Q & A
The New King of Ka - Ching
Q&A with Ken Reynolds
April 2010
KEN REYNOLDS is the retail development coordinator for the City of Montgomery.
He was recently interviewed by Montgomery Business Journal
Managing Editor DAVID ZASLAWSKY.
MONTGOMERY BUSINESS JOURNAL: You are the retail development coordinator for the City of Montgomery. What are your responsibilities?
REYNOLDS: I work with businesses that are interested in coming to Montgomery. I work with existing businesses in Montgomery that are interested in expanding or in some instances relocating. I am a business recruiter so I’m also going out and looking at different types of businesses and taking input from various sources as to the types of businesses that different areas would like. I’m working with property owners; working with developers; and taking input from pretty much any source.
MBJ: What are various sources telling you about the types of businesses that would be a good fit?
REYNOLDS: Obviously, there is a big interest in grocery stores. There is a big interest in restaurants and entertainment venues and also general merchandise. A great example are the things you saw at the (West Montgomery) charrette, where people are saying these are the things we want. We want nicer restaurants. We want entertainment venues for our children. A big thing for downtown is a market. What I am trying to do is work with different areas and help develop the infrastructure. Downtown has been a hot button and we have more and more loft living coming on line. In order to make that loft living viable for the people who want to live downtown, we are looking at the things they need, like a place to buy a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, butter and maybe a glass of wine or a steak.
MBJ: A dry cleaner?
REYNOLDS: I’m working with a dry cleaner for downtown, but that dry cleaner has also expressed an interest in (another location).
MBJ: What other types of businesses are people interested in seeing downtown?
REYNOLDS: Some people have talked about a gift shop. One of the developers has signed a lease for an art gallery. (The Dauber Gallery is owned by Mark Dauber, an associate broker with John Stanley & Associates Inc.) We are working to get a convenience store. We have some people who have expressed an interest in a gas station downtown. We are not just working on Commerce (Street) or The Alley. Attending the charrette for West Fairview Avenue was a terrific experience. The first night they had about 150 people show up and they expressed some very, very interesting ideas about the things they would like to see in their neighborhood. Some of the things were surprising; some were not.
MBJ: What were some of the surprising things you learned at the charrette?
REYNOLDS: Grocery store. I think there were two grocery stores already – the Piggly Wiggly and Calhoun Foods. But for some reason in that area, they feel the need for either another grocery store or a different type of store. I think part of it is the prospect of having something new and different. They talked about restaurants.
MBJ: There is a lot of potential for new businesses in that area.
REYNOLDS: The area between Court Street and the interstate on West Fairview is a very, very vibrant commercial district and one of the things that the charrette brought out was the fact that while there are a lot of businesses there – there are other businesses that the neighborhood would like to see come into that area to provide goods and services. There is a terrific need in that area to promote pedestrianism. I am working with the West Fairview Business Coalition, which is an organization of the business owners on West Fairview. We’ve already had one
meeting and scheduled another meeting. We are also looking to revitalize the Downtown Business Association.
MBJ: Is all that interest in downtown starting to spread out to midtown?
REYNOLDS: Once you get the synergy of The Alley, which was an area that got a huge amount of attention, the developers have done a terrific job down there. I’m looking forward to and working toward having The Alley filled up; and having that spill out on Commerce Street and turn up Dexter. I actually have some folks that are interested in Dexter.
MBJ: What are they planning to do?
REYNOLDS: There is a gentleman who has a contract on a building on Dexter. He wants to do retail on the ground floor and loft living on the second and third floors of the building. What’s also interesting is that I got a call yesterday afternoon from a developer in Los Angeles, who apparently had done some work for someone who referred him to an attorney here in Montgomery and that attorney referred him to me. I have a developer out there asking what type of incentives are out there; what type of programs are available; what type of properties are there; and can you put together a packet for me of downtown Montgomery? He specifically mentioned Dexter Avenue.
MBJ: What incentive packages are available for retail outlets?
