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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom_567
Turning away Starbucks was not stupid. Grooveground would have gone under, and besides, Starbucks is terrible. Wawa has coffee product across the street. How much coffee do you need in 2 square miles?
The mix of stores works for Haddonfield because their residents have the coin to frequent high priced restaurants, exclusive retail, travel agencies, etc. It would never work for Collingswood.
Also, you can't just fix the school issue. That's what I'm saying - it will NEVER get fixed. It's not a money issue. If it were, Camden should be a top 10 school district given their Abbott status - they spend $24k per kid courtesy of the NJ state income tax; Collingswood around $12k. No amount of funding will fix it, and unless the town can come up with another place for Woodlynne's kids to go and Woodlynne agrees, then Woodlynne will always attend Collingswood high school and disrupt the educational experience there. This is of course barring the Camden renaissance that has been promised since the 60's.
So, the town should focus on what it does have - elementary schools - and focus on young families, young professionals, etc. Also, I live in the town, and liquor should be our decision since we vote here.
I will concede that the biggest issue with a liqour license auction would be that NJ laws would ensure that national chains would be the likely benefactor of an auction, unless the town found some other way to get what they wanted onto Haddon Ave. This is because chains would be most able to outbid, pay big bucks for the license, and to insure the bar. Think Applebee's on that one sliver of Collingswood land near the Route 30 circle instead of a Philly-style gastropub on Haddon Ave. Places like Tom Fischer's and other dives, smaller establishments, etc. have grandfathered licenses. You couldn't open a Tom Fischer's today if you wanted to - you'd go belly up on acquisition costs even if you were able to secure bank financing.
Did you read the rest of the thread that you responded to? Storefronts in Haddonfield used to be like musical chairs. I remember when a lot of storefronts would sit empty for long periods of time. It took many years to get a good mix.
Collingswood always had a reputation as a nice middle class town with lots of nice Victorian housing stock. Where in that do luxury condos fit in? That was stupid.
Collingswood needs 2 or 3 chains. Chains draw people. A Dollar Tree would work. Heck RX Pharmacy was a pharmacy with a few drugstore items & a bunch of dollar store merchandise & you could pay bills. It was a draw.
Yes, I did read what you wrote. The town "didn't find the right mix;" life changed. Yuppies like walking around town centers now. Gas is expensive. People are travelling less and staying local more often. All of these things are contributors. Kings Highway is not some economic gift that the great central planners bestowed upon Haddonfield. It is a reflection of current state demand.
Everybody has good ideas...just PLEASE no "dollar stores". Sorry to sound snobby but did you ever see the clientele at a dollar store? I know we all "stop in for x and o but then their are those who use it like a Wal-mart.
On second thought, I think I'm going open that Dollar Store on Haddon Ave. and have a Senior Discount available every day. Then, I will plaster Grand Opening signs all over my block... Empty Nesters' Dollar Paradise, "Get the brands you used to love (because they're all still here and expired)!" Let the renaissance begin!
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by GraysFerryB4
Everybody has good ideas...just PLEASE no "dollar stores". Sorry to sound snobby but did you ever see the clientele at a dollar store? I know we all "stop in for x and o but then their are those who use it like a Wal-mart.
RX Pharmacy had at least 50% of their stock as dollar store items & there was a constant in & out. It generated foot traffic. Go ahead & make fun of it, but it's a concept that already worked very well in Collingswood. I specifically said Dollar Tree because that is the best of the lot.
If I were mayor...and I'm never going to be. I would look to make the town more of a destination on the order of a New Hope but on a smaller scale. i would pursue places like Triumph Brewery to open a small IPA / food establishment as they have in other smaller areas. I would bring in ...or at least offer incentives to...retail like Jack & Janine, Cosi, Gap, Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole. I would set the town apart from the mall and pepper it with enough things to do for a day. The food places and pub...or two, would be open at the same time as my retail so one hand washed the other. I'd encourage youth friendly places like Cross Fit studios, a juice bar...and it goes on. THAT WAY, my local merchants would reap the crossover traffic to sell their wares and everybody wins.
Of course, it's not a sprint...it's a marathon...probably a long one, too but something different than the same ole' restaurant, tanning salon, nails-spa building. You have to reach out to these places with short term tax breaks that grow over time, you work with owners to cut those xrazy lease prices down.
