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Does this opinion article that I came across have any similarities to downtowns in your area? It's talks about Upstate NY, but is this the case in your area too?
Reviving Downtowns
Upstate's central business districts need more than a pretty face
By John L. Gann, Jr.
To restore GM to economic viability, the government should spare no expense to restore the lovely facade of the historic General Motors Building in downtown Detroit.
And to make Ford cars competitive with the Japanese, what's needed is money to install designer planter boxes, colorful Ford logo banners, and ornamental pavements around the company's world headquarters in Dearborn.
Does this opinion article that I came across have any similarities to downtowns in your area? It's talks about Upstate NY, but is this the case in your area too?
Reviving Downtowns
Upstate's central business districts need more than a pretty face
By John L. Gann, Jr.
To restore GM to economic viability, the government should spare no expense to restore the lovely facade of the historic General Motors Building in downtown Detroit.
And to make Ford cars competitive with the Japanese, what's needed is money to install designer planter boxes, colorful Ford logo banners, and ornamental pavements around the company's world headquarters in Dearborn.
...
Yes, they the downtown in Northern part of united states are in big trouble.
1) Poor economy
2) poor goverment
3) many young people are leaving upstate New york to Florida or North Carolina, which means less young, more decaying downtown.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 10-04-2011 at 06:39 AM..
Actually, Ford's slogan was "Quality is Job One." Not the economy. And when it comes to quality, a preserved downtown beats the "Quantity is Job One" approach of big-box retail and parking-lot sprawl. Sounds like this guy wants downtowns to surrender the last of their built heritage so the outward cycle of mall-sprawl can take over downtown too. No thanks!
Some downtowns are not going to be in trouble. Especially with high gas prices. In Chicago, for example, commuter rail lets people from up to 50 miles away commute there easily. Detroit, probably, but you never know. LA has pretty good rail it should do well. New York should be strong, as well as Philadelphia and Boston, unless they decide to tax business out.
Some downtowns are not going to be in trouble. Especially with high gas prices. In Chicago, for example, commuter rail lets people from up to 50 miles away commute there easily. Detroit, probably, but you never know. LA has pretty good rail it should do well. New York should be strong, as well as Philadelphia and Boston, unless they decide to tax business out.
This is the biggest problem with Philly - they lose out on business to the burbs - despite that the core added more than 25K residents in the last ten years (now 190K in the 5 sq miles in and around CC); living in the area is as bustling as it has been in 50 years but the city needs to find better ways to attract new companies (maybe even retain them) instead of moving out to KOP or over the bridge to Cherry Hill
Part of why businesses get "taxed out" is because suburbs can afford to attract businesses through smokestack-chasing business subsidies--waived fees, free land, etcetera. If the suburbs are no longer in a position to afford such trinkets, businesses will have less incentive to leave central cities (and more incentive to move into them and to walkable suburbs) even if it means having to pay taxes comparable to the services they receive.
Part of why businesses get "taxed out" is because suburbs can afford to attract businesses through smokestack-chasing business subsidies--waived fees, free land, etcetera. If the suburbs are no longer in a position to afford such trinkets, businesses will have less incentive to leave central cities (and more incentive to move into them and to walkable suburbs) even if it means having to pay taxes comparable to the services they receive.
Constantly blaming the suburbs is an excuse. I've heard of tax incentives, but I've certainly never heard of a suburb giving a business free land, and I'd like to hear what the etcetera is.
The urban area of downtown have gotten all kinds of urban renewal grants for deacdes and still can't succeed. Its not going to get easier in coming years as these grants start to disappear either. Bascially many even busy downtown areas are vacant for other reasons once the workers leave.Its really is a case of the markets chasing the people who can afford to support that business.
In my city (Oakland, CA) the city has created business improvement districts all over town with grants for facade improvements. This has been wildly successful in the past 10 years. Oakland is a city that gives off a strange impression. It is a city of neighborhoods, and the successful ones are a bit off the beaten path. The recent development has focuses on neglected or under-utilized areas of town, and as a result, some of the classic successful neighborhoods are also getting a bit more attention. I'll focus on the trendiest current areas of town.
If you looked at Temescal and Uptown and the changes in the past 10 years, you'd see how successful the efforts were. Temescal went from dead and sketchy to national recognition. Most empty store fronts have shops: trendy bars and restaurants, shops and boutiques, cafes etc. (This area is about 2 miles outside of the center of downtown) There are a few new condos, and lots of people moving in on the good and bad side of the freeway and improving the area.
In Downtown there are two areas that have been recently revived: Old Oakland and Uptown. Sears reopened in Uptown about 12 years ago, down the road from their original location in an equally historic building. In the past 10 or so years, the combo of Jerry Brown's 10k plan, First Friday's and Art Murmur, a landmark Catholic Church and the reopening of the Fox Theater have made this area much more lively with restaurants, bars, and clubs. Old Oakland is another downtown success story, they saved a classic Victorian business district, and now there are condos, restaurants and offices right around the corer from the government buildings. The govt. buildings in City Center are also really new and are helping with some of the recent development there. There is still some work to do since there are still empty storefronts in on the main corridor, but things have improved substantially in recent years.
I think the mantra "if you build it, they will come." Can work with smart planning.
* You need transit and easy access
* The right price for housing
* Committed businesses and residents
I believe it can work, because I have seen it happen in the past 10 years. So much so, that the news media is onto the revitalization primarily in Oakland's downtown. In the past year they've been talking about it nationally in the LA Times, NY Times, Huffington Post, Sunset Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic. That's a pretty big change.
For us, the center city was already well served by transit, centrally located to the Bay Area, and had great classic architecture. People started moving in to get their own unclaimed taste of urban living. Even if that meant hoping the bridge to SF. Prices were much cheaper, and the location is ideal for a commute to SF (closer than many actual neighborhoods in the city limits of SF. So the pioneers moved into an area that closed up after dark and traveled to more lively parts of town (or the Bay). Over time more people started catching on that downtown Oakland was a great place to be, and the city put some attention there. There is now enough momentum to sustain things, even without all of the intervention of public funding. I am hopeful it will continue (there are at least 5 new restaurant openings completed or planned in the April and May weeks in the area.) A great sign!
Downtown Youngstown's rebound took a little slip over the last couple years, but here is an article from this weekend outlining a rebound of the rebound:
Downtown’s rebound, 2.0
Published: Sun, April 24, 2011 @ 12:01 a.m.
By David Skolnick skolnick@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
After a busy period of development from 2005 to about mid-2008, some downtown Youngstown businesses ran into a rough time with a number of them, primarily restaurants and bars, shutting down.
But a second renaissance may be in downtown’s future.
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