Progressive Urban Management Associates

New Haven Food Co-op - A Model for Downtowns

2012-01-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

New Haven is the second largest city in Connecticut and the home to 5 universities and colleges, including Yale University, which is located in the heart of downtown. It is a city of 130,000 people with a very diverse population ethnically, racially and economically. Over 55,000 people live within downtown and its adjacent neighborhoods. Well-known as a “foodie” town, with more than 50% of its retail tenants being restaurants, New Haven boasts having invented the hamburger and is considered to have the best pizza in the country.

However, until recently New Haven was also a ‘food desert”, with only one large grocery store in town. New Haven has been a “food desert” for some time, so 6 years ago when the City of New Haven put out an RFP for the development of a large downtown parcel that hadn’t been developed in over 20 years; it mandated that a grocery store be located on the retail level. I applauded the city’s economic development administrator for having the forethought to make this requirement, but I was somewhat skeptical. After all, many urban downtowns much larger than New Haven had been struggling for years to interest a full scale grocery store (for example, in downtown Los Angeles it took more than 50+ years to get a supermarket to open and it’s only been open for about 4 years).

So let me tell you a little bit about the site, formerly a department store, and the development. The site was a 1.6 acre brownfield lot, located adjacent to a downtown train station, one block from the center of downtown, and three blocks from Yale University. In the 1960s, the site was razed and converted to a surface parking lot. It is also located in struggling section of downtown. The City chose developers Becker & Becker to develop a high density, mixed-use, transit-oriented project consisting of 500 market-rate and affordable residential apartments. This would be the largest private development project in the history of downtown New Haven.

The developer broke ground in late 2008 and was opened and renting to residents in late 2010. Notably, the building is LEED Platinum certified and uses 50% of the energy of a typical urban apartment building. In addition to a variety of energy efficiency features, it is one of first multi-family buildings to utilize a fuel cell CHP system to provide power, heat, and hot water to meet the building’s demand.

While Becker and Becker were building and renting (the building is currently fully occupied), they were also marketing to grocery store chains, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, to no avail. Interestingly, during this time, the one supermarket in town, Shaw’s, closed its New Haven store, leaving the city without any supermarket for over a year (since then Stop & Shop has re-opened). Becker and Becker began to look at the food co-op model.

Based on City Market/Onion River Food Coop in downtown Burlington, VT, the developers worked with a dedicated community group, the Core Leadership Group, to start a co-op to locate in the 12,000 square feet ground level space. The demand for a full service grocery store became even more evident as the group worked on the project. The first month of the membership drive recruited 325 members; a good 1 ½ years before there was even a store! In addition to creating a membership based co-op, the developer and the Core Leadership Group had to raise $7,000,000 in start-up capital which came from the following sources:

- $4,000,000 from a 15 year- 5.1% loan from Webster Bank, which had an 80% USDA loan guaranty

-$1,500,000 in preferred equity (paying a 6.25% dividend) from local institutions and individual "social investors"

-about $150,000 from 750 member-owners investing $200 each

-the balance from a landlord tenant improvement (the landlord is a large pension fund) allowance and vendor credit and grocery free-fill

It took the developer and the leadership group (now the board) 1 ½ years to get the store opened, which it did in November 2011. It is a hybrid store with 15% conventional items, and 85% organic, natural, local or regional.

Anyone is able to shop at Elm City Market, but membership offers benefits such as patronage refunds, periodic discounts on select products, and year- end dividends once the store is profitable. Just a few days ago, a woman saved over $250 with her member discount! Elm City Market also accepts food stamps, gives membership discounts and offers other affordable options. It has hired 100+ employees and offers a very competitive salary and benefits package. The Elm City Market now boasts 1200 members and counting. In addition to grocery store items, the store caters to the downtown office and university population with convenience foods; pick up items, a 30 ft. hot bar, salad bar, sandwich bar and a burrito bar. It carries many of the downtown businesses’ specialties like bread from the bakery a few blocks away and homemade square donuts from a luncheonette around the corner.

