DART Central Station

[Des Moineser]

What do you mean Amtrak by the airport? The transit hub is downtown which is about 3-4 miles from the airport. Hubs have actually been demonstrated to be successful, unlike their Transit Mall brethren. Furthermore, pie in the sky, I don't think so. The area around it is... the courthouse, some parking ramps, and some empty parking lots... not much left to destroy, huh?. This project will contain the negative effects of mass transit (noise, smelly bus fumes, etc., crowds) into one area while also providing a more streamlined way of maintaining and expanding service.

It makes a lot more sense than a crowding 1.5 lane road wedged between highrises over 3 blocks.

[JMsioux]

There are a bunch of renderings that just went up on the Drive Time Des Moines Facebook page if you're able to grab those.

Much better renderings than that other one. Now I'm much excited to see this go up.

Here are the renderings:

"60's Grocery store" was the first thought that came to mind when I saw the street corner level renderings with the 'dart' sign.

[hawk61401]

DART secures $6.5 million grant for the transit hub.

http://www.businessrecord.com/main.asp? ... leID=10346

[WaterlooDave]

Is there a reason that government's feel the need (again) to build buildings that look dated within ten years (if not sooner) of being built? Get five years of grime on this building and it will look like a relic of the 60's. There is something to be said for timeless classic designs. Modernist designs are best when brand new.

[DMRyan]

I think this amended design is interesting, albeit not as interesting as the conceptual renderings that originally released with the dramatic curved roof design. There's a lot of glass, which I think is a fairly timeless look, it's probably the hooded canopy on Cherry Street that people are reacting to when they think this looks like either a dated design or a design that won't age well over the years.

I share dogbo's sentiments on the location of this being odd with no provision to incorporate this into a real multi-modal transit hub, should rail transit ever be brought to DSM. I'm sure the transit planners that identified locations for this are plenty more qualified, but it just seems to be oddly tucked on the fringe of a no-man's land and distanced away from enough of the core where people can get dropped off and walk a few blocks to their destinations.

[DMRyan]

As mentioned in the news, all of the funding for the transit hub has been secured and this project is a go. Dirt should start being pushed this coming March or April.

[Mototail]

Looks like they're moving forward on the land so they can actually build it.
http://www.kcci.com/automotive/25971524/detail.html
[quote]Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority officials voted Tuesday to buy land for a new downtown transit hub./quote]

[Braniff]

Looks like they're moving forward on the land so they can actually build it.
http://www.kcci.com/automotive/25971524/detail.html

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority officials voted Tuesday to buy land for a new downtown transit hub./quote]

Somewhat off topic(?) but has anyone begun to develop plans for Walnut Street in terms of traffic flow, commercial or other uses before and during the move to the new DART transit hub? I know about the plans to redevelop the old Younkers store but I wasn't sure if there were any master plans or anything on that line.

[Des Moineser]

I had seen renderings and plans for Walnut to be a "complete street" with rail service and full car usage too with revamped sidewalks. I think it all depends on what happens with the proposed light rail and if that has any life left.

[hawk61401]

A breakdown and description of the grants. Atlanta gets a big piece of the pie for it's streetcar system (almost 50 million) with Des Moines and Moline getting 10 mil.

http://www.dot.gov/docs/tiger2grantinfo.pdf

[DMRyan]

I had seen renderings and plans for Walnut to be a "complete street" with rail service and full car usage too with revamped sidewalks. I think it all depends on what happens with the proposed light rail and if that has any life left.

I hate to say it, but I just don't see this idea becoming reality in the short term. Perhaps this could be a major planning focus in the future but it's not going to gain much traction anytime soon. The easy fix will be to get a bike lane and normal car traffic back on the street, which should be done immediately after the buses are off of Walnut Street. With the What's Next Downtown master plan, connectivity of all of the districts and amenities of downtown seemed to be a prevailing theme. I think the city should really begin implementing this idea by focusing on the skywalks first. The idea to overhaul the entrances to the skywalks and increase visibility to the street level pedestrian was a pretty noble one.

[dogbo]

The finalist are in for the new name of the transit hub:

• Cherry Street Central Station

• Cherry Street Transit Center

• Cherry Street Transit Connector

• Cherry Street Transit Hub

• DART Central Station

• DART Transit Center

• DART Transit Hub

• Downtown Transit Center

IMO, they would be wise to include Cherry Street in the name. Given this station isn't as centralized as I think it should be and is a bit off the beaten path, anything to do to help guide people towards it is very important. To that end, I say vote for your favorate name that includes "Cherry Street" in there somewhere. That is my bit of advocacy for the day.

