Bringing Life to Main Street in Springfield

[iloveionia]

. . . . .and connecting our commercial corridors.

Let's use this thread, rather than the "Regressing" thread, to discuss ideas about reviving Main Street and let's use this discussion to make a proposal to submit to SAMBA or another group and let's be the driving force to bringing life to Main Street.

I have a list of ideas/a plan that I will post later today.  I'm heading out to a soccer game right now. . . . . . .

[iloveionia]

I am having a discussion with a Springfield friend about Main Street.
Here are some of my ideas thus far:

1.  Get owner contact information for all vacant buildings/spaces.
2.  Make friends with people who are business minded to get interest for opening up shop on Main Street. 
3.  Aggressively contact building owners and work with potential business owners to help them negotiate leases or purchases to open their business, be mediators.
4.  Seek funds like redevelopment funds, to dress up Main Street to make it more appealing (the buildings.)
5.  Hold a Main Street Open House (after contacting owners of buildings) and have a commercial corridor open house.  (I've thought of this for residential as well.) One day where every vacant building on Main is open with the owner and/or broker/agent available on site.
6.  Aggressive advertising needs to happen to "lure" folks to Springfield.  Advertising in other states and cities.
7.  And damn it, the next mayor needs to bring life to downtown, that will boost Springfield instantly. 
8.  Our commercial corridors on Main Street need to be connected.  From downtown to the airport.  Period.
9.  Ideally, businesses on Main need to be mom and pop and need to have a theme/focus.  It is definitely a draw.  Antique and thrift stores with country stores and eateries.  Music, pet stores, garden stores, gift stores are all mom and pop style.  This of course all my opinion.  I refer often to 4th/Cherry in Long Beach.  It's dubbed "Retro Row" and is just that.  The city embraced small/new business owners and revived the street with city and federal funds.  Besides all the retro/vintage/thrift stores there is a coffee shop, upscale hair salon, art deco movie theatre, Mexican food joint.  Previously this street was shit.  Now it is hip.  But the city put the money and the work in to revitalizing it.  What a concept.
10.  I also think Springfield could embrace artists and we could have galleries and shops mixed together.  Broadway in  LB/Downtown did this and it is phenomenal.
11.  Additionally we need a council person on our side.  I refer to LB again and our council people are very very good compared to the jackasses in Jacksonville.  No doubt we need the love and support. 

[movedsouth]

I think there are two big questions around Main Street:

1 - how important are the large land owners on Main Street (e.g. Hionides) and what will happen with their properties. The Hionides empire is falling appart over the last couple years, so need to check who owns what right now.

2 - how picky can or should we be about new businesses?

[iloveionia]

One thing I am clueless on is how to "get" businesses to come in. 
Besides the obvious of having space leased at reasonable prices, how do you even begin to find folks anyway?  I can fumble through just about anything, but someone out there has the knowledge.  Do share.

[vicupstate]

how picky can or should we be about new businesses?

Beggers can't be choosers.  Take what you can get (within reason) and simply work your way up from there.  ALMOST anything is better than vacancy.  If it doesn't have a stripper pole, X rated videos or create noise or other pollution, you are better having it, than not having anything.   Just because it is a Pawn Shop today, doesn't mean it will be one forever.  At least a Pawn Shop provides jobs and a service. 

Vacant buildings draw vagrancy, blight and poor maintenance, more than just about any type of occupancy ever will.

Physical Appearance is more important than the type of business.  When Springfield has the population and demographics to attract the stores you REALLY want, it will get them.  In the mean time, something is better than nothing.
   

[letters and numbers]

I am having a discussion with a Springfield friend about Main Street.
Here are some of my ideas thus far:

