.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Here’s what Chuck and Jaina Johnson don’t understand: What’s the big deal about downtown not having a supermarket?

“People said, ‘Where are you going to get groceries?'” Chuck said last week. “I said, ‘How do you get groceries? Do you walk, or do you have to drive?”

Because if you have to drive to the store, like nearly every other good American, it’s really no big deal to start the trip downtown instead of somewhere else. Cars seem to operate pretty well here, despite the tall buildings.

Other than that, Chuck said, friends don’t have a lot of questions about the Johnsons’ plans to move into a condominium unit on the 17th floor of the Equitable Building. Which suggests that their friends are all quite well-off, or they’re just polite.

Because here’s what the typical Iowan doesn’t understand: $1.4 million for a condo in downtown Des Moines? Are you kidding me?

No doubt the typical Iowan still thinks of the city’s concrete-and-iron heart as a place to do business or attend the state wrestling tournament, not a place where you kick back at the end of the day and … well, look out a window at the buildings, as if you were still chained to your workstation.

Plus, if you can find a typical Iowan and get him or her wound up about the cost of the condo, it might be fun to mention that the Johnsons aren’t going to live there full time, just three or four of the ice-free months each year.

At that point, the TI will realize what kind of urban pioneers we’re really talking about.

They’re not just moving downtown. They’re not just spending the kind of money that used to go toward a mansion with a lawn and gardens.

They’re saying downtown Des Mones is a good place for a luxurious second home.

Speaking of pioneers, in 2000 Chuck Johnson retired as president of Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. He had married Jaina in 1999, and she had spent a good chunk of her life living in Las Vegas. So now they had a home out there and a home South of Grand. Too much, they decided after a few years. Time to downsize.

“I was thinking about a smaller house or a condo South of Grand,” Jaina said. But she wasn’t giving enough weight to The Prophecy.

Back in 1997, Chuck and Jaina were at the downtown Josephs Jewelers store, which happens to be in the Equitable Building. “Chuck said, ‘If I ever live downtown, I’d want a condo in this building,'” Jaina recalls.

Because there weren’t actually any condos in the Equitable back then, maybe it sounded less like a Prophecy and more like an Idle Remark. But eventually developer Bob Knapp ran into Chuck in the Equitable’s very classy lobby and invited him up to see his project, one thing led to another, and now the Johnsons are biding their time in a downtown apartment, waiting for Central Iowa’s most famous condo to be finished.

As of last week, they had a fair amount of waiting to do. The walls are nothing but metal studs. But you sure can get a feel for the appeal, with views far to the west, far to the south, and featuring the state Capitol to the east. And they’ll have 4,331 square feet to spread out in.

The Johnsons didn’t want the two-level layout available on the 18th floor, but did want as much view as they could get, so the 17th floor was the one. They picked the south side, which seems like an easy choice. The north side offers a close-up view of the Two Ruan Center roof, which isn’t exactly the Gardens of Versailles.

They’ve had a year of practice as downtown residents, and they like it. “Every day, we take a 30-minute to one-hour walk,” Chuck said. “We like to try different restaurants, and there are some nice things going on at Hoyt Sherman Place.”

And they aren’t too concerned with the construction schedule. Their place should be ready next spring, and right now it’s almost time to head for Las Vegas.

“I don’t think Las Vegas is a livable city anymore,” Jaina said, “and what I like about Des Moines is the smaller-town feel. Hopefully, we’ll get a nice department store downtown sometime.”

But then, most of us have to drive to a department store anyway.