Downtown Marketing and Development

Insights and observations on the redevelopment and revitalization of post-industrial towns on the Route 422 Corridor in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

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Housing as a Tool in Downtown Development

Many of the towns that seek to revitalize are the victims of poor housing stock in the downtown. Poor housing stock in the downtown sometimes limits the options for revitalization. I have always looked at the downtown housing stock and occupancy as a barometer of how a town will do in their revitalization efforts.

Preserving Historic Resources in Revitalization

One of the ways that Main Street programs seek to revitalize is through the historic restoration of the downtown. Classified as the "Design” point of the Main Street four points, restoration of the downtown is a key element. The historic downtown could be the cornerstone for marketing efforts in the revitalization project.

Why Does It Take So Long?

Many frustrations occur with delays in projects and progress in the downtown. It seems like it always takes a long time to get anything done. The problem is a function of the process and how the process is processed.

Working as a private sector representative to a public sector process is sometimes confusing and drawn out. A Main Street Manager is sometimes confronted with issues that never seem to go away because it just takes too long to get things done. The problem is not one thing but can be a number of things, and how they relate to the process.

Planning for a Main Street Manager in a New Fiscal Reality

When government money becomes tight, as it has in recently, requests for funding need to be more competitive. The key to submitting a reasonable application relies on doing your homework on the front end. There cannot be any loose ends and there cannot be any holes in the funding application.

The key to a competitive application is a good plan. How are good plans developed? They are developed through stakeholder participation and talent. Many times, I am asked to help a town get some money for a project or an idea and I run into the same problem … not a strong plan.

The End of Main Street as We Know it

The Commonwealth funded Main Street program is about to come to an end. Say goodbye to the Main Street program and say hello to Keystone Communities. The proposed new program will offer fewer dollars for downtown revitalization as the Department of Economic and Community Development (DCED) budget contracts. The proposed new program is a one-year program that is designed to get people started in downtown development. 

Main Street Manager and Business Recruitment

One of the goals important to board members of a Main Street program is business recruitment. I know that many board members feel that the culmination and result of the main street effort should be to bring in more new stores to the downtown. Recruiting makes your town more vital and helps to diversify the business mix. This is a good goal but it is not an easy goal to attain. 

Revitalization and Government Budgets

Many remember the days when main street projects were plentiful and many boroughs in the region were participants in the state sponsored Main Street Program. In the past couple of years there have been issues with governmental budgets and there has been considerable belt tightening. Many of the programs were terminated as cities and boroughs tried to balance their budgets and still keep essential services.

Downtown Infill

Many times when doing downtown economic revitalization you encounter “holes” in the streetscape. These are lots in the downtown that for one reason or another do not have buildings on them. The lack of continuous buildings creates problems with foot traffic flow. 

Economic Restructuring in the Downtown

When a town gets together to revitalize there is always a lot of discussion concerning they want to accomplish and how they want to move forward with any number of projects. When the projects start moving ahead there is a sudden realization concerning what they really want, and that is economic restructuring. In the beginning the question always arises just what is really economic restructuring, and what can be done to effectuate it? If in the initial stages, the group simplified economic restructuring to be too general, it could present a problem.

Organizing for Revitalization

Perhaps the first step in the revitalization process is the organizing process. You know how it goes— a few people get together and say they need to do something about their town. Usually they refer to how things were in the past when people walked four abreast down the street. But also, it could be a couple of people seeing potential and seizing the moment to plan some improvements for the future.

Small Business Recovery on Main Street

Many of the downtowns in the Delaware Valley have experienced adverse effects on business because of the Covid-19 virus. The lack of access to customers because of various shutdowns has created many landlord-tenant issues that need to be addressed before businesses can get back on track.

The shutdown also impacted the apartment tenants who have been unable to work. Evictions of longer-term tenants would be an unexpected occurrence but with the lack of the ability to earn a living, some of these issues are beginning to surface.

The Year 2020 Never Ceases to Amaze Me

The shutting down of restaurants and bars has had a lethal effect on small towns that have a healthy food and beverage industry as part of their revitalization strategy. The atmosphere, the events, and the areas used as a common gathering space for festive recreation add to why downtowns have been successful.

The Governor issued an order, and it should be obeyed. If the evidence shows a threat, perhaps it is a good action, and I will not go through the dynamics of the spread of the disease. My ideas are not mainstream and not intended to get too Thomas Dolby with everyone.

Remote Work and the Future of Cities

If anything, the virus has forced companies to rethink the staffing and meeting strategy of the organization. I had never even heard of Zoom until the virus, and now it is part of the lexicon in a way that Xerox is to copies.

Is 20/20 Hindsight?

The year 2020 seems to have lasted longer than any other year. Many of us sat at home for most of the year. The virus has kept us isolated and in the company of our families. 

Bold Proposal for Minority Housing

This article is the third and final article in my series on housing history and results. The first article, entitled Spatial “Separation Resulting in Racial Segregation,” dealt with the history of systematic racial exclusion built into the mortgage and credit laws and regulations. The second article, entitled “Hyper-Segregation – a Public Created Entity,” addressed that most minorities were squeezed together in the cities far away from white people to create hyper-segregation. This article will deal with what I have concluded is the potential answer to addressing the problem.

Placemaking in two Different Directions

There has been an uptick in towns and cities, allowing open-air dining to increase capacity/distancing issues in restaurants. There was a need to react quickly in a situation where there is a possibility that losing the downtown retail trade that was developed is possible. 

It brings into focus how slow things move in government. If these kinds of decisions can be made in a crisis, why does it take so long when things are not in emergency mode? It is puzzling that programs can be developed, making decisions at lightning speed when it usually is a long process.

Hyper-Segregation a Public Created Entity

In my last article, I wrote about the policies and guidelines that have led to the spatial separation of racial minorities. Laws led to segregation as a result of specific neighborhoods being designated as "red" (high risk) through the Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC) starting in 1933 and the policy was perpetuated through the FHA and the VA loan programs.

It is All Like That

Many people, some whom I don't even really know, have asked me for help dealing with the recovery programs during the COVID-19 crisis — So much so I posted the rules of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on my website and sent them to the site, so they did not have to write everything down. In most cases, it was a single form with a bunch of attachments that would be done by their accountant.

Phoenixville Train Project Continues to Move Forward

The inter-city rail connection from Phoenixville continues to move forward. For purposes of moving the project forward, the Phoenixville School District voted to endorse the effort. The remaining entity to approve is Chester County. All relevant data has been sent to the county and awaits their endorsement to move the project forward.

Spatial Separation as a Way of Maintaining Housing Value — Part 1

In recent weeks I have devoted a little more time to addressing issues relating to gentrification in Coatesville. It appeared to me to be where somehow many of the black people in Chester County ended up in one place. There is a spatial separation of minorities in Chester County. Minorities are not evenly distributed throughout the county. 

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