Attracting Retail to Downtown

[Yankee Fan 1]

Many topics later, at least the DDA is talking about it, again.

http://www.grbj.com/GRBJ/ArticleArchive/20...fter+Retail.htm

[GRDadof3 3902]

Can you paraphrase it YankeeFan? My Business Journal subscription ran out.

[DwntwnGeo 1]

Can you paraphrase it YankeeFan? My Business Journal subscription ran out.

[Rhino6885 0]

[joeDowntown 1591]

Nada. I either haven't seen them or haven't noticed. Either way it is troubling.

Apparently, they haven't heard of the Downtown Retail Task Force...haha.

Has anybody seen these? I see dozens of buses each day, but I can't say that I've seen anything for downtown retail.

It will be interesting to see what Ms Bessette comes up with. I wonder if their plans will continue to focus on local businesses alone.

[Rhino6885 0]

Either way it is troubling.

[Rizzo 0]

City buses, because 1.) urban area with high population density and traffic counts, 2.) Most likely market to build around will be city dwellers

I think what is happening is that they are trying to build a new market by broadcasting their message to people most likely to bite. I bet you anything that they studied this or developed the idea that citizens of the core cities are Nth times more likely to go downtown than someone from Holland, Georgetown, Coopersville, Muskegon, etc....

I'd like to think that they could run broadcast ads throughout the metro area, but its probably not likely when they are trying to build a user base for downtown -- quick -- for cheap.

Just my thought on this.

[Parhelion 0]

In my (albeit uninformed) opinion, I would think money is best spent on providing incentives to large shops to come downtown (e.g. H&M).  Nothing draws people downtown like actual retail, as opposed to advertising about downtown's practically nonexistent downtown retail. I think the Schuler

[Rizzo 0]

In my (albeit uninformed) opinion, I would think money is best spent on providing incentives to large shops to come downtown (e.g. H&M).  Nothing draws people downtown like actual retail, as opposed to advertising about downtown's practically nonexistent downtown retail. I think the Schuler's/GRAM combination will do more for downtown than the most clever ad campaign in the world.

[GRDadof3 3902]

City buses, because 1.) urban area with high population density and traffic counts, 2.) Most likely market to build around will be city dwellers

I think what is happening is that they are trying to build a new market by broadcasting their message to people most likely to bite. I bet you anything that they studied this or developed the idea that citizens of the core cities are Nth times more likely to go downtown than someone from Holland, Georgetown, Coopersville, Muskegon, etc....

I'd like to think that they could run broadcast ads throughout the metro area, but its probably not likely when they are trying to build a user base for downtown -- quick -- for cheap.

Just my thought on this.

[Rizzo 0]

Well, you forgot the whole suburban belt area that is not served by the RAPID yet is not as far away as Coopersville and Muskegon (ie Cascade, Forest Hills, most of Kentwood, Southern Wyoming, Byron Center, Northview, Rockford, Caledonia, most of Grandville, etc..

I don't think any form of financial incentive would draw an H&M or Urban Outfitters to a downtown retail area like GR's. It's either really strong demographics (like downtown D.C. where I saw a new H&M and UrbanOutfitters), or a new regional brand shopping complex downtown where they would get reciprocal business from other high end retailers. I definitely think Schuler's is a good start, because they (whomever spearheads this DDA downtown retail group) can show them as a tenant.

[Veloise 46]

Interesting find in the Four Friends literature shelving (photo site)