As I suggested in my earlier post, Ann Lagasse of Piper Properties/Waterside Group/Karp & Co. offered to sit down with a few of us interested bloggers to discuss their approach to identifying retail business for the downtown.
So I'm hoping to have a chat (an actual chat or an online chat) with Ann. I'll pass on the results here.
My take? I have fewer concerns about the downtown than some people. I think a large majority of the business down there do sell products targeted at higher end consumers. But that's been the case for years. Do I shop for clothes there? Not usually, but I tend to buy gifts down there as well as breads, cheeses, coffee, and some other goods.
I have some concerns about the chains. But I was surprised at the level of anxiety when I returned to town. At the time, one new friend asked if I was worried about the spread of chain stores downtown. I asked what she meant. She identified Starbucks, Boston Chowda, and Tablots.
I thought back to when I left town in 1997. Starbucks was here. Boston Chowda was a TCBY and the Strand was empty if I recall correctly. (I'm told a locally owned restaurant took over the former TCBY space for a while before Boston Chowda came on. UPDATE: An emailer tells me the shop was called the Off Center Cafe.)
Richdale's was here as well. Dunkin Donuts wasn't. Believe me, I would have welcomed an opportunity to buy a late night coffee after covering a town meeting.
Frankly, I didn't see the need for the fuss. But now I do recognize the Karp development will change everything and change breed fear. Hell, I wrote the hand-wringing "Will Chains Overtake Downtown" article when we broke the news that Starbucks was coming downtown in 1995. I helped feed the fear.
But this downtown has been changing for some 40 years now. But ALL downtowns are changing; some for the better, some for the worse. I think Newburyport's downtown falls in the former category.
I do give a lot of credit the Buy Local folks for putting their concerns into action and education. I also tend to give the Lagasses and Karp a benefit of the doubt. I'm hoping there is some happy medium between the two.
Back to my original point. If you have questions for Ann please send them along in a comment. If you don't want the comment published let me know. I'll honor that.
Don't wait too long. We might chat over the weekend.
1 comment:
Tom- nice post, and I would love to be there but I have an election I'm working on.
In looking at what is happening downtown, I can't help but feel that the city had way underestimated it's ability to make Newburyport an environmental/historical destination. The lack of a hotel has hurt,but Plum Island is one of the top ten birding spots in the US; five miles out of the Merrimack River you have the possibility of seeing pelagic birds and one of the rarest animals in the world- North Atlantic Whale; between Maudsley, Moseley Pines, the cemeteries, the Little River trail and the industrial park you can see minks, beavers, fishers, bald eagles...
High Street is unique in the US for the astonishing richness of the architecture on display; there are examples of virtually every kind of American architectural style from 1640 to 1950; Newburyport is also a destination for people doing genealogical research.
I'd bet that the Chamber of Commerce has never placed an add in a single birding magazine for the spring or fall bird migrations.
Ask Ann about any plans to reach out to those folks. Goes right along with the rail trail news above.
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