1.  Get owner contact information for all vacant buildings/spaces.
2.  Make friends with people who are business minded to get interest for opening up shop on Main Street. 
3.  Aggressively contact building owners and work with potential business owners to help them negotiate leases or purchases to open their business, be mediators.
4.  Seek funds like redevelopment funds, to dress up Main Street to make it more appealing (the buildings.)
5.  Hold a Main Street Open House (after contacting owners of buildings) and have a commercial corridor open house.  (I've thought of this for residential as well.) One day where every vacant building on Main is open with the owner and/or broker/agent available on site.
6.  Aggressive advertising needs to happen to "lure" folks to Springfield.  Advertising in other states and cities.
7.  And damn it, the next mayor needs to bring life to downtown, that will boost Springfield instantly. 
8.  Our commercial corridors on Main Street need to be connected.  From downtown to the airport.  Period.
9.  Ideally, businesses on Main need to be mom and pop and need to have a theme/focus.  It is definitely a draw.  Antique and thrift stores with country stores and eateries.  Music, pet stores, garden stores, gift stores are all mom and pop style.  This of course all my opinion.  I refer often to 4th/Cherry in Long Beach.  It's dubbed "Retro Row" and is just that.  The city embraced small/new business owners and revived the street with city and federal funds.  Besides all the retro/vintage/thrift stores there is a coffee shop, upscale hair salon, art deco movie theatre, Mexican food joint.  Previously this street was shit.  Now it is hip.  But the city put the money and the work in to revitalizing it.  What a concept.
10.  I also think Springfield could embrace artists and we could have galleries and shops mixed together.  Broadway in  LB/Downtown did this and it is phenomenal.
11.  Additionally we need a council person on our side.  I refer to LB again and our council people are very very good compared to the jackasses in Jacksonville.  No doubt we need the love and support. 

Hey you know that is a good list!  I know because I was just in there for this same reason but spar has all the contact information and knows which buildings are in ok shape and which are not. When I was talking with them last week I think they said they had owners they were working with to get grants or something (hope me too soon). Hey what does the samba do anyways?

[Bativac]

Physical Appearance is more important than the type of business.  When Springfield has the population and demographics to attract the stores you REALLY want, it will get them.  In the mean time, something is better than nothing.

I agree with this 100%. When I drive thru or walk around the area, a fixed-up pawn shop with decent landscaping and well maintained exterior is more inviting than a run-down pet boutique or cafe would be. I think the only pressure from the neighborhood on local businesses should be "maintain your exterior." Keep weeds from growing around your building, keep the building nicely painted and in repair, make your signage attractive and in working order, etc.

[fieldafm]

7.  And damn it, the next mayor needs to bring life to downtown, that will boost Springfield instantly. 

Connecting DT and Springfield needs to be a top priority for the next administration, city council, parks department and planning department.

See said thread:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,10843.0.html

[peestandingup]

For obvious reasons, Main is just not an attractive business hub anymore after that God awful redesign. It's limiting in both foot traffic (having to cross 4 lanes of highway-like traffic) & car traffic (those damn medians).

If you truly wanna make it viable again, and I've said this in other threads, you have to get rid of that design, shrink the car lane back down to a single & get a streetcar line going down it (all the way from the Zoo to the Landing).

I can't stress enough how important this is & how vital it is for a modern 21st century urban neighborhood. Any city that's worth a damn either already has this going or is getting it done now. San Fran & New Orleans never stopped (and have added lines). But what about places like Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland, Galveston, Dallas, Memphis, Tampa, Little Rock, & more. All open now, all being used. Some are brand new, some have been restored from their glory days.

Upcoming new ones that are being finalized or have broken ground: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Calgary, Charlotte, DC, Dallas, Denver, Edmonton, Houston, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, St Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Jose.

I'm just saying, we're missing the boat (er, rail) big time. No one's gonna take any city serious who doesn't get this going. We probably look like a bunch of backwards hicks to many who have been around (and I can't say I blame them).

Point being, Jacksonville has a strong history with this sorta thing & they need to see the error of their ways like others have & get some of it back. Springfield would be the perfect place to reinstate a heritage streetcar line & restore it right down Main (where the median is now). You wanna really do something that matters instead of picking & plucking at the problem?? That would be it. And don't accept anything less, because this needed done like yesterday.

[tufsu1]

sorry....but I really doubt the 4-lane design is the primary reason for the failure of Main St. retail....after all, San Marco Square also is a 4 lane road with a median and does just fine.

[peestandingup]

sorry....but I really doubt the 4-lane design is the primary reason for the failure of Main St. retail....after all, San Marco Square also is a 4 lane road with a median and does just fine.

Oh please. Its not EVEN the same type of setup. San Marco Blvd, especially around the Square, is slow going, curving roads with highly condensed development surrounded by a center point (the actual square part), easily accessible to both sides on foot. It's more like driving through a slow moving winding residential neighborhood & not like the straight-stretch highway type thing Main has going on now. You couldn't drive fast through the Square even if you wanted to. Same as with King, same as with Five Points, same as with Avondale. Main...not so much. See the difference??

