Apartments above, vacant storefronts below. Why do commercial spaces in mixed use developments remain empty?

Now ... and forever?

Obviously, we have less of a problem with vacant commercial spaces in new developments because there are fewer of these sort of extravaganzas in New Albany than in larger cities.

Our civic tastes run to free-standing strip mine sites on formerly forested hilltops.

The perpetually vacant (though reasonably sized) corner commercial space located within the Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats was discussed here in January of 2017.

Two months ago, a local restaurateur told the Green Mouse that the unfinished potential eatery space in the former showroom actually is priced fairly -- for being unfinished.

Flaherty and Collins apparently is offering to lease this space at the low bargain rate and provide something like $50,000 in cash for the build-out (the Green Mouse was told by the restaurateur that it wasn't enough of an enticement to interest him), but the dollars-per-square-foot price fairly skyrockets if the building's owner must finish the space.

Always be aware that as City Hall touts the many restaurants and bars downtown, as though it had anything whatever to do with their founding and operation -- and you can ask virtually any eatery owner to explain where the bulk of the start-up capital originates, this being with them, and not a magical bunkerside ATM -- the fact that the city subsidized the entirety of the Break Wind development means that the city also is subsidizing the eatery or bar that eventually comes to rest in the rough unfinished space. The city might as well be the one writing the check for $50K, right?

I'm not making this point owing to my antipathy for the current occupant, which is real, but rather because it's absolutely true. With Break Wind, the city's been picking winners with your money -- and is picking winners with your money the sort of thing you want Jeff Gahan doing?

Rachel Quednau breaks it down in the article linked below.

The reason these (often) mandated retail spaces remain empty is because they're priced too high and sized too large for indies; cookie cutter developers with little interest in the real world apart from grabbing municipal abatements and incentives don't bother very much to consider what might actually work in these commercial spaces, and they're willing to sit on emptiness rather than put in the effort to learn.

Or: the polar opposite of the patience and pure acumen that our local developers (Resch, Chalfant, the Carters) have displayed over years of grassroots transformation.

And who gets the money? Faraway folks like Flaherty and Collins from Indianapolis -- then it comes back around to the mayor, which was the point from the very start.

It isn't rocket science after all.

What’s up with all those empty commercial storefronts in new mixed-use developments? by Rachel Quednau (Strong Towns)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I live, is going through a massive building phase, with new construction popping up on every corner in and around our downtown and other popular neighborhoods. If you live in any number of mid-sized cities, this is probably a familiar story. And because recent trends in urban planning have encouraged a return to mixed-use developments, those sorts of buildings dominate the new construction landscape. It has resulted in some lovely new ground-level restaurants and shops emerging in areas that previously lacked much street life.

But here’s the more common picture: a cookie-cutter five story apartment building over a vacant commercial space. This image is probably also familiar to you if you live in one of those cities experiencing an urban growth spurt. One might expect this set-up to last a few months, perhaps, while the apartment units are in the process of being filled and the building manager seeks a commercial tenant. But in fact, in my city, it’s not unusual to see a commercial space sitting empty for months and sometimes years. There are buildings like this near my home and, while they may be a shade better than the derelict one-story structures or vacant lots that used to occupy the area, an empty space is an empty space. At the end of the day, a vacant storefront makes the whole street feel neglected and undesirable, and it isn’t fulfilling its purpose.

At first, the whole scene just didn’t make sense to me. What business owner wouldn’t want to move into a brand new space with freshly painted walls, new windows and a blank canvas to lay out in whatever way suited the needs of the business? Why were these storefronts sitting empty?

"Watch ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell on Why Cities Need Independent Businesses."

At about the 14:00 minute mark, Mitchell surveys reasons for sharply rising commercial rents. Using her native Portland ME as an example, she points to a few potential public policy solutions for "market distorting forces."

It's music to the ears of indie business owners. The video lasts 24 minutes, which is 24 minutes more than Develop New Albany has contributed to this topic in New Albany during 2017. But it was a pleasant sombrero walk eh?

There needs to be an independent business alliance in New Albany. Just because it hasn't worked before doesn't mean it won't now.

Independent locally-owned small businesses are mistaken to think that this hurdle (sustainability) can be cleared by disengagement, or by waiting for this or any other city government to dictate the terms.

Rather, independent locally-owned small business owners must evade the intended diversion of time spent micromanaging periodic events and instead put their mouths where their money is by heeding the advice of the American Independent Business Alliance and embracing a simple but eloquent truth: "There truly is strength in numbers."

It's simple. Of the local officials assigned to "help" small local businesses, how many actually have ever owned a business?

Thought so. Does this even make sense?

Watch ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell on Why Cities Need Independent Businesses, by Stacy Mitchell (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)

In this 20-minute talk, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell looks at why cities need independent businesses, and also at some of the issues that are facing these businesses today — and why cities need to use public policy to respond.

“Ownership matters,” Stacy notes in the talk, citing research that quantifies the benefits of a strong local economy. “Communities that possess a degree of economic self-reliance are also in a better position to solve problems, to take care of one another, to be places that are connected by a network of relationships.”

“There are things affecting local businesses that are driven by the market here, but then there are other forces at work. Things that don’t really have to do with what our needs are locally,” Stacy continues. “That’s really what public policy should adjust.”

Stacy gave this talk in September at an event organized by Portland Buy Local, the independent business alliance in Portland, Me.

"Signature" taco walks are nice and all, but here area few random ideas among many that orgs like DNA might embrace to grow downtown every day, not every now and then.

The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) has drawn up a strategic plan. LIBA stages the occasional event, but also pursues programs to enhance indie business prospects on a daily basis.

How LIBA plans to broaden the ‘buy local’ message, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

 ... “The ‘buy local’ message isn’t just about buying local, but it’s also about how buying local affects our community overall,” (Jennifer) Rubenstein said.

The key words in the following passage are "community leaders." Who are they, and are they really?

How Cities Can Save Small Shops, by Karen Loew (CityLab)

 ... Meanwhile, cities around the U.S. and the world are recognizing the value of homegrown retail and are enacting policies to enrich the frequently poor soil where small businesses attempt to grow. That’s because municipal leaders are realizing that the basis of any community is its sense of place—its singular look and feel, roots and aspirations—and local retail is essential to expressing that. Shops are part of culture—in addition, of course, to being the places where you can fix a shoe, find a dress, buy a coffee, and chit-chat ...

... This is the moment for mom-and-pop shops to assert their value proposition, says Olivia LaVecchia, a research associate at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington, D.C. “There’s really a failure to recognize what a powerhouse small businesses are,” says LaVecchia, citing their interdependency with other desirable local outcomes, such as maintenance of affordable housing and jobs.

A recent report from ILSR advocates six policy approaches that any locality can apply. These ideas lend themselves to being customized ...

The six points are summarized below, and it can be readily seen how an activist City Hall working with local independent businesses might devise and implement a customized program of work.

Of course, such a program by necessity would have to be designed to assist businesses first, and City Hall's re-election prospects later -- and both City Hall and an organization like DNA would have to be committed to daily results and not periodic event planning.

Affordable Space: How Rising Commercial Rents Are Threatening Independent Businesses, and What Cities Are Doing About It (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)

1. Broaden Ownership
2. Reduce the Power Imbalance in Landlord-Tenant Negotiations
3. Zone for a Local Business Environment
4. Set Aside Space for Local Businesses in New Development
5. Create a Preference for Local Businesses in Publicly Owned Buildings
6. Recognize Businesses as Cultural Landmarks

When it comes to owning an independent local business in an economy designed and subsidized to exalt big business over small, it simply has to be about every day, not every now and then.