It can be pretty easy to drive right by the area where Crossroads Mall once stood without even thinking about what’s there now.

We think it’s worthwhile to pause and consider the remarkable change that has taken place there. In fact, the redevelopment of the mall site into today’s Corridor Plaza will surely make other communities across Iowa and the Midwest envious.

How many other Iowa communities, or communities across the nation, have been able to take an outdated enclosed mall, demolish it and then turn the property into a thriving area that draws hundreds of people each day? Not many.

Crossroads Mall was a very important part of Fort Dodge and Webster County for decades. A good portion of many residents’ wardrobes probably came from the clothing and shoe stores there. And generations of kids met Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny there. But in the last few years of its existence the mall just wasn’t what it used to be. That wasn’t just a local problem, it was a national one. The big enclosed malls that were all the rage in the 1970s and 1980s just didn’t attract people like they used to.

A lot of communities across the United States still have malls that are either barely hanging on or rotting away as vacant eyesores.

Fort Dodge has been able to forge a more positive path.

Crossroads Plaza Development, a private company in Ankeny, saw potential in the site. Its leaders decided to take the plunge and invest in Fort Dodge. The city and state governments provided financial assistance to help the company.

Beginning in 2019, the mall was torn down in stages, leaving just that portion where the Younkers store was the anchor.

At the same time new roads and infrastructure were built. A bunch of new businesses popped up, some in new buildings, others in the former Younkers wing of the mall.

The list includes UnityPoint Clinic Express, Dunham’s Sports, Shoe Sensation, Maurice’s, Chick-fil-A, Teriyaki Madness, Clean Laundry, T-Mobile, Tidal Wave Auto Spa, and Ulta.

All that was developed over the last six years. Most communities would love to have that kind of quick development. We have it right here in Fort Dodge.

But wait, there’s more. A new AutoZone store and a new Dairy Queen opened last year.

In other Iowa communities, including some the size of Fort Dodge, people have to drive for miles to get to businesses like those in Corridor Plaza.

It’s good to take a moment to appreciate what we have right here in Fort Dodge. We should all be thankful for what’s available to us at Corridor Plaza.

We should also take advantage of what’s available by doing business there.