KELO-TV screenshot
Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a great idea;
The Downtown Sioux Falls organization isn’t just standing by and watching the businesses go, it’s taking action by launching an incubator program that will offer a rent subsidy to new businesses that will come in, along with other support.
This is something that I would actually like to see city wide. Where I get ‘suspicious’ is where the funding will come from. There could be several options, State or Federal grants for economic development, you could also use community development monies or SBA. My concern is that this program will be directly funded by the city, like the facade easement program, and that would be unfair to other local businesses starting out in our community that are not locating Downtown.
A better approach would be to work with property owners downtown leasing space, and base rents on a sliding scale or make the lease based on revenue and sales. In some cases the property owners may make more money.
We will wait to hear the details, but I have a feeling this is something that was cooked up by Q-Tip Smith and crew, and in the end will probably be costing local taxpayers money so Ms. Doe can open a high-end bookstoreshoeshopcraftwineandpaint shop.
Brienne, you know me, drop me a note. I would love to do a guest post about the details of the incubator program.
On a separate note, I have no problem with Downtown becoming an entertainment hub of bars and restaurants, who cares if there is retail? I do most of my shopping online. I have often told people the biggest thing missing on Phillips in terms of retail is a duty shop.
One of the reasons many retailers don’t do well downtown is because of the hours they are open. If they were open later they may see more people shopping.
Just maybe Downtown Sioux Falls is NOT as vibrant as city leaders and those that live, work and play there would like the rest of us to think!!
This is what’s happening in a three block stretch of Phillips Avenue, the heart of retail and dining DT:
Traditions VACANT/For Sale
Artisan House For Lease
The Book Shop Relocating
Prairie Star Gallery Retiring/For Sale
The Market on Phillips Relocating
My Current Obsession VACANT
Susanne’s VACANT
Raymond’s Relocating
Rehfeld’s Gallery Retiring/For Sale
Go Casual VACANT
Sinful Things Gourmet Desserts For Sale
Perhaps construction of all Craig Lloyd’s “cookie-cutter” apartment buildings in the downtown area has masked the fact that the retail sector DT is in trouble!!
It is NOT the taxpayers job to BAIL-OUT downtown merchants!!!!!!!!!!
It’s a good idea but wait for a new mayor. This is ripe for more favors & paternalism. Huether is already robbing one downtown association to pay city credit minimums.
Looks like that aggressive parking enforcement is really paying off.
The world is evolving, and people don’t just don’t do that type of retail shopping anymore. Downtown is becoming a collection of banks, office buildings, a handful of resturants/bars, and various professional services like lawyers, photographers, marketing firms, etc. Is this a bad thing? Not really – just a sign of the times.
A lot of the kitschy stores that once called downtown home are now relocating to smaller shopping areas which have far greater access. Whether it is a strip mall or an area like the Bridges at 57th and Western we continue to see the migration. Can’t really blame them either – go downtown after 5PM and what do you see? Closed signs, vacant storefronts, and several options to eat or drink. Is that going to bring people down?
Agree with DL that this incubator program shouldn’t come from tax dollars as that isn’t really fair to the taxpayer or to the developers investing elsewhere. I’m assuming this is funded by DTSF, but with so many places leaving or closing I have to wonder if DTSF will have the funds to even make this happen for more than a few startups.
Maybe DTSF should have fought a bit harder to keep some of the events downtown that have moved elsewhere. Whether it is Automania moving to Brandon or simply allowing some of the weekend festivals to move North to the greenspace on Phillips – either way they are reducing the amount of window shopping and visitors who see something that makes them want to return. One of the biggest barriers anyone downtown has is recognition, because they lack the funds to do any type of largescale marketing efforts, and therefore rely a lot on word of mouth and old fashioned coincidence.
Then again – it might have something to do with the fact that businesses continue to close or move, turnover remains very high, and yet the rents haven’t dropped to compensate. The property owners seem to think they can still charge a premium even when their particular property sits between two vacant storefronts. A major correction is in order – values don’t seem to be sustainable when you can’t find anyone to rent the ground floor.
Pretty pathetic to see people like anon/cr cheering as mom & pop businesses close up shop. Bitter much?
And I missed the bail out part, I thought the incubator program was designed to encourage new business start ups? How is setting up an incubator bailing any of these people out?
An incubator is BTW is an excellent idea, other cities have used them successfully to help create jobs.
Sy I don’t see anon’s comments as cheering, but rather explaining the reality. It does appear retail downtown is in fact in trouble, and there are a lot of store relocating or just flat out closing.
Maybe I’ve missed part of the conversation, but I’m not seeing what you’re seeing.
The incubator program aside, every couple of years there is major turnover on Phillips Ave. It is nothing unusual, or reason for pushing a panic button. Whether it’s due to retirement, just couldn’t make their nut, or the grass seems greener somewhere else, this is just a natural evolution. Many more on Anonymous’s list were retirement btw. An incubator program could help to fill these empty spots faster.
The events on Phillips that have moved on to other locations were not revenue generators for retail, they in effect, blocked regular customers from coming downtown to shop. All of those events were alcohol centric and restaurants and bars benefited greatly.
I hope the program works
oh hell, it could be time for a walmart market DT. Lot of over priced lofts that need walmart services, give them 5 years and they will be the new Projects like DT Detroit. Then there would be groceries for a cheap price, and serve the neighborhood, then we could watch Sunshine close up. The mayor would have more tax dollars to throw at the EC. The ParaTransit and bus riding people could get a pass to go downtown, get their groceries and go home thanking Huether for their wonderful life he gave them.
Don’t forget Shape Places was designed to not only limit urban sprawl but to make rehabilitation of downtown and poor neighborhood rebuilding a very easy thing for developers to do whatever they want. If the mayor is after sales tax dollars and not quality of life, don’t vote for him Sioux Falls. We need a new mayor.
jscar on 03.31.14 at 3:24 pm
The incubator program aside, every couple of years there is major turnover on Phillips Ave. It is nothing unusual…
jscar, the current situation is highly unusual. With the exception of My Current Obsession and Sinful Things Gourmet Desserts, all of the other businesses have been on Phillips Avenue for many years.
It is also worth noting that if a business is doing well financially, owners don’t just retire. They sell the business to someone looking for an opportunity.
So when a business that has existed downdown for a decade or two decides they are ‘retiring’ and closing, that sends a strong message that their revenues probably haven’t been high enough in the past few years to make that business attractive to anyone else.
The few that are for sale are an unknown. In some cases they might transition to new owners who think they can turn things around, but I’d guess a third of those types of stores are closed within two years. Another third are never sold and quietly close.
Then you have the stores that are simply relocating. Raymonds Jewelers has been downtown for something like 23 years. The Book Shop has been downtown since the 80s. For a store to make the decision to move after decades downtown it suggests a major shift in the spending habits of consumers.
Again I think it comes back to the rent prices. The owners downtown have seen some new hotels and a bunch of new condos being built and they all felt their values were on the rise, so rents were adjusted accordingly. Unfortunately the increase in people living or staying downtown hasn’t transitioned into people spending money downtown – so the equation doesn’t work for retail.
Maybe DTSF can turn things around – it just takes two or three stores that make people want to come downtown to change the climate. If they can make that happen, and if all the new downtown residents start spending money in their own neighborhoods it could be a growth area where stores relocate TO instead of FROM.
I just formed my own group Citizens Against the Citizens for Integrity!