Wesleyan students research loss of Hy-Vee
What impact does the loss of a grocery store have on a neighborhood?
A group of Nebraska Wesleyan University students set out to answer that question this semester as they followed the controversial story of the University Place Hy-Vee leaving the neighborhood.
The students attended community meetings, led focus groups and conducted interviews throughout the University Place neighborhood after Hy-Vee announced it would close its store at 48th Street and Leighton Avenue and open new stores at 84th and Holdrege and 50th and O.
University Place residents reacted strongly to the decision, lobbying for a new grocery store to replace Hy-Vee at 48th and Leighton. The loss of a grocery store, residents said, could send the neighborhood into a downward spiral.
That led Hy-Vee to announce a new plan: It eventually will open a smaller-scale store at 48th and Leighton that won’t have the same variety as the large store but still will offer a full range of products.
The Wesleyan students’ research is titled “How Urban Sprawl Creates a Neighborhood’s Downfall: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Losing a Community Grocery Store.”
The students will present their research Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Olin A. Lecture Hall, located inside the Olin Hall of Science one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Avenue.
A group of Nebraska Wesleyan University students set out to answer that question this semester as they followed the controversial story of the University Place Hy-Vee leaving the neighborhood.
The students attended community meetings, led focus groups and conducted interviews throughout the University Place neighborhood after Hy-Vee announced it would close its store at 48th Street and Leighton Avenue and open new stores at 84th and Holdrege and 50th and O.
University Place residents reacted strongly to the decision, lobbying for a new grocery store to replace Hy-Vee at 48th and Leighton. The loss of a grocery store, residents said, could send the neighborhood into a downward spiral.
That led Hy-Vee to announce a new plan: It eventually will open a smaller-scale store at 48th and Leighton that won’t have the same variety as the large store but still will offer a full range of products.
The Wesleyan students’ research is titled “How Urban Sprawl Creates a Neighborhood’s Downfall: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Losing a Community Grocery Store.”
The students will present their research Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Olin A. Lecture Hall, located inside the Olin Hall of Science one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Avenue.
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