The Elm City Market has been open for almost three months now and it continues to meet its sales projections. The neighborhood is seeing some new activity. There is interest from retailers to locate in the neighborhood. Developers are encouraged to build more downtown residential housing as they’ve seen 500 units so quickly absorbed into the market. Downtown New Haven has a high quality, healthy food option for its burgeoning residential population.

http://www.elmcitymarket.coop/

California Court Decision Ominous for Colorado

2012-01-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Last week, while much of the nation was on holiday, theCalifornia Supreme Court issued a bombshell decision that effectively shutsdown that state’s 400 local redevelopment agencies. It was a victory for Governor Jerry Brown,seeking to redistribute redevelopment funds to schools and basic services andhelp close California’s yawning $26 billion budget deficit. It was a defeat for cities, effectivelyterminating the use of the state’s most valuable local economic developmenttool. The California case is also very relevant toColorado, as we appear to be moving down a similar path.

At issue was the use of tax increment financing (TIF) toassist in the redevelopment of commercial areas. In California, TIF allows proceeds fromincreases in property taxes to be captured for investment within designatedgeographic districts. The originalintent of TIF was to cure blighted conditions within city centers. It is a common tool, used in more than 40states throughout the nation, including Colorado. Since legislative authority was granted inCalifornia in the 1940s, many cities have seen dramatic improvements, includingthe revitalized downtowns of San Diego, Pasadena and Santa Monica. Closer to home, examples of the use of TIF includethe Denver Dry and Pavilions projects in downtown Denver, improvements atStapleton and the revitalization of many smaller communities, such as Old TownArvada.

A sequence of California voter-initiated constitutionalamendments coupled with a pattern of TIF abuses culminated with last week’s decision. The Court’s decision describes howProposition 13, which limited property tax increases, and the subsequentProposition 98, which created education funding mandates, created conflictingpressures on the state’s property tax. Asa result, local governments relied on TIF for uses well beyond their originalintent. Dubious projects were financed,ranging from big box stores on farmland to golf courses in desert resorts. Cities expanded redevelopment districts toencompass most of their commercially zoned land, regardless of condition. In other cases, TIF funds were used to fundcity staff functions that had little to do with redevelopment.

By early last year redevelopment was a ripe target forthe new Governor. Redevelopment agencieswere capturing 12% of the state’s property tax, or more than $5 billionannually. Jerry Brown masterfullyorchestrated the politics, pitting the need to fund school, fire, police andbasic services against the complexities of redevelopment. The action to dissolve redevelopment wassupported in polls by the vast majority of California voters.

The similarities in the chain of events in Colorado arestrikingly similar to California. We sharethe same voter-initiated constitutional constraints on our budget – TABOR whichrestricts revenue, and Amendment 23 that provides education funding mandates. Andwhile Colorado has been more disciplined in its use of TIF, we have our shareof questionable projects such as Wal-Marts and other greenfield abuses.

In a stroke ofparticularly bad timing, our headlines are now dominated by the mother of allColorado TIF projects – Aurora’s planned Gaylord hotel. With debatable economic benefits, Aurora plansto lard nearly $300 million in TIF and other special district revenue onout-of-state billionaires to build an all-inclusive resort. While Gaylord opponents have rightfully beenconcerned about its impact on downtown and metro hotels, the project also holdsthe potential to trigger a California-style backlash against redevelopmentitself.

Colorado’s civic, business and economic developmentleaders should take a close look at California’s redevelopment saga. With increasing pressure to fix our own structuralbudget problems, the political winds could easily blow from the west, andredevelopment, one of our most powerful economic development tools, could alsobe at risk. Now is the time for arecommitment to the responsible use of TIF and we should avoid the recklessabuses that contributed to their demise in California.

Rena Masten Leddy Joins P.U.M.A.!

2012-01-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

We are delighted to announce that Rena Masten Leddy hasjoined the P.U.M.A. team as vice president.

