As the Urban Land Institute’s report (PDF) reminds us, sometimes it’s the folks from outside Springfield who recognize its assets most easily.
Page 14 reads, "Interestingly, the panel notes that outside business interests—the so-called bottom feeders—are looking at development opportunities and real estate acquisition possibilities with far more enthusiasm than are local business interests. Perhaps outsiders see things with a clearer, more unbiased eye. They are beginning to acquire properties at only a fraction of the replacement costs."
I received an email from a woman who grew up in New York City and is currently living in Hoboken, New Jersey running a nascent specialty cupcake and cookie business from her home. She wants to open a specialty bakery, and is considering this area because she has fond memories of visiting it while growing up. (Cupcake shops are de rigueur in some cities these days. Image from Portland’s Saint Cupcake.)
She writes, "I am absolutely in love with the area. When I found a three-family building with a storefront for sale I thought, ‘This would be perfect for my bakery that I’m trying to start.’"
"But," she adds, "as I’m reading things about Springfield, I’m starting to think perhaps not. On one hand, I’m the eternal optimist and believe that the only way to revitalize an area is to bring business to it. To hire locally and to give back to the community."
"On the other hand," she continues, "as a business woman, I’m not looking to be a pioneer in uncharted territory. Not being from the area, I have nothing to compare it to, and no real visual of the neighborhood."
The area our prospective specialty baker is considering is immediately adjacent to the planned Chestnut Estate development project.
What guidance would you offer to her? What does she need to do to scope out whether Springfield is the right location for her homegrown business? Besides the obvious—a visit—what avenues for research would you recommend that are specific to Springfield?
More broadly speaking, how can the city as a whole—private and public sectors, along with citizens—position itself strategically to strengthen what it already has for downtown street-level retail and other small businesses, and also be attractive to entrepreneurs checking it out from afar, uncertain how viable the place really is?
What are we doing, or what should we be doing, to welcome new opportunity when it appears?
