East Village News

[Ingersoll1978]

Thanks dogbo...it's on the previous page. We'll have to check that out when we get out there early next month!

[DMRyan]

As reported in the Register's new weekly alternative, "Juice"

The old Lawson's Book store is being renovated into offices for an architecture company.

Architecture firm moves into old Lawson's space

by laurie mansfield
juice staff


If you see work going on in the old Lawson's Books space in the East Village, it's the new tenants, sprucing up the old used bookstore.

Dunbar/Jones Landscape Architecture is moving in, hopefully by the first part of May, said Greg Jones, a partner in the firm.

Martin Oline closed his used bookstore Christmas Eve of 2004.

Jim Boyt, who owns the historic 1878 building on the corner of East Sixth and Grand Avenue, said he rented the building to the architecture firm because he thought the partners would take good care of his building. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.

"I wouldn't take them if they weren't," he said. "They really respect the character of the building."

Ironically, Dunbar/Jones is working on the other side of town — they're working on the West Gateway Park project.

At least they've got both sides of town covered...

[dmluvr]

well obviously 'juices' style of writing is very reggiesque.

while I'd prefer to have had a really cool lounge bar or cosmo style restaurant go in, it's good to see something in there, nothing wrong with artitchect firm, and to see this property sit vacant.

[Young DSM Social Club]

I'm disappointed --- it's a great visual location and a cool space. Architects in the East Village? Fantastic. Architects in a prime location in the East Village? No thanks. They should have rented 2nd story space somewhere else ...

[NOG]

I agree it would have been better to have some sort of retail or restaurant\bar in that location. Save the first floor for these type of uses and let the upper floors be office or residential.

[dogbo]

Driving down E Court Ave today noticed the old Celebration's bar building has a sign on it -- Office Space, Retail, Lofts.

If memory serves, the individuals who recently purchased the Capital Lofts also bought this building as well. It will be interesting to see what develops.

[Ingersoll1978]

Driving down E Court Ave today noticed the old Celebration's bar building has a sign on it -- Office Space, Retail, Lofts.

If memory serves, the individuals who recently purchased the Capital Lofts also bought this building as well. It will be interesting to see what develops.

Where was Celebrations on E Court?

[DMRyan]

That sign has been up on the building for a while. I always assumed the people that owned it were looking for a developer with ideas (and money) to rehab the building.



This building was a neat venue for a nightclub, but probably fell victim to poor location, among other things. I would love to see this building turned into an edgy, big city rock bar or techno dance club similar in nature to The Garden. Since there are no residents anywhere near this thing, they might be able to crank up the sound.

[icia]

Is this the same building that was Crobar for a while in the early/mid 90's? Before that it was Montana's or something.

[Young DSM Social Club]

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere. The bike racks/art are now up in the East Village area (starting by City Hall). VERY cool. I was impressed.

[iadm]

well, the racks might look cool but my group couldn't figure out what they were - best guesses were instruments of torture or Sculpture 101 class projects.....

[DSM celebutante]

What is going in that space next to projects?

[dogbo]

A couple EV updates:

* House of Bricks -- they've finally added some signage yet I hope they have addl plans for the exterior. Regardless, this does help to add some life to a previously dead corner of the East Village.

* The Continental (tapas restaurant and bar next to Kitchen Collage) -- sign in the window says "Opening May 27". Can't wait!

[DMRyan]

As Dogbo said, Continental opens tomorrow.

New cuisine hits East Village

Kevin DuBay wil open The Continental on Friday next door to ZZZ Records in the East Village.

by tim paluch
juice staff writer

The Continental restaurant, the East Village's newest neighbor, bills itself as "upscale, contemporary cuisine."

Friday, Kevin DuBay of West Des Moines and his brother plan to open The Continental at 428 E. Locust Ave., next door to Zzz Records.

DuBay, 32, a former art teacher at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, designed the interior and will run the restaurant. The space has high ceilings and exposed brick. He calls the decor "retro mixed with rustic."

DuBay's brother, Brian, 30, is the head chef. A friend built the bar.

