The Creative Class' Richard Florida on the new urbanism

The Hidden Cost of "Free" Parking

I saw this on the Raleigh Connoisseur

Here's the video ">link

So often I overcome objections on downtown parking and why people avoid downtown. This should give them all the answers they need. NO PARKING IS FREE. It always cost something, sometimes the people who can afford it least pay the most.

International Downtown Association Award Winning Pedestrian Art gets great media coverage

There a great story on the downtown PedArt program today in the Star News. Click here for the story.

Back in September, when I attended the International Downtown Association (IDA) in Milwaukee, Wilmington Downtown received the award. We submitted under the public space category and were among over 80 submissions reviewes.

We're proud of the program, and it appears that the current installation is widely popular.

Front Street Improvement Project begins today

If you drove downtown today, you probably saw the barricades. Work begins on the North Front Street Improvement Project today. To bring everybody up to speed, this project will replace 100+/- year old sewer and water lines. Also, the City of Wilmington (at the urging of Wilmington Downtown, Inc) is going to re-do all of the streetscape improvements.

This means new asphalt, new sidewalks, all new trees and landscaping, new street furniture, new trash cans, new (and magnificently preserved) brick pavers. I know some will complain about ripping out trees, but we'll be planting more than we cut down. Besides, many of the trees on Front Street are the wrong type, and the roots grow out at the surface creating trip hazards throughout downtown. The roots have also wrapped themselves around the utilities we are replacing. The new trees are specifically bred to grow in urban environments. They will also have new tree grates, allowing for a better walking experience.

Why are we doing this, well the Vision 2020 Plan recommended doing all new utilities to support future growth. It also suggested turning N. Front Street back to two way traffic (which was completed in 2007). Part of that plan, and a subsquent 2006 Infrastructure and Retail Strategy Plan said that we needed to beautify our downtown; making it more pedestrian and retail friendly. And the obvious, we NEED to replace the aging infrastructure. If we had a failure or spill, things would be a lot worse than the impact this project is going to have.

So this project will do that. We'll be getting wider sidewalks as well; each side will grow by almost 18 inches. Additionally the sidewalks will be more level, and with the better tree grates it will feel so much bigger.

Tomorrow, Tuesday January 5th at 10:30, I'll be joining the Mayor, Bill Saffo, the President of the Utility Authority, and the contractor for a Ground Breaking Ceremony at Front and Market Streets. Later in the day, we are hosting a "Meet the Contractor" for the public, downtown business owners/residents, and anyone else who'd like to come by. The meeting will begin at 4:00 pm in the office of Wilmington Downtown. Click here for a map and directions.

This project will cause some hardships for our downtown businesses, but I remain optimistic. During the project, only about 20 parking spaces will be lost. Only one block at a time will be shut down to vehicular traffic. The sidewalks will always remain open. Many of these businesses have pedestrian based customers, so they need to still work on getting them in the door and closing the sale.

To help out, the City of Wilmington is committing $30,000 to TV advertisements. Wilmington Downtown has leveraged some media partnerships to run PSA's promoting downtown as a destination, encouraging people to park in the City's parking decks, and shop local: shop downtown. The City's message will be similar.

The city's signage for the project is great. They read something like: "IMPROVEMENT UNDERWAY - WALK ON IN". "STORES OPEN - WALK ON IN." You can see the graphic by clicking here. Everywhere you see a "no through traffic" or "road closed ahead" you'll see those companion signs. We at Wilmington Downtown also have some things up our sleaves.

We are working with various groups to promote different types of events downtown during and in the project. We want to draw people into the project to see all of the great shops downtown. We hope to have large original artwork on the construction fencing. We are also working with the existing events by helping to promote and encourage them to stay where they are.

Check our website often, we'll be updating it frequently. Also be sure to follow me on Twitter.com/JohnHinnant. I'll be posting any boil water advisories there, as well as progress reports (in under 140 characters of course).

If you are interested in sponsoring, coordinating or being a part of any events, please let me know - john@wilmingtondowntown.com. When these two blocks are completed, we'll be begging the city to get the rest of downtown completed.

Thanks, and Happy New Year - oh yeah, one of my resolutions is to do this more, so keep reminding me to blog.

we're number 14!!!

http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/industry_news_details.php?id=769

We've been ranked #14 for start-ups. The Entrepreneurial spirit is awesome here.

The Importance of Place Making - Right Now

The Front Street Streetscape 100% design phase is complete, and I got my first review last week. They are okay, I was frankly hoping for something really cool, or unique. Besides, this is our last chance to make a really cool impression on the next couple of generations.

