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Old 01-28-2009, 11:35 AM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,618,205 times
Reputation: 451

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One that I always admired about downtown Lancaster as the sheer amount of retail. Every street in downtown is lined with galleries, cafes and shops of every kind imaginable. The downtown population isn't all that high and the street traffic certainly isn't any higher then Harrisburg, yet the shopping blows pretty much every other mid sized city in the state away (except for maybe Bethlehem). Why is it that downtown Lancaster has such an impressive array of retail shops? It is especially amazing considering the massive Park City Mall (biggest mall between Pittsburgh and Philly) is located a mere couple miles outside of the city.
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Old 01-28-2009, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,616 posts, read 77,579,178 times
Reputation: 19101
What is the city's tax structure like? Is it conducive and attractive for small business? Scranton, for example, has all of the "bones" to FLOURISH overnight into a tourist mecca with a plethora of historic (yet empty) storefronts, but it also has a very high mercantile tax, very high wage tax, and not the friendliest property tax system either. I plan to offer suggestions to city officials soon on how to shift some of their revenue-raising burden off of the backs of small businesses and homeowners and onto visitors and suburbanites, both of whom utilize these services without paying squat for them. Lancaster may very well just have a "pro-business" approach to things.
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Old 01-28-2009, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,618,205 times
Reputation: 451
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScranBarre View Post
What is the city's tax structure like? Is it conducive and attractive for small business? Scranton, for example, has all of the "bones" to FLOURISH overnight into a tourist mecca with a plethora of historic (yet empty) storefronts, but it also has a very high mercantile tax, very high wage tax, and not the friendliest property tax system either. I plan to offer suggestions to city officials soon on how to shift some of their revenue-raising burden off of the backs of small businesses and homeowners and onto visitors and suburbanites, both of whom utilize these services without paying squat for them. Lancaster may very well just have a "pro-business" approach to things.
Does Scranton have a "First Friday"? I know Lancaster has a VERY successful event (http://www.lancasterarts.com/_files/live/Feb09_newsletter.pdf - broken link) where all the galleries and shops stay open late and people crowd the streets. They have also just started a "Music Friday (http://www.downtownlancaster.com/musicfriday0901.pdf - broken link)" where the shops feature musical acts and are open late. This is something that I think every city in PA can try to do. Harrisburg has recently started a First Friday, but only has about six or seven galleries open, while the Lancaster one has over 90!
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Old 01-28-2009, 01:02 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,616 posts, read 77,579,178 times
Reputation: 19101
Scranton has an increasingly-popular First Friday as well, and it is in between the size of the ones in Lancaster and Harrisburg. A trolley bus runs around the central business district ferrying people from site to site for free.
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Old 01-28-2009, 03:50 PM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
160 posts, read 638,729 times
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I don't know Lancaster at all, but maybe the community is less clique-ish, or the boutique retail clique is big enough to have a significant presence in the city.

I think the artist and artisan community visible in retail the Harrisburg area is only like the tip of the iceburg. There are so many people who do a few large regional shows, but make their living selling online. There just isn't enough of a customer base here -- or enough support from the official 'cool card' bearers -- for it to be otherwise. The Harrisburg area can't even sustain a Street Team on Etsy
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Old 01-28-2009, 04:09 PM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,618,205 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BackToTheCityMouse View Post
I don't know Lancaster at all, but maybe the community is less clique-ish, or the boutique retail clique is big enough to have a significant presence in the city.

I think the artist and artisan community visible in retail the Harrisburg area is only like the tip of the iceburg. There are so many people who do a few large regional shows, but make their living selling online. There just isn't enough of a customer base here -- or enough support from the official 'cool card' bearers -- for it to be otherwise. The Harrisburg area can't even sustain a Street Team on Etsy
You're right, Harrisburg has always been more of a white-collar, buttoned up city rather then an artsy one. Lancaster always had the artsy flair, but not much of a white-collar base at all. Put the two together and I think you'd have a great city!

The good news is the arts community is finally starting to grow at a good pace with several new galleries and the Midtown Arts Center opening up last year. The owners are from New York City and wanted to start fresh in a city with a small arts scene so they could harbor its growth, and it seems to be working. We'll see what 2009 brings, but I think the iceberg is finally "tipping" for Harrisburg in terms of arts in the city.
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Old 01-28-2009, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Center City Philadelphia
1,099 posts, read 4,618,205 times
Reputation: 451
In response to my own question, it seems Lancaster has a strong and very loyal arts community that lives downtown and shops there. This is in contrast to Midtown Harrisburg where most people drive over to the west shore to shop, although not really our fault since there isn't much of any retail in the neighborhood (yet?). Also, while in downtown Lancaster I notice that there is always a few families with children walking about, maybe tourists, but either way not afraid to venture downtown and check things out. On top of that downtown always seemed very safe and well kept, as Lancaster's dangerous neighborhoods aren't nearby.
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Old 01-30-2009, 08:42 AM
 
Location: East Petersburg
4 posts, read 14,369 times
Reputation: 11
Good summary of the situation in downtown Lancaster City, Danwxman. Here are some articles I've written about Lancaster City PA Homes . The city doesn't really have a pro-business stance but that has been slowly changing. Taxes are pretty high, but the prices are lower and you get a LOT of home for your $$$. (Check out some Lancaster City homes for sale) The arts community has been a big proponent of small business growth, as has Franklin & Marshall College and Lancaster General Hospital, both of whom offer housing incentives to employees relocating to Lancaster City. One other thought - there are several neighborhood revitalization districts taking matters into their own hands to get grants to beautify the streetscapes and offer loans to Lancaster City homeowners looking to renovate their facade.

Best,
Jeff Geoghan
YourLancasterHome.com - The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group
Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA

Read my daily Lancaster PA Real Estate blog, thanks!
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Old 01-30-2009, 08:46 AM
 
Location: East Petersburg
4 posts, read 14,369 times
Reputation: 11
I'm also glad to hear that Harrisburg is developing along the same lines as Lancaster has...it's a cool city on the river! A strong art advocacy group can really help.

Jeff Geoghan
YourLancasterHome.com - The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group
Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA

Read my daily Lancaster PA Real Estate Blog, thanks!
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