Downtown Good for Housing, Too!

Sioux Falls gets it: the city has a goal of increasing the number of people who live downtown from 1200 now to 10,000 by 2015. South Dakota's population hotspot recognizes that downtown thrives not only with good retail but also with people who actually live there.

Madison has some excellent housing potential on its Main Street; unfortunately, many of those upstairs apartments have been allowed to deteriorate. While those apartments do provide some cheap rental opportunities for college students and lower-income folks, developers should take a look at fixing up those handsome old buildings and drawing even more renters (and money, and vitality) to Main Street.

"But who wants to live downtown?" you may ask. Folks want to move out of the big city so they can enjoy small-town living with a big yard, maybe even a nice rural acreage or a lake home. But But Dan Statema, executive director of Main Street Sioux Falls, says that there is a growing market for downtown living, especially among real big-city folks who relocate to smaller communities like Sioux Falls and Madison:

Statema said developers are interested in the area because downtown is growing so rapidly. Part of the reason behind the high demand comes from the ease of living, he said. Venues for eating, entertainment and music all are readily available downtown without driving, and for those moving in from larger communities, those are the locations they are looking for and demanding. If downtown continues growing at this pace, there will be a much stronger residential presence in the next five or 10 years, he said. [Michelle Rydell, "Projects to Increase Downtown Living," that Sioux Falls paper, 2007.08.25]

As one of my commenters notes, the City of Madison's increasing building permit fees may encourage newcomers and even current residents to move out to the country. But many people appreciate the convenience of living downtown within walking distance of work, shopping, and recreation. Some people would also rather not have to buy a tractor to plow a quarter-mile driveway in December. As Madison continues its many efforts to live up to Governor Rounds's designation of Madison as fattest pig in the poke, it should consider ways to encourage the revitalization not only of Main Street businesses but also of Main Street living spaces.