Ron Faas
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 14:13:16 GMT -0600
From: Rachael Lohr <LOHR@AE.AGECON.WISC.EDU>
To: CE.Newletter.E-Mail.List@calshp.cals.wisc.edu
Subject: May Community Economics Newsletter
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Community Economics Newsletter
No. 235 May 1996
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E-Mail additions or corrections to: HAMILTON@AE.AGECON.WISC.EDU
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DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION:
HAVE YOU HEARD THESE MYTHS
by Ron Shaffer 1/
"Evolve or die" could be the marching orders for many downtowns 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 regarding myths and secrets
to downtown development. This issue addresses myths and a future one
will address some secrets. These myths, just like most, have enough
validity to them, usually anecdotal, that several accept them without
asking additional hard questions about what else occurred either
before or after to support the change.
Myth #1: If We Build It, They Will Come: centers on the belief that
a community only needs to undertake physical improvements for
customers and investors to flock to the downtown. Phrased this
way, the point is obvious, but many communities have implemented
massive physical improvement projects thinking that their work
was done. Unfortunately, physical improvements made on a grand
scale and in isolation, do not result in renewed downtown vitality.
Myth #2: If We Demolish It, They Will Come: only requires the
demolition of old buildings, clearing and assembling land before
developers will flock to downtown. Again, many communities
ignore the obvious that clearance does not attract developers
to a downtown whose market is weak. Communities also have learned
that structurally sound old buildings -- no matter how run-down
they might look -- can often become a tremendous draw if they
are renovated and their architectural character preserved.
Myth #3: If We Complete One Major Project, They Will Come: the
"Silver Bullet Approach" that contends if a community identifies
and implements one major project then "everything else will take
care of itself." Examples are downtown convention centers,
festival marketplaces, parking structures, or pedestrian malls --
in isolation. Instead, successful downtown revitalization
requires a multi-faceted effort that addresses all of a downtown's
key issues.
Myth #4: If We Can't Get a Department Store To Come Back, the
Downtown Will Never Be Healthy Again: the "Traditional Anchor
Approach" to downtown revitalization is true, but requires a
broadened definition of anchor. New anchors include cultural
facilities, government complexes, entertainment facilities, tourist
draws, housing units, professional office buildings, and speciality
retail shops. By promoting and leveraging these 'new' anchors,
communities can experience renewed downtown vitality.
Myth #5: We Can't Get a Department Store to Locate Downtown, So
Downtown Can No Longer Support Any Kind of Retail Trade: this "Big
Retail or No Retail Approach" to downtown revitalization ignores
a healthy downtown must also contain small retail activity. Small
retail trade brings pedestrians and gives the downtown a look
of activity.
Myth #6: Competition Is Bad for Business: this "Head-In-The-Sand
Approach" ignores the fundamental marketing concept that similar
and compatible businesses located in convenient groupings
often expands and magnifies the market for that cluster and each
of the businesses in it, because the cluster is more appealing in
terms of convenience and variety than occurs at a single,
isolated business.
Myth #7: For Downtown to Be Successful, Downtown's Retail
Businesses Must Keep Uniform Business Hours: the "Let's Pretend
We're a Mall Approach" to downtown revitalization. Attempts to
standardize store hours of downtown retailers may prove more
distracting and divisive than positive, given the independent
nature of downtown business owners. An alternative is to think
strategically about "market-driven business hours," i.e., hours
that best meet the needs of targeted customers. Many downtown
small business owners are finding that keeping hours that are
convenient for customers often means shifting to smarter hours
rather than keeping longer hours.
Myth #8: If We Had More Parking, They Would Come: the "Let's
Find a Scapegoat Approach" because all of downtown's ills stem
from a lack of parking. Many claim that customers have left
downtown for shopping malls because malls offer customers acres
of parking. For many downtowns the symptom and problem may
differ substantially. Often the parking problem is one of parking
management rather than one of parking supply. The number of
parking spaces available is adequate, but customers are having
difficulty finding a parking spot because: 1) downtown employees
and business owners are parking in spaces nearest to business;
and 2) downtown's public parking facilities are often not clearly
marked with signs. This problem can be resolved through better
management of the parking supply, rather than creating additional
parking spaces.
Ron Shaffer
Community Development Economist
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1/ Community Development Economist, University of
Wisconsin-Extension.
2/ Obviously they are not totally interchangeable, but downtown
will be used to refer to both downtown 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.