REYNOLDS: We used a portion of our Community Block Grant money in the past. We have put together some incentives for new business.
MBJ: Are those incentives mostly tax credits?
REYNOLDS: No, they are grants and low-interest loans. Basically those loans are based on creating jobs. It’s normally $25,000 per job as I understand it. Part of it can be in the form of a grant and part of it can be in the form of a low-interest loan. I have a group coming in from Atlanta. We just got a grant approval for them and it was in the works for quite a while. They are going to open up a blues and jazz club and tapas restaurant downtown. It’s called Ziggy’s Blues and Jazz Café and the genre is smooth jazz.
MBJ: Where downtown?
REYNOLDS: The Alley.
MBJ: How many employees?
REYNOLDS: They will have between 14 and 20 employees, is the estimate at this point.
MBJ: When will it open?
REYNOLDS: Probably summer – they think they can do their build-out in 45 to 60 days.
MBJ: Are there any other commitments using grant money?
REYNOLDS: No, because at this point the allocation of grant money has been used up, which is sad. I have an awful lot of people that are calling me and saying we would like to do something – can you help us?
MBJ: Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange recently announced that Ziggy’s, Nancy’s Italian Ice, MarChelle’s Bakery and The Dauber Gallery were all coming to The Alley. I also heard that there may be another restaurant coming to downtown.
REYNOLDS: They are negotiating with landlords.
MBJ: What type of restaurant?
REYNOLDS: Unpretentious white-table cloth.
MBJ: On Commerce Street?
REYNOLDS: Yes.
MBJ: Isn’t the economy adding challenges to recruiting retail outlets?
REYNOLDS: Yes, in this economy it has been so difficult for small businesses to get loans because the credit market is so tight. I have a pretty thick folder of ideas and people that want to come downtown, but at this point it’s just being able to match up spaces, match up financing and match up ideas.
MBJ: Are you saying there are dozens of leads?
REYNOLDS: Yes. A restaurateur from Birmingham is interested in looking at space.
MBJ: Is the restaurateur interested in The Alley?
REYNOLDS: They are interested in the downtown area.
MBJ: Without saying the name of the restaurateur, is it a chain?
REYNOLDS: No.
MBJ: What is the business climate like? Has it been improving since you started?
REYNOLDS: I started the first of August and when I started there were maybe half a dozen leads and part of that is having someone in this position. There never had been a retail development coordinator for the city before. Another thing that is drawing interest is having facilities like 129 Coosa St., which is a fabulous facility, as is the new one that has been built above Alley Station. That’s also pulling more people downtown and getting more people exposed to what is happening in this particular area.
MBJ: Are retail business owners becoming more optimistic – are they considering the Montgomery market?
REYNOLDS: More people from outside the area are expressing an interest.
MBJ: As the retail development coordinator, you are selling Montgomery.
REYNOLDS: Absolutely.
MBJ: How do you sell Montgomery – without giving away all your trade secrets?
REYNOLDS: Once we get them to town it’s not a hard sell. Once they see what’s going on; once they see our riverfront; once they see all the exciting things that are going on. It’s a breath of fresh air for me because these folks I’m talking to that will be in next week said, “Everywhere we go we see people in a holding pattern and huddled up.” He said that when “we look at Montgomery, we see – y’all are doing things.” That’s the impression we want to make.
MBJ: It sounds like you’re saying Montgomery sells itself.
REYNOLDS: No, it doesn’t sell itself. When you look at what the Chamber of Commerce is doing; when you look at what travel and tourism is doing; when you look at what the Renaissance is doing and drawing in more conventions every year; when you look at all the
things that happen to make tourism work in Montgomery – those are all things that will continue to drive businesses to come in as well.
MBJ: There is a lot more residential development downtown as well.
REYNOLDS: The residential (projects) downtown has been a huge incentive as we continue to develop that. The Alley Station (recently) started leasing loft apartments and according to the manager over there, the units are already about 80 percent rented. There are 16 and there are plans for 10 more above Dreamland.
