Ron Faas
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 1996 09:08:09 GMT -0600
From: Sue Hamilton/CCED <hamilton@AE.AGECON.WISC.EDU>
Subject: June Community Economics Newletter
No. 236 June, 1996
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Community Economics Newsletter
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DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION: HAVE YOU HEARD OF THESE SECRETS
by Ron Shaffer 1/
"Evolve or die" could be the marching orders for many downtowns 2/ if they are going to
survive and thrive. Community leaders have known for years that their downtowns had to
change in order to succeed. Downtown Revitalization has amassed a body of misleading
myths and secrets of success. This Community Economics Newsletter draws on a recent
paper by a noted downtown analyst 3/ regarding myths and secrets to downtown
development. This issue addresses secrets and a previous one addressed some myths.
These secrets won't work in every case; don't accept them without asking additional hard
questions about what else needs to occurr either before or after to support the change.
Secret #1: Form a Public-Private Partnerships whose mission is to enhance the downtown.
They should be spearheaded by the private rather than by the public sector, and
they should be the vehicle for bringing together all the major constituents which exist and
operate in downtown (i.e., business and public sectors, but also civic organizations, existing
organizations involved in downtown, and community residents).
Secret #2: Build and Share Your Vision is a pro-active way of defining a clear,
community-driven vision of where you want your downtown to go. The defined vision must be
realistic and must be shared by the business community, the civic community, the local government,
and citizens of the community. This shared community vision should define success -- "what is
the very best our downtown can be five years from now?"
Secret #3: Conducting a downtown market analysis is a critical first
step in Being Market-Driven. A realistic market analysis includes: 1) knowing who
downtown's present and potential customers are; 2) determining the goods and services
current and potential customers want today; 3) anticipating what they will
want tomorrow; and 4) providing those things in a quality and dependable manner.
Secret #4: Building a Business Plan is a starting point because it details when each action
will be started; when each action will be completed; who will be responsible for each
action; how much each action will cost; and the sources of necessary funds.
Secret #5: Downtowns Must Dare to Be Different suggests rather than competing head-on
with the malls or with the discounters, downtown must pursue an economic niche that
will allow it to successfully co-exist with the malls and the discounters. Downtown economic
niches are created by clustering together businesses that appeal to particular customer
groups. By clustering similar businesses near each other, these
businesses become more convenient for customers and the downtown becomes known
for those businesses.
Secret #6: Focus! means the most successful downtown enhancement
programs direct limited resources -- time, energy, money, staff, volunteers, etc. -- into
well-defined target areas. Concentrating resources in target areas breeds success because it makes
revitalization of the entire downtown seem manageable over time; it makes downtown issues
seem less over-whelming when they are resolved one at a time; and it allows tangible results to
be clustered so that they become more visible more quickly than if
they were scattered throughout downtown.
Secret #7: Be Self-Sufficient means the days of first looking outside your community for
a downtown savior are over. Instead, downtown organizations, downtown professionals,
and local government officials must become adept at spotting and nurturing local
entrepreneurs and getting them to locate downtown. These same downtown actors must
also "put their money where their mouth is" when it comes to financing their
downtown enhancement effort.
Secret #8: Return to Old-Fashioned Values means a return to personalized customer
attention; providing value for money; standing behind your products; promoting the
special, historic appearance of downtown; promoting downtown as the community's
social, cultural, entertainment, residential, professional office,
and family center; and stressing the community pride that results
from a healthy downtown.
Secret #9: Be Pro-Business AND Pro-Quality means for the downtown to
be the investment location of choice, local government must revise regulations that
make it hard to operate a business or invest in downtown property, streamlining
government processes (codes, planning, licensing, etc.). Being pro-quality
means that local government must not forego quality in order to attract investors to
downtown. City hall and the downtown business community must jointly convey
the clear message that downtown welcomes quality business owners, property owners,
and real estate developers who will operate quality businesses, maintain
quality properties, and reinvest in these investments.
Ron Shaffer
Community Development Economist
1/ Community Development Economist, UW-Extension.
2/ Obviously they are not totally interchangeable, but downtown will
be used to refer to both downtowns and main streets. Both refer to
major concentrations of consumer focused retail and service activity.
3/ Dolores P. Palma, 1995, "Downtown Revitalization," _National
Urban Economic Development Commentary_, (Summer): 23-29.