The menu uses the tapas, or small-plate, approach to dining — appetizer-size portions of food that allow customers to sample different items instead of having one larger meal.

Prices range from $6 for a salad or roasted asparagus to $14 for a few pieces of rack of lamb. DuBay said the restaurant will serve four different types of baked oysters.

Lunch and dinner will be served daily. On Fridays and Saturdays, food will be available until 1:30 a.m.

DuBay said the restaurant hopes to bring in "yuppies, young urban professionals, people in their early 20s to early 40s."

Expect an extensive wine and beer list — about 40 of each. There's also a top-shelf liquor bar and diverse martini menu.

[DMRyan]

Drove by this old US Bank building today and noticed workers cleaning out stuff from the inside. Some dumpsters and other equipment was onsite.

It's about time this building got the rehab treatment. Hopefully they get rid of that nasty exterior cladding too.



That corner with the small parking lot and old drive through teller lanes just to the east of this building would be ideal for a small infill project.

[Young DSM Social Club]

There is indeed something going into one of those buildings --- unfortunately, I cannot say what it is b/c I know the person doing the project and he asked me not to mention, but I think everyone will like it. Hint: Cityview mentioned it in the gossip column a few weeks ago much to the shock of the person I know (I actually showed him the mention and he had no idea it was in there).

[dogbo]

Curiosity got the best of me. Fortunately Cityview has a nice archives section on-line.

Found the bit (I believe) that mentions this project. Interesting! Decided not to bring it over here as to not get Young DSM in trouble.

[icia]

Maybe this has been discussed earlier on this board, but who decided on the name East Village? It's not a bad name, but it's already taken. Anyone know the history of this?

[Ingersoll1978]

I think it just kinda evolved. Before East Village, wasn't it called the East Gateway? I like village better personally, it doesn't bring up the image as its counterpart on the otherside of the river. It's wierd how Gateway West (to me) means more modern (in spite of the temple)...and the east is historical for some reason. This area of town has had many names though. Maybe Capitol Village or something to that effect would have been better?

[icia]

You're right, Capitol Village is much better. I just wish it had a name unique to Des Moines. It's pretty lame to copy other cities.

[Brady]

is the *first* east villiage in nyc?

[Ingersoll1978]

I would assume that it is. It's definately the most "famous".

[dmluvr]

good point icia, and it has been brought up before on here.

I belive the east village in London was teh first one?? As far as states are concerned it is in NYC I believe.

I'd agree on capital village. It gives more uniquness to dm and as well as more local awarness and that is what dm really needs. Alot of people aklowdege the growth dm is having, but seems to have the 'they just copy other cities' attitude. And you know, to an extent, it's a valid argument.
Personally, I'm in favor have having unique names that are after local icons or landmarks and such. I.E. capital village. (makes sense eh?)
As well, dm really really needs to have a cool local history museam. I"m telling you, the pictures of the city alone is amazing from historical points of view. (i was just at CABCO last night) but there is this picture of Court Ave, there used to be a big turnabout in court ave with a huge waterfountain in. It was stunning. Plus all buildings around it. Man, it was beautiful.

[DMRyan]

I wouldn't mind seeing another name either, since these abbreviated district names (SoCa, LoDo, etc.) and copycats from other cities are lame and getting overused. We're in good company with nearly every other city though, that has some kind of neighborhood moniker like this.

Unfortunately, I think the East Village name has taken off and stuck well enough that we won't be seeing it changed anytime soon.

dmluvr, I hear you on the historical photos. I could look at that stuff for hours. Sometimes it's pretty disgusting to see what was demolished for parking lots and garages.

[Ingersoll1978]

Here is an article from the Register about the naming of the East Village.

Take yourself down to a funkier town

East Village is growing along with its name

By DAVID ELBERT
REGISTER BUSINESS COLUMNIST

June 22, 2005

A colleague asks: When did Des Moines' east-side business district become the East Village?

When it became hip, I reply smugly.

You can't go to a party in my west-side neighborhood without somebody mentioning the East Village. It's become one of those overnight success stories that took years, even decades, to produce, but now it's on everyone's radar screen.