Rena, who most recently served as the executive directorof the Town Green Special Services District in New Haven, Conn., brings morethan 20 years of experience as both a practitioner and a consultant to her newposition at P.U.M.A. In addition to herwork in New Haven, she has held management positions at the Portland Downtown District in Portland, Maine, and the Stamford Special Services District inStamford, Conn. Rena was also the vicepresident of Urban Place Consulting Group in Los Angeles for five years.

Rena’s specialties include business improvement district(BID) feasibility, formation and renewal, as well as day-to-day downtownoperational issues such as government relations, organizational development,public space management, marketing, event planning and programdevelopment. She will augment our firm’score strengths in property-based BIDs, strategic planning for downtownorganizations and market-based planning for communities.

Later this year, Rena will be moving back to SouthernCalifornia where she will direct a new P.U.M.A. office. Over the past 18 years, California has been aparticularly important market for our firm. We look forward to fortifying our capacity for clients in California andthe southwest.

Please join us in welcoming Rena via email at rena@pumaworldhq.com and/or visit our website to view Rena’s resume.

Worst Possible Outcome for California Redevelopment

2011-12-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

With timing that would make Ebenezer Scrooge smile, theCalifornia Supreme Court today issued a decision that takes the last gasp outof 50+ years of tax increment financing. In an all or nothing decision that leaves nothing for redevelopmentproponents, the Court upheld the constitutionality of eliminating all ofCalifornia’s redevelopment agencies, while finding a compromise measure thatwould have left redevelopment on life support unconstitutional.

For those of us monitoring the California redevelopmentdrama, change was expected; however, the Court’s decision was striking and creates an ominous precedent for theremainder of the country. At issue wasthe constitutionality of two pieces of legislation approved by the Californialegislature earlier this summer. Thelegislature was reacting to Governor Jerry Brown’s intention to eliminate taxincrement financing (TIF), California’s most useful urban redevelopment tool,to free up billions in revenue that could be rechanneled to schools and otherbasic services. Two bills were passed --AB 26 that dissolves redevelopment agencies, and AB 27 that created a“compromise” allowing redevelopment agencies to continue to function, but sharemuch of their TIF revenues with other jurisdictions (popularly characterized asa “ransom”). Redevelopment proponentsthroughout the state viewed the two bills as a package, and the vast majorityof California’s redevelopment agencies were lined up to pay the “ransom” andlive to develop another day.

The Supreme Court’s shocker is that it evaluated the twobills separately – AB 26 which ends redevelopment was upheld, while AB 27’scompromise was found to be unconstitutional. In effect, the Supreme Court supported the Governor’s original intentand directed that all California redevelopment agencies be dissolved by thiscoming spring. At the same time, theCourt unexpectedly eliminated the Plan B approach to keep redevelopment inbusiness.

The Court’s 53-page opinion is a useful read forcommunity and downtown development practitioners nationwide. In a methodical and easy-to-digest sequence,the Court explains the evolution of public policies that brought California tothis point – including voter-initiated constitutional conflicts betweenproperty tax limitations, public school funding mandates and the tendency forlocal governments to increasingly rely on tax increment financing for economicdevelopment. It’s a formula experiencedby many states, including Colorado.

Ultimately, the Court’s rationale for dissolvingredevelopment was simple – What the legislature giveth, the legislature cantaketh away. Redevelopment agencieswere originally a creature of the state. Their existence was not envisioned to be perpetual. And now the State can decide that they haveoutlived their use. It’s a conciseargument that can be replicated by other states that face desperate budgetshortfalls and are looking to liberate TIF obligated revenue.

Meanwhile, TIF proponents appear to be behind the curveonce again in responding to this latest and perhaps final chapter inCalifornia’s Redevelopment Under Siege. In a news release issued after the Court’s decision, the CaliforniaRedevelopment Association announced that it would immediately work with the statelegislature on a new reform measure. That’s the same legislature that has already aligned itself with theGovernor and approved redevelopment’s death knell.