When I was in Milwaukee attending the IDA Conference, I sat in one session presented by the folks from Vancouver on their Granville Street project. They went the extra mile, and put recycled glass in the concrete as an aggregate. The end result was a sidewalk that sparkles when it rains. We have some interesting aggregate that is indigenous to our area. As a child, I remember scraping the shark teeth from the sidewalk and pavement in our neighborhood. The local cement plant that used to provide the aggregate is no longer in business, but it sure would be cool to have something like that in our new sidewalks. Perhaps we can find a way to add shark teeth into the cement as it is poured. This will give us a unique look that won’t look like “Anywhere, USA” and will have a truly unique aspect. This would be something a little special that the tour operators can point it out when giving tours.

One thing that has gotten some people fired up lately is the use or re-use of granite curbing. In the past, the city would keep all of the granite that was pulled up. In fact, there is a field somewhere off of River Road where this “stockpile” is. You see, almost every session I’ve been in, someone says, “Are we going to use granite curbs?” The typical refrain from the city staff has been, “it’s not in the budget, we can’t afford it.” Well in my opinion, if we can’t afford it, go find the money. If we can’t go get the money, cut the project down in size. This is a historic street, one of the oldest in the state, and granite curbing is a vital part of our urban fabric. Granite curbing exists throughout most of our city. Wilmington is home to the state’s largest historic district, and we need to act like one.

Granite curbs will take no longer to install than poured in place concrete. This project has been designed by engineers, who have tried to “value engineer” this project. Front Street is too important to “value engineer” so let’s pull out all the stops and make this project special.

Similarly, we’ve gotten feedback on the idea of installing recycling bins. You see, I feel it sends an important message to visitors when they see a recycling bin. It also gives the locals an option. Many of us recycle at home, and to be on the sidewalk and not be able to recycle is bothersome to most. You see, humans are a creature of habit. I know the experts will say, recycling bins in public space does nothing to reduce the amount of trash. Well it’s not always about the trash, but the public relations.

This project is going to hurt; there is no doubt about it. A few small businesses are almost always casualties in projects like this. But this reminds me of another session I sat in on. Jon Schallert gave a presentation on “Destination Retail.” You see, Jon found businesses across the United States that do huge numbers. Not big box or chain stores, but small Mom & Pops who do huge business. How? By getting that one niche, or providing that extra level of service. Jon went around and met all of these folks and asked them the question, “How do you do this?” Frankly I’m shocked he got answers, but like the old saying goes, “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.” Jon has developed a 14 point pyramid system to help you grow your business. You can learn more about the program at www.destinationuniversity.com and login with the promo code FREE9. He’s quite inspirational, but his point was … “if you’re good enough, people will climb over a bulldozer to get to you.”

I had a brief meeting this morning with a high level business executive in our community. She said “my problem with your downtown merchants is that they run their businesses like a hobby, they don’t work it.” And she’s right with regards to several owners. Our conversation carried on to complain that there is nowhere to get breakfast before 8:00 am in downtown. That is a real shame in my opinion. Do some of these people feed their kids, drop them off at school and then come to work? I know I do, but I don’t sell breakfast for a living.

Anyway, sorry to get off on a tangent, but I know the project will hurt. But the project is too important to rush, or take the path of least resistance. We must do this right. It must have charm, and uniqueness, and character. Otherwise, we will continue to dwell on other problems.

You may know the work of Richard Florida and Rebecca Ryan. Florida’s Earth shaking book, The Rise of the Creative Class has been a best seller and reference guide for elected officials worldwide for a number of years. Our on Chamber of Commerce is delving into the Cape Fear Futures program, based on the work of Florida’s Consulting Firm Catalytix, Inc. I saw Rebecca Ryan with NextGen Consulting speak at the International Downtown Association. I consequently read her book, Live First, Work Second on the plane ride home. What both authors tell us, to paraphrase; you must make your place so special, that all the really cool and super smart people want to be there. When that happens, companies will choose to call your city home. Why, because that is where the talent pool has chosen to call home. You see, the next generation of worker will find his/her new home based on a number of factors and guess what, the job is not as important as the cool place they choose to live in. [That’s a really bad paraphrase, but succinct enough I hope to make the point.] We have an important first step with the Front Street Project. If we choose to make this really special, we can position ourselves to improving our competitive edge and attract the future work force, and consequently, our economy. Always keep your eyes on the big picture and make our Place special. It is Place Making 101!!!

"Do you know what downtown needs?"

