By Haleigh Ehmsen-
Sometimes I read hopeful articles and sometimes I read ones that disappoint me and cause me to, as tweeters would say, #smh (shake my head). Lately I’ve been following articles about the Red Avocado, an organic vegetarian restaurant in Iowa City, and several other locally owned businesses being forced to shut down their E. Washington St. location. Re-location doesn’t seem likely for these businesses. And why are these businesses being forced to close? Because the building was sold and it’s new owner plans to demolish it on Jan. 29. A historic building.
The businesses were notified on Dec. 30, right before closing a couple of days for the holidays. With such short notice, the businesses seem doomed.
Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek said there is lot of pressure to build newer buildings in the city’s older neighborhoods. One- family houses are being replaced with larger structures that can house multiple families. But where will those kids learn to ride their bike or play in the yard?
Another business owner on the same block said that it felt as if they were losing their sense of community. I agree.
This is so disheartening. In a community where “shop local” is advertised by the banks and various bumper stickers, it’s terrible that historic buildings are being taken down only to build more “cookie-cutter” buildings. Many communities, including my own of Mount Vernon, pride themselves on locally owned businesses and their historic buildings. In this case, Iowa City is losing both.
As I wrote in a previous editorial about Iowa City looking to put chain businesses into its unique locally owned downtown, “Independently owned shops and restaurants are America’s trademarks and supporting them is so important to their existence.”
At 17, I’m a bit anxious about the kind of community I will grow old in. I don’t know about my peers, but I really don’t want to be limited to eating and shopping in malls and Wal-Marts, then returning home to my twenty-some family apartment building. While this may be profitable to building owners, I think it’s important to remember that money isn’t that important. It’s not important enough to sacrifice quantity over quality. There is definitely a place in the community for large housing buildings, but that is not in the historic district.