The timing is good because the Des Moines Arts Festival is this weekend. That means a lot of folks will be downtown and will have a chance to see the new East Village for the first time.

The once dowdy, but now funky, area between the Des Moines River and the Iowa Capitol has become even funkier in the past year with new construction, new stores in old buildings, and new street sculptures that double as bike racks.

The Arts Festival, which takes place on the downtown river bridges, has produced standing-room only business for bars and restaurants on the west side of the river along Court Avenue.

This year, they'll probably be standing in line at East Village businesses, too.

Which brings us back to my friend's question about the name and how it got here.


The Des Moines Register's electronic library shows that 2002 was the first time the name "East Village" showed up in more newspaper stories (47) than did the term "Gateway East" (21), the previous designation for the east-side business district.

The origin of the term goes back at least five years before that.

John Burgeson, CEO of Iowa State Bank, says the name evolved from efforts in the 1990s to set goals for redeveloping the area.
Burgeson was chairman of the Gateway East Committee that was asked in 1997 to come up with goals. It was one of two such groups appointed by then-Mayor Arthur Davis. The other was the Gateway West Committee, which focused on the area west of 10th Street where the new library, Pappajohn Higher Education Center, Centro and Allied Insurance are now located.

Burgeson's group came up with three goals for the east-side area: retain small business, attract retail and restaurants, and re-introduce housing. "All of those elements were present in the '50s and '60s, when I was growing up here," Burgeson said.

When the Gateway East Committee members stood back and looked at what they were proposing, he said, it hit them: They were creating a village.

"We adopted the name East Village, and it stuck," Burgeson said.

Well, not right away.

Newspaper stories continued to refer to the area as Gateway East, a name that had originated with the early 1990s Vision Plan for Des Moines.

Before 1998, the term "East Village," when it appeared in the Register, usually referred to New York's East Village.

The first references that related to Des Moines' east-side business district appeared in 1998, when businesswoman Christine Paskins established the East Village Neighborhood and Merchants Association.

The Register's library files show only two references to Des Moines' East Village in news stories in 1998, four in 1999, 14 in 2000, 20 in 2001, 47 in 2002, 120 in 2003, and 240 in 2004.

Three years ago, things really started happening in the area. The planning and lobbying efforts of the Gateway East Committee in 1997 and 1998, and the East Village Association in later years, started to pay off.

The city spent $2.4 million to create a new streetscape for the area. It included changing traffic patterns on Locust Street from one-way to two-way traffic and providing new lights, plantings, brick sidewalks and street furniture.

Burgeson's bank took a risk and built a new combination retail and commercial building at 601 E. Locust in 2002 and remodeled another building at 521 E. Locust, attracting tenants such as Sticks and the Noodle Zoo that complemented other stores and restaurants in the area.

The bank's success encouraged architect and developer Tony DeAngelo to build SoHo Lofts at Fourth and Locust streets. The SoHo project, which is nearing completion, brings Burgeson's village concept together in a single building.

If you attend the Arts Festival this weekend, take a few minutes to stroll up Locust Street toward the SoHo tower and Capitol.

You'll like what you see.

[DSM celebutante]

Im thinking East Village is getting overexposed, An Contentintal I must say was a huge dissapointment its more Court Ave. then East Village.

[Des Moineser]

All publicity is good publicity... This is just what East Village needs.

[Ingersoll1978]

The East Village is far from being over exposed. The more exposure it gets, the more people that come, the better the current businesses do, the more businesses that come, the more people that come (if that makes sense).

[dmluvr]

Absolutley---you can never give enough over exposure to east village---hell--any downtown project can never be over expose.

I've actually have heard many good things about contintinal, I have walked by it a few times and it looks pretty cool. but out of fairness, i havn't actually been inside or eat'n there.

[dogbo]

I'm down with the Contential as well...especially considering the prevoius options that were available in he EV! I am a bit surprised by the wall hangings however. I was under the impression that one of the owners was a former Art Prof....and thus I expected a bit more in regards to the artwork on the walls.