User:Gwennie-nyan/sandbox

Development
On Tuesday, March 19, 2002, Principal Financial Group under CEO Barry Griswell published their proposal for developing public land along the riverfront in Downtown Des Moines. The initial cost of this proposal was $15 to 20 million USD. Principal committed to an initial contribution of $5 to 10 million while soliciting government grants to pay for the remainder of the project. David Elbert, Business Editor for The Des Moines Register, argued in the April 1, 2002 edition of the paper that the Riverwalk was important to the area as it increased the desirability for other businesses to develop the adjacent areas.

The Riverwalk proposal occurred during a period of simultaneous development – a new public library, arena, corporate headquarter development for Wells Fargo and Allied Insurance, historic preservation efforts in the East Village neighborhood, and residential expansion.

City planners for the Riverwalk project toured Louisville, Cleveland, Dayton, Minneapolis, Wichita, and Chattanooga in May 2002 to compare existing development and infrastructure. On June 26, 2002, it was announced that Des Moines firm RDG Cross Gardner Shukert and Philadelphia firm Wallace Roberts & Todd were chosen by Principal Group as design architects for the project. Business interest

Public Opinion About Development
In a poll of 400 adult residents of Polk County conducted May 3-5, 2002, regarding the Riverwalk, 19% of respondents felt it was "important to build", 53% felt it was "a good idea/not priority", 18% "not a good idea", and 10% "not sure".

A late May 2002 poll of 500 Des Moines metropolitan area residents found 30% of respondents felt the Riverwalk was "very important".

On July 24, 2002, The Des Moines Register ran an open, multiple-choice survey for readers to submit what they felt Downtown Des Moines needed, called "Design Your Own Lively Downtown". The results, published August 1, 2002, showed that 77% of the survey's 780 respondents had selected a riverwalk, the highest of any of the options presented.