Mobilizing Community Capital

2011-11-15T17:37:00.001-08:00

In our recent Global Trends REVISITED publication, one ofour recommendations for downtowns involves mobilizing “community capital”. Withconventional lending anything but conventional, and other traditional forms offinancing in flux, we see the potential for communities to invest in themselvesthrough a variety of locally funded mechanisms including cooperatives andcommunity-owned corporations. Theconcept hit center stage this weekend as the feature story in the business section of the Sunday New York Times.

The Times story focused on a community supported retailstore opening on the main street of Saranac Lake in upstate New York. The town’s only department store closednearly ten years ago, leaving a void for apparel and day-to-daynecessities. To replace the store,$500,000 was raised by selling shares to residents in $100 increments. The new store, which opened last week, isstructured as a for-profit enterprise, and its local shareholder base will ensurethat it remains connected first and foremost to the residents of Saranac Lake.

While new to the east, community-supported stores haveemerged throughout remote areas of the American West. Perhaps the most famous prototype is The Merc in downtown Powell, Wyoming. The Merc, a“mercantile” that replaced the town’s department store, opened in 2002 fundedby $400,000 raised in $500 increments. Today the community-owned and managed store occupies 14,000 square feetof space and is viewed as a catalyst for the revitalization of downtown.

Community capital has applications in urban areas, aswell as small towns. We have seen thepotential for community capital concepts in our recent work in Denver,particularly in neighborhoods and corridors that have experienced demographicand income shifts. For example, EastColfax now has adjacent neighborhoods with relatively high incomes while thecorridor has continued to largely stagnate. These neighborhoods are a logical area for mobilizing capital that couldbe invested in businesses that match their needs, ranging from coffee shops tofamily-oriented retail. Other examplesinclude the Five Points commercial district, where the adjacent Curtis Park neighborhoodnow has robust incomes and diversified demographics, and the Leetsdale/ParkerRoad corridor that divides the posh Hilltop neighborhood and surprisinglydiverse Glendale.

We look forward to exploring the community capitalconcept in a variety of rural, suburban and urban development contexts foryears to come.

Shaping Colorado’s Congressional Districts

2011-11-10T20:37:00.001-08:00

Earlier today, Colorado’s new proposed congressional map was released by Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt. For the first time in the history of thestate, the map reveals that community planning and development rationale contributedto shaping congressional districts.

Every ten years, states scramble to redraw congressionaldistricts based upon changes in population. If a state grows significantly, it may add a seat, or if it losesground, it needs to eliminate one. Theprocess tends to produce plenty of political drama, as Republicans andDemocrats maneuver to gain advantage in the redrawing of congressionalmaps. Especially in our era ofdeepening partisan divides and close elections, the mapping exercise has becomemore critical to both parties.

In Colorado, we grew by about 700,000 persons over thepast ten years. Not enough to add acongressional seat, but a significant change that requires the redrawing ofboundaries in order to redistribute our population into equivalentdistricts. The process aims to developdistricts based upon “communities of interest” demonstrating shared needs and prioritiesthat can help us be best represented in Washington.

As in most states, the Colorado legislature was chargedwith developing a new redistricting map, and as in the majority of states, theywere unable to come up with a consensus solution. In Colorado the task is directed to thecourts, where a judge develops a new map based upon boundaries and testimonysubmitted by the political parties and other interest groups. More than a half dozen redistricting ideaswere submitted for consideration.

On October 13, I had the opportunity to serve as an“expert witness” for one of the map advocates. I was charged with creating community development and planning rationaleto justify new Colorado congressional districts. This might sound like a reasonable approach,but viewing this process through a community development lens was unprecedentedin Colorado, and perhaps nationally. Theusual expert witnesses in this type of thing tend to be sitting politicians andtechnocrats in areas such as agriculture or water rights.