Here's the article and link to voting (ends Friday! ):

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... ansit-hub/

[wmjindsm]

IMO, they would be wise to include Cherry Street in the name.

I do agree with you about having Cherry Street in the nane, and they could make a cute logo of a cherry with a dart in it.

[Mototail]

I casted my vote for Cherry Street Central Station especially with the planned rail in the future plus it has an iconic feel to it.

[rasmeth]

I chose Cherry Street Central Station too, but I didn't have a strong opinion about the order I voted in overall. Transit sounded like transient and so I put those after station ones.

[hawk61401]

DART's new transit hub won’t only be Des Moines' new public transit connection. It will also be another site in an ever growing list of downtown public art. The concept of the transit center is trying to improve the quality of people’s experiences and adding public art is part of that experience.

If you're an artist who wants to literally get your name and work out into the public, here's an excellent opportunity. The application deadline is April 15.

application: http://bit.ly/hoIw2o

guidelines: http://bit.ly/eU7g1A

transit site: http://bit.ly/dJPUvU

[dogbo]

Have the announced the new name? I haven't seen anything yet.

[Ingersoll1978]

Here is a Brooking Instditue ranking of transit systems of the largest 100 metros in the country. The premise of the ranking is based on the connection of residents to jobs. Des Moines ranked #22.

Report: http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2011/0 ... ansit.aspx

Metro profiles: http://www.brookings.edu/metro/jobs_and ... files.aspx

[wmjindsm]

Announced today that Friday will be the groundbreaking of the Hub and the new name will be announced then.

http://www.ridedart.com/pdf/PressReleas ... w_Name.pdf

[Mastermind]

Announced today that Friday will be the groundbreaking of the Hub and the new name will be announced then.

http://www.ridedart.com/pdf/PressReleas ... w_Name.pdf

DART Central Station it is...

[dogbo]

It's not knocking me over, but not exactly a life or death decision either..

[DMRyan]

Construction fencing finally has gone up around this site, and it looks like they're prepping the existing building for demo. This has taken a few months longer than expected to get going, but it will be nice to see a major downtown construction project get going.

[MusicMan]

I'm drawing a blank... what buildings are there right now? Anything of significance?

[BenRoethig]

Really ugly 1/2 story warehouses on the cherry st side and a big parking lot on the south side. Nothing that anyone will miss.

That being said, I would have done this project a couple blocks west and incorporated the old train station.

[DMRyan]

I'll see if I can dig some photos up tonight.

I agree Ben. Much like the stupid location that Wells Fargo Arena got built in, there were probably better opportunities if the future could've been examined further. Of course, in today's political and economic climate, investing more in our infrastructure seems farther away from reality than ever.

[hawk61401]

Really ugly 1/2 story warehouses on the cherry st side and a big parking lot on the south side. Nothing that anyone will miss.

That being said, I would have done this project a couple blocks west and incorporated the old train station.

Old habits die hard in Des Moines. The city, it's leaders and planners are always talking about connecting the dots. Well?, you need to get the dots in the correct location before you can start connecting them. Go back to 1949 when the Des Moines Coliseum burned down. It was prime riverfront land that was intended for civic purposes and beautification of the riverfront. So, what did Des Moines do? They threw out the plans from the early 1900's and built a high rise YMCA. It's called "International Style" but it's really nothing better than a high rise dorm found on any college campus.

The Botanical Center: Built near .... uh, nothing, connected to nothing, incorporated with nothing.

As the French say and Ryan alluded to .. WFA was the "piece de resistance" Build a 200 million dollar entertainment complex as far away from downtown, near nothing, incorporated with nothing. That's the Des Moines way.

[dogbo]

I’m not a big fan of the location of this project, but hopefully with increased development south of the downtown core, this will make sense in the long run. On the bright side, it does really help spruce up a pretty dead/depressing part of downtown.

As to the criticism of Wells Fargo arena location, I don’t think anyone would argue this is a less-than-ideal but I think it is only fair to remember that this location was required to keep the project from having to be voted on (at least from my understanding) through a public referendum and had it required a vote, we may still not have an arena.

[DMRyan]

Looks like footing work and utility work underway. They're drilling the geothermal wells too.

[DMRyan]

Steel is arriving and site and most of the foundation work appears to be wrapping up. Should be going vertical over the next couple weeks.

[DMRyan]

Steel is now going up fast on this project.