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.