Some of the themes that were advanced on the communitydevelopment approach included:

Larimer and Boulder counties, which arecurrently in separate districts, should now be joined since their economicfoundations of education, health care and high technology are similar. Plus, both counties house major universitiesthat will power economic expansion into the future.
Suburban Denver congressional districts can be drawnby their similarities in urban development. First ring suburbs, found on the west and north, have similarities ininfrastructure, dated shopping centers and corridors, and diversifying demographics. Exurbs, found to the east and largely shapedby the E-470 beltway, have lower densities, newer infrastructure and retailconcepts.
Land use and planning responses to the Niobraraoil play are creating common interests between once disparate counties such asagricultural Weld and suburban Douglas. All of these areas now share the challenge of accommodating the economicgrowth of oil and gas exploration with quality of life issues as the phenomenoncollides with urbanized areas along the Front Range.

All are embodied within the map released today.

Taming Manhattan

2011-10-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ruth and I just returned from a long weekend in New York City. It wasthe first time we’ve been able to explore some of the Bloombergadministration’s dramatic efforts to recapture the public realm for pedestriansand bikes. In our meanderings, twomajor improvements stood out.

First, the remarkable High Line. The city and civic boosters have transformedmore than 30 blocks of an antiquated railway overpass into a truly uniquelinear gathering place. Built in the1930s, the High Line was a railroad overpass and spur that serviced waterfrontwarehouses in New York’s Meatpacking District. The trains stopped running in 1980, but the rusting structureremained. Meanwhile, the area started aslow transformation with a sprinkling of pioneering lofts. By the late 1990s, the overpass was slatedfor demolition, but visionary residents joined with the city to develop theHigh Line park vision.

The first segment was completed in 2009 and offers avariety of sensations. Connected by apedestrian walkway, the overpass surface offers many treatments,ranging from native grasses to groomed lawns. Social areas are carved out with a mix of benches, wooden lawn chairsand movable tables and chairs. On abrisk fall Monday morning, the entire pathway was full of pedestrians, mostjust enjoying the views and unique experience.

I was most impressed by the recent developmentthat is evidenced along the High Line. New buildings with diverse architecture, mostly residential, are foundalong its entire length. The park is anamenity that has become the defining feature of a neighborhood and a magnet fornew investment. Meatpacking chic. Also noteworthy is the public/partnershipthat manages and maintains the new space – 70% of the structure’s upkeep isfinanced by the non-profit Friends of the High Line.

The second eye-opener for me was the transformation ofBroadway from Times Square to Columbus Circle. The conversion of Times Square to mostly pedestrian space has been welldocumented, but I was surprised to see the treatment continue for nearly 20blocks to the north. Traffic alongBroadway has been narrowed to three southbound lanes, while the other half ofthe street offers parallel parking, a dedicated bikeway and a new pedestrianzone. Once out of the busy theaterdistrict, the pedestrian zone seemed a bit gratuitous and underused, but I envisionthis can be used for street dining and other uses when the weather cooperates.

My own memory of living in Manhattan in the 1980srecalls that this is probably the most aggressive vehicular environment in thenation. The sheer audacity ofrecapturing giant swaths of asphalt for dedicated bike and pedestrian zonesshould be inspirational for all American downtowns.

Like maybe Broadway in downtown Denver?

Urbanized

2011-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

What to do on a cold wet day while visiting New York City? We dashed into the IFC movie theater to catcha new film about the evolution of cities entitled “Urbanized”. Showing on its second day, the movie mostlyvisits familiar territory, but also offer a few interesting pearls.

Urbanized is a documentary directed by Gary Hustwit, thethird film in a trilogy about the role of design in the modern world. In this installment, the emphasis is on urbandesign shaping place, and the best and worst from throughout the globe isfeatured. The movie also offers ahistory lesson on modern city planning, going back to the City Beautifulmovement at the beginning of the 20^th century, to the rise ofautomobile dominated forms and then finally landing on the new urbanist themesthat dominate today. There is anintriguing mix of voices, mostly urban planners and activists sprinkled fromNew York to Mumbai and plenty of places in between.

