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<br /> Downtown® What can downtowns learn —continued from page 1
<br /> Idea Exchange
<br /> aa publication of the as a problem,"Gordon says. "Power- business function of a downtown,and
<br /> owntown Research&Development Center ful trends are usually best accommo- the fact that people like to go where
<br /> 28 West 25th Street 8th Floor dated rather than resisted." there is activity:business activity,
<br /> New York,NY 10010-2705 Another lesson is that rather other kinds of activity, special events.
<br /> Phone:(212)228-0246•Fax:(212)228-0376
<br /> Email:info@DowntownDevelopment.com than imposing central,top-down If you have something that's going to
<br /> Website:www.DowntownDevelopment.com planning by politicians, he adds, attract large numbers of people fre-
<br /> Editor downtowns can best keep pace with quently in your downtown area,then
<br /> Paul Felt,ext 119 market forces by what he calls "bot- you have an opportunity for the retail-
<br /> pfelt @DowntownDevelopment.com tom-up planning"—following the ers downtown to do well"
<br /> Customer Service lead of"profit-seeking developers
<br /> Mary Pagliaroli,ext.101 with a keen ear to the ground, stir- Study successful
<br /> mpa gliaroli @DowntownDevelopment.com business areas
<br /> viving by correctly anticipating con-
<br /> and Permissions sumers'quickly changing tastes." The second tenet of Gann's
<br /> Mary Dalessandro,ext.103 Market Street approach is to learn
<br /> mdalessandr o @DowntownDevelopment.com Downtown is a business area,
<br /> from those business areas that are
<br /> Publisher not a museum especially successful today. Nothing
<br /> Margaret DeWitt, ext.106
<br /> msdewitt @DowntownDevelopment.com "Imitation is the sincerest form succeeds like success, so study the
<br /> of flattery, and lifestyle centers are best management practices in retail
<br /> Downtown Idea Exchange®is published twice monthly
<br /> by the Downtown Research&Development Center.The imitating, at least in their physical to guide downtown management
<br /> Center provides news,information and analysis for suc appearance, what the old down- initiatives.
<br /> cessful downtown revitalization through its newsletters,
<br /> books,reports,and Website towns were like," says community While downtown cannot compel
<br /> �` and economic development consul- its business owners to maintain uni-
<br /> ,�Alexander Communications Group
<br /> CELEBRATING 50 YEARS• 954-2004 tant John L. Gann, Jr, president of form store hours as a mall developer
<br /> Ilk Gann Associates. can, a downtown can "educate them
<br /> 004 Alexander Communications Group,Inc.All "while reserved.No part of this publication may be However, while lifestyle cen- as to why the lifestyle centers and
<br /> reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmit- ters have the old-style architecture other shopping centers are doing so
<br /> ted in any form or by any means,electronic,mechani-
<br /> cal,photocopying or otherwise,without the prior writ- and format, they're supported by well in competition with down-
<br /> ten permission of Alexander Communications Group. strong, upscale retail chains" and town," Gann says.
<br /> Subscription Order Form: exemplary management, Gann says. "Convince the independent retail-
<br /> Please start renew my one-year There are three management ers in the downtown area that it is to ,
<br /> subscription to Downtown Idea realities that downtowns must em- their advantage to get a little more
<br /> Exchange for$197.* brace in order to thrive, comprising professional and better managed,"he
<br /> what Gann describes as a"Market says,which better positions down-
<br /> NAME Street" approach to downtown revi- town as a whole to explore and capi-
<br /> TITLE talization. talize on its distinctive assets.
<br /> First, downtown is a business
<br /> FIRM/ORGANIZATION Listen to and serve
<br /> area. Downtown should therefore
<br /> ADDRESS be chiefly managed as a business the customer
<br /> CITY STATE ZIP area—not a"museum of historic The third tenet of Gann's Mar-ket
<br /> architecture." Street approach: Customers rule. "As
<br /> PHONE "Business places live or die by in a business,downtown's customers
<br /> FAX the rules of commerce," Gann says. are the people who provide the funds
<br /> EMAIL N15_ "But many downtown programs to keep the enterprise going,"he says.
<br /> MAIL: 28 West 25th Street—stn Floor have substituted non-commercial "To succeed, you have to look
<br /> New York,NY 10010 values that they've considered to what customers want," says
<br /> QI FAX: (212)228-0376 somehow more virtuous." Gann. "Many downtown programs
<br /> PHONE: (800)232-4317 "What attracts most people is have taken their eyes off the cus-
<br /> lich e EMAIL: info @DowntownDevelopment.com
<br /> the contents and not the container," tomer and have instead given priori-
<br /> `North America,$197.Elsewhere,$227
<br /> (includes airmail delivery). he says. "You have to focus on the ty to what the planner, urban
<br /> 2 Downtown Idea Exchange • www.DowntownDevelopment.com September 1, 2004
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