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Once a bustling commercial center in the 1960's and 70's, N. Fourth St. in east Flagstaff is looking to come alive again with new businesses and a city redevelopment plan in the works:


North Fourth Street in Midst of Renovations, Reinvestment
Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce newsletter
November, 2009

The North Fourth Street commercial corridor is going through something of a renaissance. Several businesses have opened or relocated to the East Side thoroughfare in the past year. A police office opened in one of the strip malls in July, giving law enforcement an increased presence. Consultants studying plans on renovating the area will release their first draft report in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, a steering committee of business and property owners has begun meeting to determine if a Property & Business Improvement District (PBID) should be established in the area. Flagstaff City Council Member Coral Evans, who head the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, says the increased interest in Fourth Street can be attributed in part to the opening of the Fourth Street overpass three years ago. "People now come through Fourth Street on a daily basis," said Evans. "They can see the possibilities. The possibilities are huge."

One store that captured those possibilities is Odegaard's Sewing Center, which moved from the corner of Beaver Street and Aspen downtown to Fourth Street this past year. "I think it's great here - the people are great and the location is great," said owner Van Odegaard, who was able to almost double his space from 2,700-square-feet to about 5,000 with the move. Additionally, he said, he has more parking at the Fourth Street location, and it's easier for customers - particularly those from out of town - to find his store without having to wind through one-way streets. Stan Pierce, vice president and general manager of KOLT Country/The Canyon/The Wolf, also cited more space and better parking when talking about the radio station's move earlier this year to Fourth Street. "We felt that side of town was growing," he said, "and we wanted to be one of the anchors in that growth."

New businesses were not all the changes that 2009 brought to Fourth Street. In July, residences and businesses welcomed the addition of a police office on the strip. The office is not a substation - it's not manned - but according to Sgt. Matt Wright, it has a call box, and serves as a location for police officers to type reports and use the telephone instead of going back to downtown. "The store front is not about having police officers sitting there," said Evans, "but you see them all the time now, on bike or on foot all over the area. It keeps them here instead of going to Sawmill Drive." Evans also noted that one of the immediate benefits after the office opened in July was the dramatic decrease of so-called "street alcoholics" loitering by Fourth Street businesses.

Other changes on tap for Fourth Street include the first draft of a report by design consultant Otak on Fourth Street redevelopment. City Architect Karl Eberhard said the study actually synthesizes previous reports on the area done in past years, such as the East Flagstaff Focus Future 2009 and the Sunnyside/Fourth Street study. "They were primarily policy documents, not concrete plans," said Eberhard, who added the Otak report would have more specific recommendations of what changes should be made on Fourth Street. The first review of the Otak recommendations will occur later this month or in early December, Eberhard said.

Additionally, a steering committee begins meeting this month to determine if the corridor should become a Property & Business Improvement District. If the property and business owners on the street decide to form a PBID, it could levy a fee to contract for services or capital improvements not being provided by the city. Evans said that examples of these improvements could be enhancing beautification efforts, event planning, strategic planning, business retention efforts and working on filling vacant properties in the corridor.