To me, some of the more interesting segments focused on innovationin the developing world. As peoplecontinue to flood into cities, the challenge is creating cost-effective urbanliving options that can replace the world’s slums. Examples included:

Affordable housing in Santiago, Chile, thatcreates a partially built home for low income households. The occupant works with the designer to makea number of choices (i.e. bathtub vs. hot water heater) resulting in a homethat offers shelter for today and theopportunity to complete the home over time as household income increases.
A new pathway system that creates a centralidentity and sense of security through a former apartheid ghetto outside ofCapetown, South Africa. The pathway isbased upon actual use patterns, and then enhanced by a series of multi-storylandmark sentry buildings. Playgroundsand other community amenities are situated near these structures.
The “living streets” improvements of Bogota,Columbia, including a tour of the city’s bus rapid transit systems andextensive bikeways by the always charming former mayor Enrique Penalosa.

Of course, for those not involved in urban development, watchinga two hour documentary about city planning could be akin to watching paint dry. And the focus on design does make the real estateeconomist a bit uneasy (Where is the economic argument for all of this? It does exist and is powerful!). But the film keeps up a reasonable pace and thephotography is compelling.

Urbanized might bea bit cliché for those of us living and breathing this stuff daily, but thefilm could be particularly useful for educating boards of directors and otherdowntown constituents on global trends and innovations in cities.

A Tale of Two Deals

2011-10-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Rarely does Page 1 of The Denver Post provide such astark and illuminating contrast. Butyesterday’s cover page offered two stories that showcase the best and worst inColorado’s economic development practices.

The good news is the announcement that Fortune 500 Arrow Electronics is moving its corporate headquarters from New York to Denver. Buoyed by growth in the global smartphoneand consumer computer markets, Arrow is a rapidly growing company that supplieselectronic components and services. Thereported motivation for moving to Colorado was the CEO’s impression of adiverse, skilled and motivated workforce. Talk about convergence of trends from our recent Global Trends report – growingtechnology sector meets the top relocation factor of the near future, moving toa concentration of young skilled workers. Helping as a “sweetener” in the Arrow deal was an $11.4 million statetax credit aimed at the 1,250 new jobs the company will create. A classic economic development deal – basedon sound fundamentals, creating new skilled jobs of the future with the governmentproviding a measured incentive to help close the deal.

And then there is Gaylord. Also featured on page 1 yesterday is the release of the downtown-sponsored economic impact analysis of the Gaylord hoteldeal in Aurora. As expected by many(including us), Gaylord’s planned all-inclusive Colorado-themed conventionwonder park will drain an estimated $186 million from existing hotel andconvention business during just its first four years. The impact is spread throughout the city, andnot just downtown, potentially hammering the smaller hotel properties locatednear Stapleton and DIA. Just likeWal-Mart coming to town and siphoning retail business from Main Street andsmall businesses, Gaylord will suck life out of downtown and our hospitalitysector as both struggle to emerge from the recession.

The economic development debacle is that Aurora, andmaybe the State of Colorado, are giving Gaylord more than $300 million in subsidiesto support a property that will likely do more harm than good. Compare the math to Arrow. For Arrow, the state is offering a modest$9,120 subsidy per job for new skilled positions – engineering, accounting,sales and marketing. For Gaylord, Aurora,and potentially the state, are giving away a $166,667 subsidy per job forservice jobs. Plus, Arrow creates allnew jobs, while Gaylord will potentially erode the job base of the entire metroarea.

Perhaps the contrast will help our policy and businessleaders develop a bit more backbone in opposing the Gaylord deal. While Aurora has already completed its dealwith the devil, the request for a state incentive package remains to be consideredby the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC). In the latest touch of irony with the Gaylorddeal, tourism taxes generated by impacted Denver hospitality properties couldbe used to subsidize their own demise.

With the exception of some modest saber rattling fromseveral Denver City Council members, our political and business elites remainpolitely restrained in the name of regional cooperation. But regional cooperation is not aboutsupporting cannibalization, nor is it about enriching out-of-state billionairesto build what amounts to a gated resort property. It’s time to start sending a clear andunambiguous message to the EDC that the Gaylord deal is bad for Colorado andbring some rationality back to our economic development policies.

Global Trends REVISITED!