One of our committees had a great session last month, and the result of the meeting was that each person was going to come up with 5 Things to make living and working in downtown Wilmington easier.

For a little background, when I tell people what I do, they often ask, “you know what downtown needs … (fill in the blank).” I always, and I mean always say, “please tell me.” Everyone has different experiences, and the diversity offers us the opportunity to improve … if we listen. You never know when that light bulb will go off, or someone says something that makes me slap my forehead and say, “Wow, what a great idea.” Not to be cynical, or a Mr. Smarty Pants, but I hear this almost daily … “Hey John, you know what downtown needs?” This will probably become the running joke now, but I will keep listening, hoping for an incredible idea.

Why do I ask this question, well I love working in downtown Wilmington. I’m close to my house, it takes me 15 minutes to get to the beach, in traffic. I have too many choices for lunch, within walking distance. I can walk on the Riverwalk to many destinations, or Front Street offers great people watching opportunities.

These 5 things were clarified, no one could come up with “just 5 things” to improve downtown, that’s why we asked for things to make it easier to live and work downtown.

You see, we deal with perceptions a lot, and often perceptions are reality. When the reality does not meet the perception, your challenges become really tough. So that is one of my challenges right now? How do I alter the perception that living and working in downtown is too difficult? You can substitute difficult here with expensive, dangerous, too regulatory, etc.

When you look at other great urban centers, you notice a couple of striking things:
1) They have awesome green/open space. Sometimes referred to a park (note the sarcasm font).
2) They have eye catching architecture, either historic or really modern and cool.

This weekend, I’ll be traveling to Milwaukee to attend the International Downtown Association Annual Conference. Milwaukee is one of the great modern urban centers in our country. Their mayor is so awesome, he went to the state fair and defended a lady who had her purse snatched. He got beaten up pretty good, but he showed great leadership and perseverance.

Milwaukee has one of the most eye catching architectural structures in the world. They also have incredible green space in the center of their urban core that I can’t wait to see. Greensboro, NC also has a great Center City Park. I visited that two years ago and was blown away by what a community can achieve when it is motivated with great leadership.

So, would green space be one of the 5 things for you? It is on my list. Studies have shown that a well designed park will drive up investment in the surrounding area, encourage others to live in downtown Wilmington. Year round residents will, on average, spend twice as much in their neighborhood, than those who work in the same area. It is an economic study that has been studied time and again, particularly in downtown areas. That is why there has been such a push for residential development in the past few years. One thing those residents, both new and old have said is, we need park space downtown. A new, should I say, Riverfront Park is definitely on my list of 5 things. We need a space where kids can run around in circles, fall and not scratch their knees.

A park will encourage additional residential development and those upwardly mobile, young diverse professionals to live downtown. Some call them the Creative Class, hipsters, cool kids, the new yuppie, etc etc.

This brings the chicken and egg argument. Developers will tell you, build the residential, and the retail will come. Well, we need some retail too.

Typical residential investors ask, “where do I buy my groceries?” A grocery store is on my list, although I’ll still listen when a fellow party attendee says, “Hey John, you know downtown could sure use a grocery store?” Of the retail shops we need, many could make the list; grocery, pharmacy, hardware, dry cleaner, and more apparel shops. That’s five, so a single commitment to more retail will work too.

When trying to improve residential development, one person or organization can do little to change the marketplace. But I am interested in doing a few things, like waiving impact fees. The fact that a condo developer has to pay nearly $10,000 to hook up each unit to the sewer system is outrageous. This is particularly troubling when you know that connection is about 10 feet from the new building. The sewer and water infrastructure is already in the ground throughout downtown Wilmington.

I’d also like to consider waiving or abating taxes for a number of years, perhaps 10. Other great urban cities have done things like this (Milwaukee, Pittsburg, [so I’ve been told, still working to confirm] etc). Something needs to happen that draws the attention of the developers, potential residents and possible commercial developers. We could even tie this proposal to affordable housing. Having working class families live in your downtown is important, especially when you consider the ease of access to public transportation and jobs in the area.

My next thing is an equation of sorts, balance stricter historic preservation guidelines with looser design regulations on new buildings. I think new construction should represent it’s time in place, not what buildings looked like 60 years ago. Let modern architecture and construction happen, it creates a nice and unique urban fabric.

My list is never just 5 things, but I ask, “What 5 things do you think would make it easier to live and work in downtown Wilmington?” You can see that I want diverse architecture, a new Riverfront Park, infill development incentives and more retail. Tell me what you want, seriously, I’m listening.