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A tale of two development projects:
What does a shopping district say about a town? Part II
As I noted in the August issue,
changes to the retail core of
downtown Silver Spring have proven popular. With the relocation to Silver Spring of Discovery Communications and the construction of hundreds of new units of housing, throngs of new residents and office workers are bringing even more energy to a revitalized central business district. Streets and sidewalks are filled with a volume of traffic not seen in decades, and many long-time residents voice enthusiasm for the transformation.
However, others wish that more imagination might have gone into design and planning. They look at the generic architecture of the buildings lining Fenton Street and the overly familiar names of the businesses that have opened up shop on Ellsworth Drive, and wonder whether steps could have been taken to ensure the protection and preservation of Silver Spring's local flavor.
Those of us who have formed relationships with local shop owners are concerned about their futures, too. We dread the thought of them being displaced, their storefronts being filled with more of the ubiquitous chain stores that comprise the core. Starbucks instead of Kefa Café? A Gap where Eva's Alterations was housed? We hope not.
As planning continues for Silver Spring, could Montgomery County turn to existing models in which commercial development has championed local business?
The "global market" alternative
In a not-so-unlikely comparison, the city of Minneapolis, Minn. has seen an innovative reclamation of its downtown. Its 1.2 million-square-foot Sears complex, located on the city's main thoroughfare of Lake Street and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, had been sitting vacant since 1994. When it was fully operational, the facility served as one of nine regional mail order/retail stores in the country.
| Photo: Bruce Johansen |  | | The Global Market, a part of Midtown Exchange in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. |
After Sears vacated the space, various development plans failed to get off the ground. But things turned around two years ago with the announcement that Allina, the state's largest nonprofit health provider, would move its employees from over a dozen buildings into one central space. Allina would acquire nearly half of the Sears complex, a decision that spurred other plans for the site, including construction of a hotel and a mix of 360 rental units and condominiums. Allina became the counterpart to Silver Spring's Discovery building.
But what to do about street-level retail? Early on, primary developer Ryan Companies envisioned attracting a call center or big-box retailer. When Ryan approached a large national chain grocery to become the anchor retail store, the firm's minority partner, the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), objected. The NDC, along with the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), the African Development Center (ADC), and the Powderhorn Phillips Cultural Wellness Center (PPCWC) envisioned a different kind of retail development, in which the entire community would be represented.
| Photo: Eric Bond |  | | Throngs of people flock to the revitalized parts of Silver Spring |
What they pushed for, and eventually got, was the Midtown Exchange, a 75,000-square-foot retail space that features the Global Market, 60 independent, mostly immigrant-owned businesses. Among the guiding principles of the Global Market are: "[It will] be comprised of locally owned, independent businesses that represent the spirit of entrepreneurship present in our communities" and "provide a nurturing environment that facilitates small business growth and the creation of job opportunities."
This means that instead of Starbucks, the Global Market has Mapps Coffee, Golden Thyme Coffee Café, Starlight Café, and Pandería El Mexicano. There's no Taco Bell, but there is A la Salsa, La Loma Tamales, Manny's Tortas, La Sirena Gorda, and Taquería Los Ocampo. Whole Foods may not be on the premises, but you will find Bill's Produce, Farm in the Market, Holy Land Grocery, Republic of Fish, United Noodles, and the Produce Exchange.
Ten Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses
The list that follows is by Stacy Mitchell, a senior analyst with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and author of the newly-released Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses. It is published with the permission of ILSR:
Local Character and Prosperity
In an increasingly homogenized world, communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage.
Community Well-Being
Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships, and contributing to local causes.
Local Decision-Making
Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions.
Keeping Dollars
in the Local Economy
Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.
Job and Wages
Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship fuels America's economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.
Public Benefits and Costs
Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls.
Environmental Sustainability
Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.
Competition
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.
Product Diversity
A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
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"The Global Market is an incredible model," says Chris Heitmann of the Project for Public Spaces. "It's a collaborative, grassroots effort with a deep commitment to the surrounding communities."