Sorry, but they sucked out what little life was left in Main with that design & it's just a car-moving artery now with those extra lanes & not much else. It may not be the "primary" reason, but it sure helped nail the coffin shut IMO. Time to bury the coffin & start over, because this sucks.

Anyways, that's my contribution. Anything else IMO is just putting a band-aid on a fatal wound.

[ChriswUfGator]

sorry....but I really doubt the 4-lane design is the primary reason for the failure of Main St. retail....after all, San Marco Square also is a 4 lane road with a median and does just fine.

Oh please. Its not EVEN the same type of setup. San Marco Blvd, especially around the Square, is slow going, curving roads with highly condensed development surrounded by a center point (the actual square part), easily accessible to both sides on foot. It's more like driving through a slow moving winding residential neighborhood & not like the straight-stretch highway type thing Main has going on now. You couldn't drive fast through the Square even if you wanted to. Same as with King, same as with Five Points, same as with Avondale. Main...not so much. See the difference??

Sorry, but they sucked out what little life was left in Main with that design & it's just a car-moving artery now with those extra lanes & not much else. It may not be the "primary" reason, but it sure helped nail the coffin shut IMO. Time to bury the coffin & start over, because this sucks.

Anyways, that's my contribution. Anything else IMO is just putting a band-aid on a fatal wound.

+1

[strider]

Everyone needs to remember that the design of Main street was the result of thousands of hours over many, many years of hard work to get it done at all.  It is perhaps not the best design, but as Main Street is a State Highway, and we needed federal and State funds to get it done ever, this is what we had to have.  The bike lanes were given up in order to have ANY on street parking.  Complaining about the design is self defeating.  It ain;t gonna change any time soon.  In fact, good or bad design, we also got all new infrastructure including the electrical moved to the alleys.  If we hadn't done the street at all, things like a street car would most likely be less likely due to the extra costs involved.  So, our best bet is to just deal with it.

Frankly, the complaints about the design seem to more stem from it's lack of drivability rather than walkability issies.  You can only turn left every fourth street.  One Springfield resident complained that her property was harder to get to (by car). I have heard that it might effect funding if the project is too hard to drive to.

Then of course, you have to walk an extra block or so to cross the street.  You either have to go to a light or walk the mid-median walk throughs.

Here, I thought what we wanted was a walkable commercial corridor. 

It is true that the idea of a state highway is to move cars, but that is the hand we have been dealt.

So , it seems to me we need ideas to market the walkability of Main Street.  You do not have to worry about as many cars turning left through the walking traffic.  You can set up smaller parking Parks to encourage people to park and walk rather than like at 3rd and main which actually encourages park, eat and drive. If banks don't understand the concept of walking to the stores and restaurants then we need to teach them.  Use what most see as issues with Main Street as the benefits.

[sheclown]

how picky can or should we be about new businesses?

Beggers can't be choosers.  Take what you can get (within reason) and simply work your way up from there.  ALMOST anything is better than vacancy.  If it doesn't have a stripper pole, X rated videos or create noise or other pollution, you are better having it, than not having anything.   Just because it is a Pawn Shop today, doesn't mean it will be one forever.  At least a Pawn Shop provides jobs and a service.  

Vacant buildings draw vagrancy, blight and poor maintenance, more than just about any type of occupancy ever will.

Physical Appearance is more important than the type of business.  When Springfield has the population and demographics to attract the stores you REALLY want, it will get them.  In the mean time, something is better than nothing.
 

+1

[sheclown]

It is also important to have a real understanding of the overlay.  Running around yelling "it's against the overlay" without fully understanding it, is silliness.  

Some of the overlay, IMHO, is unenforceable anyway.  You cannot single out items...for example...it is "illegal" for a special use to have a chain link fence, but okay for other uses?  Now, how is THAT going to hold up in a court of law?  (I'm talking about existing chain link fence, not new which cannot be for any use).

When we looked around for a place to put the thrift store, building owners and realtors told us "you can't have a thrift store in Springfield, its against the overlay".  Well, it certainly is not, but that is what people have been told.

The overlay should never be used to hurt businesses or displace a class of people.  Promoting it as such only weakens the strength of the actual overlay, itself.