once we get people here and they see the lifestyle, we have no problem retaining them,” Leach said. “But it’s hard to get them to leave the beach or the mountains or the temperate weather.”

Strengths

Executives had a positive outlook on the downtown community overall, mentioning they enjoyed its vibrancy, which Leach said is listed as a strength year after year. Likewise, those surveyed commented on the improvements and developments made within the community, including the East Village, Court District and Western Gateway.

Leach said the downtown leadership has done a tremendous job over the years, and businesses have definitely taken note of the improvements that have been made.

Other strengths listed were accessibility to leaders and downtown’s central location.

• Vibrancy
• East Village & Western Gateway Development
• Business Network
• Accessibility to Leaders & Decision Makers
• City’s Accessibility
• D-Line Shuttle
• Central Location
• Positive Business Climate

Weaknesses

Many of the weaknesses executives listed were recurrences of the barriers to growth, including risk aversion, parking and the cost of doing business – which related lease rates and property taxes to those in neighboring areas.

Again, Leach said many of these were misperceptions, reiterating that compared with other cities, the cost of doing business is quite low, and people enjoy the social aspects of the downtown community too much to relocate.

“Most people are very happy with the downtown location,” Leach said. “People like to be around other people; they often feel isolated when they relocate.”

Other weaknesses mentioned included a lack of retail stores, grocery or convenience stores, and entertainment and cultural activities. Executives also felt there was a disconnect between many aspects of the community

Leach said it was important to note that many of the weaknesses businesses found with the downtown area are already being addressed through the implementation of the comprehensive, long-term Capital Crossroads plan.

“This is just another survey showing that the [plan] is on the right track,” he said.

• Risk Aversion
• Parking
• Cost of Doing Business
• Lack of Services/Products
• Social Culture
• Small Business Support
• Disconnect
• Business Relocations