Topic:  Retail Development

 

 Convener:Dick Callaway

 

Note Taker: Pat McGill

 

Participants:Kevin Fluharty, Joseph Audia, Dave Fisher, Charles Maroudas, Dick Callaway, Susie Salisbury

 

Key themes, outstanding questions, observations

 

 

Williamson interested in having businesses like they used to.  Parking close to stores, not big box.  Some businesses interested in getting a differencet mix of business.

 

How \do you find that kind of developer?  Some are regional

 

Parking is an issue for some c ommmunities.  Land sometimes owned by a number of different owner.

 

St. Albans- area closed up as a walking mall for 20 years.  Businesses have left and now seeing new business once the area opened again.  Never will be the same as it used to be, so need a niche to bring people there, like a music store that is there now.  Economic developmetn group opening old theatre for arts.  Looking for unique businesses that will attract people to the area and they could do bus tours and theatre productions.

 

Williamson,  noted that St. Alban\s had a beautiful area downtown but no people were there.  Developer tried to sell the same concept to Williamson.

 

Why did it fail?  No variety in the area, no one wanted to walk from parking area to stores in the walkikng mall.  Closed off to vehichles

Successful businesses?  Music store, colonial furniture, tanning salon, curio shops, karate classes, carpeting and flooring, framing shop, community services.  all unique and destination type business.  can be anywhere and people who want that service will go there.

 

Did you lobby for them to c ome to you or did you market?  doing marketing in newspapers looking for investors.

 

Possibility of new gaming center to make city a destination for tours.  Some historic areas

 

Dollar theatere in some cities can appeal to kids.

 

St. albans proposing to do theatre workshops, use it for local activities and have dinner theater for tours.  Walk down main street and shop in businesses in the area.

 

Williamson used to have good ladies shops in early days and that would attract visitors.  Charlie opened men's store and ladies would go there to take something home to their husbands.  They attracted business from as far away as Beckley.  They were a destination shop.  Question would a shoe store today appeal?  Probably if it was unique and you couldn't get somewhere else.

 

St. Alban's looking at setting uup a tea store where families can come.  Or bed and breakfast.

 

Problem with some of the small shops and businesses that if the owner leaves on vacation there is no one to take it up.

 

Price of gas is a problem in that people don't want to travel far.  Discussion of c osts of natural gas and speculators and sub prime mortgage issue and how that is affected by speculators.

 

Used to have stores that offered personal service, does the public no longer want that?  Staff would know sizes, what you liked , alterations, personal services, now everyone goes to big malls and they don't get that.  Now sometimes don't buy because the size doesn't fit

 

In Pittsburgh there is a store that sells jeans and the store gives the customer personal attention and mails jeans that are altered.  Family really goes back there because of the service level.

 

Before fire Salem had some unique stores that catered to needlework always had business and there was something going on there every night.

 

Williamson has no retail business at this time downtown.  Only a sports bar.  All the space is occupeid by lawyers, doctors.  Nothing to keep people downtown.

 

why don't want to attract sports bar?  litter at night, unruly patrons, inappropriate behavior.  Opened area up by removing shrubs and made street more attractive, starting to see less blight in the sprots bars and they are starting to work on facades. Other businesses see this kind of upkeep and starts to cascade effect with others updating their buildings.

 

Question  Is there consensus that people want service and uniqueness in their business?

 

If you have a target insight of what you want the main street to look like, how do you attract and market the vision to businesses and developers?  Should you hire someone to market?  Have to sell your own community members first.

 

Question?  Why did one of the participants start a practice in Salem.  Wanted to come back to WV and someone in the community sold him on coming back.

 

Doing this takes a lot of time on the part of a lot of people and won't happen overnight. Need feasibility study to sell developers Certain national retailers have specific requirements like corner lots, certain amoujnt of acreage, certain return on investment threshold.

 

What can a Blueprint Community do to meet this challenge?

 

Cluster analysis of what the area should look like, foot traffic counts, market analysis of area, developmetn realistic goals, design guidelines for the area,  Resources can come together and work together.  Get the right expertise on your Blueprint team to multiple forces. 

fragmented communites and different ideas can be brought together to work on the plans.  

Destroy the "I" and develeop the "we". 

 

What assistance do communities need from outsiders?

Marketing.

Any community with a community college should have a wealth of expertise to help with business plans.  Techno geeks in training.

Small business devleopment centers

 Need expertise to find these skills.  Using college students to do marketing plan as a class project.  Internships

 

Salem has used students in MBA classes to do some projects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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