| Retail Enviornment Of Dubuque, Iowa |
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The city of Dubuque, Iowa has a unique Retail environment that is an important part of the city's History , and continues to be a major influence in the city today. In some ways, Dubuque has been at the forefront when it came to retail innovation. Kennedy Mall was the first climate controlled Shopping Mall to be built in the state of Iowa. The K-Mart in Dubuque was the first to open in the state of Iowa. Over the years, the retail environment in Dubuque has undergone significant changes, especially in the movement of retailers from downtown Dubuque to the west end of the city - reflecting a national trend in recent years of retailers to abandon downtown locations for the suburbs. Roshek's Department Store was once the main shopping destination in Dubuque, it has since ceased operations, and now places like Wal-Mart, Kennedy Mall, and stores along Northwest Arterial (Iowa Highway 32) have since replaced Roshek's as the primary shopping destinations in Dubuque. For a number of years, people within the city of Dubuque have felt that Dubuque has not kept pace regionally when it comes to shopping opportunities. This put Dubuque at a disadvantage as nearby communities such as the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa , Madison, Wisconsin , and Cedar Rapids, Iowa are all located within a relatively short distance from Dubuque. As a result, Dubuque would lose sales tax revenue when shoppers went to other communities to shop at different stores. Recently, Dubuque has seen more retailers opening locations in Dubuque, thus giving residents of Dubuque are surrounding areas more choices in where they can shop. Best Buy and Kohl's are among the larger retailers to open locations in Dubuque. SHOPPING CENTERS There are a number of Shopping Centers located in Dubuque. A few such centers are freestanding stores - such as Wal-Mart and Menards , while others shopping centers have an anchor store with one or more other stores located nearby. Plaza 20 Plaza 20 is a shopping center located at 2600 Dodge Street ( U.S. Highway 20 ) in Dubuque, Iowa. The main anchor is K-Mart, which has been at the Plaza 20 location for over 40 years. This shopping center was built in the 1960's when the Kresgee corporation opened a K-Mart. Plaza 20 was one of the first shopping centers to be built on the west end as opposed to downtown Dubuque. A number of other stores and service companies also opened locations in Plaza 20. When K-Mart first opened a store there, the location was at the western edge of Dubuque. For most of Plaza 20's existence, the field directly across from the shopping center had remained empty. The area is the property of the University Of Dubuque . From time to time development proposals were entertained. Wal-Mart considered building a store at that location, but lack of space and opposition by neighbors led to that plan being scrapped. Wal-Mart would eventually build a store about two miles west at 4200 Dodge Street. Eventually the field was developed by the University into apartment spaces for students. Warren Plaza Soon after the construction of K-Mart, Target Corporation built a location in Dubuque as well. It chose a location about one mile west of Plaza 20, which would eventually become known as Warren Plaza. Warren Plaza is across Dodge Street (U.S. 20) from Kennedy Mall , and located next to the Dubuque Inn until the hotel's closure in 2005. The stores are located at 3500 Dodge Street. Warren Plaza continues to be anchored by Target, and is also anchored by one of the Hy-Vee stores in Dubuque. As there is another Hy-Vee located in nearby Asbury, Iowa , and another Hy-Vee under construction at South Locust in Dubuque there is considerable speculation over that Hy-Vee's future. Some of the more popular rumors are that the store will be closed after the South Locust location is open, or that the existing store will be demolished and rebuilt. Asbury Plaza One of the newest shopping areas to be built in Dubuque is Asbury Plaza. Asbury Plaza is located at the intersection of the Northwest Arterial and Asbury Road. The shopping center sits at the border between Dubuque and Asbury. It has become a major shopping center since opening. Asbury Plaza is anchored by one of two Dubuque area Hy-Vee s (with a third one under construction). Bed Bath And Beyond , Old Navy , Pier 1 , and Petco are other retailers located in Asbury Plaza. Kohl's Department Stores also opened a location next door to Asbury Plaza in 2004. The area is also home to Dubuque's newest movie theater, Star Cinema , opened in 2005, and several banks and restaurants. Asbury Square Asbury Square is a shopping center located at the intersection of Asbury Road and John F. Kennedy Road. This shopping center is a strip mall anchored by a Hartig Drug . There are several other stores located there, including a jewelry store. In addition to retail businesses, Asbury Square also houses a number of other services. Dubuque County 's driver's license station is located in this building, as well as the local Hospice . Hartig Drug also maintains a pharmacy that delivers medicines to local nursing homes in addition to the retail store than anchors the shopping center. Former Dubuque Pack The Dubuque Packing Company operated a meat processing plant on East 16th Street for many years. The plant would be sold several times, finally to Smithfield Foods which closed the plant for good in 2001. "The Pack" - as it's commonly referred to in the community - sat empty for the next four years. Wal-Mart expressed interest in the site as a possible location for a second supercenter in the city. But when the city council opposed giving the company any sort of incentives or tax breaks, Wal-Mart decided not to proceed. In 2004, Wayne Briggs of Dubuque announced plans to demolish the plant and build a shopping center. Briggs announced that his plans included bringing nationally known retailers to the site. As Briggs was not demanding any sort of tax breaks or incentives, both the Dubuque County zoning board and the Dubuque city council approved of his plans. Briggs purchased the plant, which he is currently in the process of demolishing. Many people welcomed the idea of Briggs developing a shopping center at the site. They felt that this would give the northeastern part of the city more options for shopping. Also the plant had become an eyesore - especially given the plant's location near U.S. Highways 61 and 151. SUPERMARKETS Several Supermarket chains have operations in Dubuque. This includes Wal-Mart, which has a supercenter located in Dubuque that has a full service grocery. The other main grocery store chain in Dubuque is Hy-Vee - which currently has two open locations with a third store under construction and expected to open in April of 2006. There are several other companies that operate supermarkets in Dubuque. Econofoods has a grocery store on John F. Kennedy Road. There is an Aldi's along the Northwest Arterial in Dubuque. Downtown Eagle Corporation operates an Eagle Country Market on Elm Street in Dubuque. Previously Eagle Food Centers had been one of the main grocery store chains in Dubuque. Eagles had operated stores on South Locust Street, JFK Road, and Elm Street in Dubuque under both the Eagle Food Centers and Eagle Country Market names. These stores operated until the company ceased operations in 2003. The Elm Street store was purchased by Downtown Eagle Corporation - which continues to operate the store as an Eagle Country Market. Hy-Vee purchased the South Locust location, demolished the existing building, and is building its third location there. Part of the JFK Road location eventually was leased to Big Lots , and the rest was leased to Dollar Tree . Big Lots closed its Dubuque store, the portion it leased remains empty. Dollar Tree continues to operate out of its JFK location. SEE ALSO |
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