ANKENY, Iowa — The City of Ankeny is holding a public open house on Monday evening to share ideas for revitalizing a vital part of the community.

The city started a revitalization plan for South Ankeny Boulevard last summer, according to the city’s Economic Development Director, Derek Lord. Now, Ankeny is nearly done with the plan.

“The South Ankeny Blvd is a vital corridor in the center of our community and really what it means is the plan is intended to ensure that the corridor will remain viable for the next 60 or 70 years just like it’s been viable for the last 60 or 70 years,” he said.

Their goal was to improve the economic health in the area of South Ankeny Boulevard between First Street and Oralabor Road.

The city asked residents for their input through an online survey and at public forums. Lord said around 1,000 residents provided feedback.

Some of the improvements residents have raised include:

• improving vehicle and pedestrian safety
• creating more consistent development patterns
• adding more sit-down restaurants
• building more mixed-use developments, for example, buildings of lots for commercial and residential use
• establishing better branding to identify the corridor

“We also heard people want to see the diversity of businesses maintained in the corridor because the South Ankeny Corridor does have a nice eclectic mix of businesses that are both local and regional,” said Lord. “People would also like to see the corridor remain its affordability.”

This comes as the city of Ankeny has seen tremendous growth in recent years. According to data outlined by Neilsberg, the city’s population increased 169% between the years 2000 and 2023.

The Public Open House will take place Monday evening at the New City Church. Ankeny residents are encouraged to stop by between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to hear the city’s ideas for the corridor.

The New City Church is located at 849 South Ankeny Boulevard.