Different environments
Minneapolis and Silver Spring have significant differences that might explain the development choices made in each. For example, Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest residential areas in the country. The median household income in Silver Spring in the 2000 Census was $51,653 ($76,546 for the county) and 6.4 percent of its population fell below the poverty line. Phillips, one of the economically poorer, historically working-class neighborhoods along Lake Street, had a 2000 median household income of $27,841, with 25.8 percent below poverty level.
Racial demographics, which always play a part in development decisions, are also strikingly different in these two neighborhoods. Nearly 70 percent of midtown Phillips residents are people of color, versus slightly over 50 percent in Silver Spring.
Furthermore, government in Minneapolis, with its mayor and city council, is less centralized than in Silver Spring, where an active county government makes development decisions. Perhaps in part because of this, grassroots community groups appear to have more leverage in Minneapolis, as evidenced by the successful roles played by the variety of organizations in the Global Market project.
Another key difference is the cities' respective cultures. Minneapolis's younger, middle-class urban crowd in particular has a clear preference for independent businesses, particularly when it comes to restaurants, coffeehouses, bars, and entertainment spots. Local businesses tend to stay (and thrive) in many cases, while chains like Burger King and Perkins -- and most recently, Borders Books and Panera Bread, located in prime retail spots -- move out. Minneapolis has a successful local coffee franchise, Dunn Brothers, and so many independent coffeehouses that national outlets are rare. Compare that to our area: a recent Washington Post article counts 61 Starbucks Coffee stores in the District -- a higher per-capita concentration than any state.
Criticism and concerns
But just as Silver Spring development has brought controversy, the Midtown Exchange and the associated redevelopment of Lake Street are subject to criticism and concerns. Currently the street is undergoing a three-phase, $31-million construction project slated for completion in 2008. According to articles in City Pages, a local alternative weekly, proponents say that this is a "beautification" project, but critics label it "gentrification," tailored to corporate interests that have little regard for the character of the residents who have "toughed it out for decades."
Lake Street project critics are particularly concerned with the 200-plus Latino-owned businesses that fill the street's storefronts and have been the engine of revitalization. Many of those quoted in City Pages fear that without assistance, these businesses will disappear before road construction is completed. And some speculate that forced attrition is the true intent -- to expand corporate campuses, drive out existing populations and businesses, and ultimately, increase the tax base.
Can we find another way?
Grassroots efforts here in Silver Spring do hold some promise.
IMPACT Silver Spring members have held town meetings on the subject of development and have surveyed local business owners on redevelopment's effects. David Fogel of the Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation was part of the survey team and remains passionate about creating new ways to raise public awareness and visibility for independent businesses. One such innovation is Gateway's monthly Arts Walk, which introduce visitors to local art galleries, craft shops, and independent eateries.
| Photo: Julie Wiatt |  | | The Saturday Artists Market in Arts Alley is a recent effort by Silver Spring businesses to promote local business. Organized by Brenda Smoak, owner of Alchemy, the market draws customers to SoPo--or South Point Silver Spring, in the alley behind Mayorga Coffee Factory. |
Marcie Stickle, an active member of the Silver Spring Historical Society, has communicated with county officials and met with local business owners to help enterprises survive and thrive in a new retail environment. Her proposed solutions include the formation of a small business merchants' association; new tools for promotion, marketing, and packaging; and a heritage tourism initiative.
Stickle believes that decisions made about retail development say a lot about a community. "These businesses are an intrinsic part of the vitality and diversity of Silver Spring," she says.
East Silver Spring Citizens' Association (ESSCA) member Karen Roper has been offering a walking tour of a different sort: showing elected officials, political candidates, and local media how independent businesses and homeowners may be affected by the various proposed routes of the Purple Line, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Association's proposed east-west extension across Montgomery County.
More on all of these efforts will be featured in upcoming columns.
Add your voice
Hollow City author Rebecca Solnit writes that one of the "incalculable benefits...of nonchains [is that] they sell commodities but they give out history, memory, a sense of place, local flavor, and community knowledge."
To add your voice to this conversation, please sign up for the Big Acorn, the Silver Spring Voice discussion list, and share your thoughts about the new downtown Silver Spring. The address is http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/bigacorn.
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