One of the hottest national trends is the renewed importance of downtown retail districts to economic revitalization. Across the country, affluent suburbs to small exurban communities are developing new downtown business districts — to become economic drivers of taxes and property values.
While most aspects of the central business district development are outlined in detail in a city’s Master Plan – most have no Retail Plan that specifies how the retail district should evolve – or the tenants that should be targeted. By contrast, experienced shopping center owners look to a Retail Plan as a major foundation of their business. Communities hoping to capture consumer spending in a highly competitive retail market must give this part of their downtown planning as high a priority as shopping center developers do.
There are major risks to communities of not having a Retail Plan as part of downtown redevelopment:
- The retail store mix may not be matched to the resident market;
- Or, it can quickly become lopsided and lose the balance of retailers needed to attract regular shoppers
- Downtown will become a weekend or ‘browsing’ destination, losing the higher-spending “mission trips” from resident shoppers
- Prime larger retail spaces may be carved up by eager brokers for too many small food outlets, so that required spaces no longer exist for key targeted tenants.
Restaurants, for example, are a great magnet for downtown traffic. Too many restaurants, however, use up limited space on downtown streets, so that a balanced mix of retailers becomes impossible. The downtown becomes an entertainment destination, and not a shopping trip.
4Insights helps communities:
- Profile their resident consumers’ shopping preferences and identify other consumer markets for future retail, such as neighboring communities, office workers, college staff and students, and so on.
- Estimate the total retail space that the consumer base can support.
- Develop the optimum store mix that would appeal to them, based on current and future available spaces—including restaurants and service retail.
- Develop a leasing strategy with property owners and local brokers to find the right tenants for the market.
- Work with current retailers to strengthen their businesses
- Work with land planners and municipal officials to plan the parking and pedestrian flow, lighting, signage and other amenities that make shopping a convenient and pleasant experience.