Economists Said Ames Could Support Some More Retail

Shoppers like to fantasize about the stores that could land in Ames: A J. Jill, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma or a Trader Joe's.

Don't get your hopes up.

“We're not going to get a store like that,” said Liesel Eathington, an assistant scientist at Iowa State University's Department of Economics.

Eathington said while some retailers might do well if they expanded here, Ames is not going to look like a suburb of Des Moines any time soon.

People like to compare the area to West Des Moines but that isn't fair she said because Ames doesn't have the same amount of people to draw from.

Ames' density of demand, shoppers living in a 10-mile radius, is about 70,000 while neighboring Ankeny has 300,000, Eathington said.

Eathington said when looking at peer cities Ames isn't under retailed but Peter Orazem, a professor of economics at Iowa State University and an Ames City Council member disagreed.

Story County is 11^th in the state for amassing of wealth, he said.

“People have money they just aren't spending it,” Orazem said during a recent presentation.

Ames shoppers said that's because there aren't enough local places to shop. They'd like kids clothing stores, a bigger , a furniture store and even a Menards.

“We need more of everything,” said Bob Bartsch, of Ames.

Bartsch's wife travels to Des Moines and Ankeny on a weekly basis to find she can't buy in Ames.

said they planned to open a store in Ames recently, but wouldn't say where. Rumors have also been circulating that Kohl's Department Store might move to North Grand Mall, which store officials wouldn't confirm or deny.

“It would be nice if the rumors are true,” Bartsch said. “We'd double or triple the number of people coming to the mall.”

Another shopper, Tonya, who declined to give her last name, said she visited five stores recently and couldn't find what she wanted.

“I asked for a specific kind of perfume and Younkers told me I'd have to go down to Des Moines,” she said.

Nate Grebner, a former Iowa State University student who was visiting from Fort Dodge, said he thought Ames retail offerings were pretty good already but said he would be in support of more.

“With Des Moines being so close, it might be hard for more businesses to make a go of it,” he said.