Posted Feb 26, 2009, 4:09 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Tempe, AZ
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http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...ntown0225.html
Quote:
Mill Avenue suffers from empty-storefront syndrome
by Dianna M. Náñez - Feb. 25, 2009 08:06 AM
The Arizona Republic
In downtown Tempe, the Borders book store, Harkins Theater, an Islands restaurant, the Bamboo Club and a host of other retail businesses and restaurants are gone.
And so far, the empty store fronts aren't getting refilled.
The vacant buildings aren't just an economic indicator that the recession has hit downtown Tempe.
For many area merchants, they are a scary sign that their livelihoods are at stake.
Cody Cooper was 22 when he and his mom opened Mill Avenue Jewelers downtown. It was 1985 and ironically, a 1980s economic downturn left his mom laid off from work. The two decided to take on a family venture.
Since then, Cooper has weathered several downtown struggles. But the current economy's hold on the area, Cooper said, is like nothing he has seen before. In July he closed his business' doors.
"I had to downsize with the economy," he said. "I did my going-out-of business sale . . . starting in June."
In an attempt to salvage his business, Cooper took a lease on a small office upstairs from his old store. He now takes clients by appointment only and hopes to soon expand sales through millavenuejewelers.com, an online extension of his jewelry designs and repairs.
Cooper said it is time for city leaders and the Downtown Tempe Corporation, the non-profit that manages the Mill Avenue District through an agreement with downtown landowner's and the city, to acknowledge the seriousness of the area's economic troubles.
That acknowledgement, he said, could unite downtown stakeholders against developers who have failed to keep promises and trigger public partnerships that could save the area.
If the city moves fast, he said, there are opportunities that could change the spiraling direction in which he thinks downtown is headed.
"Light rail has turned out better than I expected," he said. "There are people coming (downtown). We need to give them (something) to come for."
Downtown's troubles
Nancy Hormann, DTC's president and executive director, agreed that downtown is suffering. But she says the difficulties the area is experiencing are no different than what other cities face.
"I think the challenge is just the same as everyone's challenge," she said. "In these economic times all the retails throughout the Valley are having tough times."
Still, Hormann acknowledges that the loss of the hope that hundreds of condominium owners would flood downtown has forced the city to consider more realistic goals to keep the area afloat. New financing for the Centerpoint project, which would provide the condominiums, is in jeopardy. Avenue Communities had planned to open the first tower in the fall but that date was pushed back when its financier Mortgages Ltd. filed for bankruptcy.
But Hormann said new businesses such as the Comerica Bank, Dunkin' Donuts, several yogurt stores and other shops are a sign that investors still see opportunities in downtown Tempe.
"We have light rail," she said. "We also have Tempe Beach Park . . . and a lake, now where else can you find that?"
Hormann said plans to bring entertainment to downtown are on the horizon
"We're just moving forward with doing different things that will create a destination," she said. "Every Thursday night in April, we'll have music and performers on the streets, all over."
But some residents say people who tried light rail for the first time since it opened in December may not come back to Tempe after seeing the area's vacancies.
"There are parts of downtown that are filled," said Christina Perez, 27, who works at a downtown Tempe business next to the old Harkins. "But there are just too many spots . . . that really are just sad to look at. I know Tempe is trying but they need to do more than just host festivals every six months."
Perez encouraged the city to partner with Arizona State University to bring free entertainment and art to the area.
"There are so many students that would love to show their art out here. It wouldn't cost anything. They have art shows all the time at malls. Why not do that here?" she said.
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Those landlords should really start dropping their rents until the stores are full, however low that might be. Short term, they're losing money anyway, so they might as well keep the shops full and try to maintain a desirable destination for when things do start looking up.
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