MBJ: And how long did that take?
REYNOLDS: About two weeks and Mr. (Jerry) Kyser has plans for 10 loft apartments above Dreamland. Sam Adams is working on his (loft) project on Washington Street and there is another building downtown that will most likely go retail/loft.
MBJ: We’ve talked about downtown, West Montgomery and a little bit about midtown, but what about East Montgomery? Any new retail projects on the horizon?
REYNOLDS: There’s a new grocery store coming.
MBJ: Where?
REYNOLDS: It’s going to be at EastChase. They are just now breaking ground and probably open by the end of the year.
MBJ: Any other retail projects or prospects for East Montgomery?
REYNOLDS: One of the things that I’m also working on – we had a tremendous success with the Pub Crawls downtown. I would like to get with the folks that are sponsoring the Pub Crawls and see about doing an east side Pub Crawl to help those businesses out there and to generate some buzz on that side of town about the entertainment opportunities out there. The developers are so active on the east side. I hear a lot about downtown and I’m hearing more and more about the west side and the things that are going on there.
MBJ: I read that former football star Fred Beasley is trying to bring Freddie B’s Grill and Game to Montgomery. Is that correct?
REYNOLDS: Fred Beasley has had an uphill struggle with a number of things, but as far as I know at this point it’s still on track.
MBJ: What’s the location?
REYNOLDS: It’s going to be at the Atlanta Crossing shopping center in the old Albertson’s location. Once again, one of the things that slowed him down was the credit market.
MBJ: It was reported that Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange wants you to bring in five times your salary. What does that mean to you?
REYNOLDS: It means I’ve got to stay busy. One of the things about this job that has probably been the most difficult is to realize things won’t always happen as quickly as I would like them to. When you’re putting these things together – these guys that are coming in for the blues and jazz club – I’ve been working on that since August. Nothing happens very quickly. A lot of these projects that we are working on – in reality – are one-, two- or even three-year projects. There are some challenges there. The other thing that is really surprising is sometimes it’s very difficult to match up the business with some of the empty spaces that we have. We have a number of empty buildings, but they may not meet the criteria (of the prospect). I have worked diligently to familiarize myself with the real estate that’s available. I have walked, climbed, crawled through pretty much all the buildings on Dexter Avenue. Another thing I’ve done is work closely in developing relationships with commercial Realtors because they are a great source. A lot of times people will see a building and they will call and say, “I want to do this” and the building may not fit that. But if they (Realtors) call me and say, “I’ve talked to somebody who wants to open this type of business,” then that allows me to go out and look for other things that might be a good fit.
MBJ: It must depend on where the buildings are. You might have some retailers who want to be anywhere downtown.
REYNOLDS: Exactly. That’s a big thing right now because downtown has been the hot (point) because of everything that has gone on there. What we’re wanting to do is take that model and move it out.
MBJ: You have a one-year contract. What do you hope to accomplish by the end of your year?
REYNOLDS: Hopefully we’ll bring some of the things we’re working on to fruition. I think there is a need for this position in the City of Montgomery or I would not have accepted this position to start with. Basically, bring in more things and get more things working in the pipeline; continue to promote the city. At the end of my contract, it will be up to Mayor Strange and Deputy Mayor Downes as to whether or not they want to renew this contract and carry forward what we’re doing.
MBJ: Would you like to continue as the retail development coordinator?
REYNOLDS: Oh yeah – absolutely. I love what I’m doing. There is a great deal of personal satisfaction of having someone come to me with an idea; then working with them; taking that idea; creating a plan; and then bringing that plan to fruition. As we’re adding new things to the mix and we’re out recruiting businesses, we also want to make sure that we are recruiting a diversity of businesses – that everybody that comes in brings something unique and different. I love Dreamland, but we don’t need 15 barbecue places downtown. We are also working on a market for downtown. That has been one of the major goals – a market for downtown.
MBJ: Is there a site for a downtown market?
REYNOLDS: Yes, there absolutely is.
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