What is working on haddon Ave in Collingswood right now??? We went to West Side Gravy / Blackbird at 7:30 on Saturday and it was practically empty. El Sitio = empty, I'd like to hear thinking out of the box.
I'd never want to be nor have the qualifications to be mayor...just offer ideas as Mayor Maley asked at the meeting.
I always joke that the four horsemen of the "ghetto apocalypse" is when you live in an area that contains each of the following in a close walkable area:
1. Dollar Store
2. Cash for Gold
3. Crown Fried Chicken
4. Aldi's
...the sad part is any of those places would probably be a welcome addition to the Avenue.
Anyway, I don't know what the solution is, I don't think anyone does, but I think taking a look at what works is a good place to start. So, what are the big draws to Collingswood? Outside of the restaurants, it's the farmers market and the events in town. The events are great, but they don't tend to actually generate revenue, instead they cost the town money. This is fine if the resulting increase in traffic would create a positive impact for the businesses, but it doesn't.
That leaves the farmers market, which is a huge draw, so why not make it permanent? Take some of the empty retail space, or better yet the "mall" and turn it into a year round farmers market offering fresh local produce and products when in season and then selling organic produce and products year round. There is a small farm stand near me that does this. You can buy all the local stuff in season, but then they go out and directly source all sorts of organic produce and meats year round. You can buy everything from pineapples and oranges to organic beef. This kind of setup would serve two purposes, one it would be a permanent draw as the local grocery stores aren't so big on organic and local produce. Two, it would be almost self supporting from the restaurants that could source their ingredients there.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJGOAT
I always joke that the four horsemen of the "ghetto apocalypse" is when you live in an area that contains each of the following in a close walkable area:
1. Dollar Store
2. Cash for Gold
3. Crown Fried Chicken
4. Aldi's
...the sad part is any of those places would probably be a welcome addition to the Avenue.
Anyway, I don't know what the solution is, I don't think anyone does, but I think taking a look at what works is a good place to start. So, what are the big draws to Collingswood? Outside of the restaurants, it's the farmers market and the events in town. The events are great, but they don't tend to actually generate revenue, instead they cost the town money. This is fine if the resulting increase in traffic would create a positive impact for the businesses, but it doesn't.
That leaves the farmers market, which is a huge draw, so why not make it permanent? Take some of the empty retail space, or better yet the "mall" and turn it into a year round farmers market offering fresh local produce and products when in season and then selling organic produce and products year round. There is a small farm stand near me that does this. You can buy all the local stuff in season, but then they go out and directly source all sorts of organic produce and meats year round. You can buy everything from pineapples and oranges to organic beef. This kind of setup would serve two purposes, one it would be a permanent draw as the local grocery stores aren't so big on organic and local produce. Two, it would be almost self supporting from the restaurants that could source their ingredients there.
I know that you know what I'm talking about with the dollar store merchandise at RX Pharmacy. Dollar Tree, Dollar General, & Family Dollar tend to avoid bad areas. In my opinion, Dollar Tree is the nicest & most likely to improvise with an existing storefront. I would agree that a no-name dollar store would be bad. There's Dollar Tree at Ellisburg & Woodcrest shopping centers.
Aldi won't go into Collingswood, it's too close to the store next to the Ferry Ave PATCO station. That's the closest that I've ever seen an Aldi locate to not nice areas, & I've seen a lot of Aldis, including stores in Germany.
The year-round farmers market is a great idea. Find someone willing to run against Maley & feed them that idea.
Bringing in upscale stores in Collingswood, at this time is not a good idea. The population is older & middle class. Age-wise it's where Haddonfield was in the 60s & 70s. Downtown Haddonfield changed as the old died off & younger people came in. It changed in phases. They did not wave a magic wand & suddenly it was full of thriving trendy shops. The Happy Hippo was about as trendy as it got when that went in.
1) Dollar General and Family Dollar are not dollar stores. Dollar Tree is.
2) Aldi does have locations in "not so nice" areas, such as 44th and Market in West Philadelphia. They also have locations in perfectly good areas, such as Wyncote, PA and Turnersville, NJ.
3) Collingswood will never be a destination town - NJ liquor laws will not allow that to happen. They had to create an exception to the liquor laws for Atlantic City to become a resort town, because otherwise the liquor laws are antiquated.
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