2011-09-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, we conducted ground breaking research to identify the top trends shaping American cities. The original “Top Ten Global Trends Affecting Downtowns” was prepared for the Downtown Denver Plan to forecast our hometown’s growth and development patterns for the next 20 years. From the findings, we also developed practical recommendations for all American downtowns to anticipate and benefit from change. The trend report was subsequently utilized in many cities to support a variety of downtown planning, marketing and economic development initiatives.

By 2011, we determined that an update to Global Trends was needed to respond to the impact of economic recession and ongoing changes in demographics, lifestyles and global competition -- forces that together are creating new patterns shaping our cities. About half of the trends we initially identified have remained intact and are updated with the latest data and thought. We also highlight trends that have become increasingly important, including education, the emergence of young professional women, changing consumer behaviors, shifts in transportation and mobility, and implications from an age of austerity. The 2011 edition of Top Ten Global Trends Affecting Downtowns REVISITED offers a provocative view of the future and tangible ideas for anticipating change in the context of an increasingly volatile world.

To develop our trend report, we utilized more than 100 independent sources reflecting the latest data and the world’s most sophisticated thinkers and urban philosophers. Special thanks to research assistant Meg Bradley who developed our supporting research, and Rena Leddy, CEO of the Town Green District in New Haven, who encouraged us to update the trends.

This past weekend we unveiled Global Trends REVISITED at the International Downtown Association's Annual Conference in Charlotte. It is now available as a download from our website.

A Denver Solution to the Stock Show

2011-07-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

The National Western Stock Show, which accurately bills itself as the “Super Bowl of livestock shows”, has been a vital part of Denver’s civic DNA for 105 years. (We waxed endearingly about it in a blog post this past January.) The National Western currently occupies a 95 acre site in north central Denver with outdated facilities eviscerated by Interstate 70. Recently, the National Western announced its intent to move to Aurora, near Gaylord Entertainment ‘s proposed massive hotel and convention development (not so endearingly described here in a June post). The opportunity offers the National Western a larger site with new facilities, theoretically prospering with its Gaylord neighbors into the future.

One kink in the plan is how to pay for it, and an initial trial balloon that Denver residents contribute $150 million in property taxes to facilitate the National Western’s move to Aurora has, predictably, not been well received. Like any single purpose cultural facility, the National Western will require a subsidy for its redevelopment and/or relocation. And to sell voters in tough times, an innovative and catalytic solution has the best chance for success. Acquiring 300 acres of land in Aurora to benefit heavily subsidized out-of-state billionaires does not meet this test.

How about an alternative solution to the National Western that would keep it in Denver, and, in the process, realign Interstate 70 and repair several neighborhoods that were destroyed by the freeway more than 50 years ago? The pieces to this puzzle exist, and the National Western could be the catalyst that helps to revitalize the entire northeast quadrant of Denver. Here are the key elements:

Start with the realignment of Interstate 70. In Denver’s own experiment with Robert Moses era urban destruction, Interstate 70 between Washington and Quebec Streets sits on a viaduct that contributed to the economic decline of several neighborhoods. The viaduct is getting old and needs to be replaced. In the 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Statement to upgrade the highway, a compelling alternative emerged to realign the highway to the north, allowing for the Globeville, Elyria, Swansea and Northeast Park Hill neighborhoods to be reconnected.

The realignment also offers some interesting possibilities for the National Western site, freeing up land and creating the opportunity for new connections across, under or over the highway. Imagine the development of a unique urban adaptation of the National Western. It still can get new venues, just like the Aurora site. Parking could become vertical in structures. Plus the overall demand for parking should be lower since the existing site is located on or near the planned east, north and central corridor rail lines, connecting the National Western to downtown, DIA and the entire region.

Consider the transformation of all of northeast Denver’s neighborhoods if Interstate 70 can be relocated. The reinvention of these long neglected areas will be exciting, particularly with the innovations in urban planning, health and mobility that have occurred in recent years. The net new investment could be in the billions of dollars, and the quality of life will immediately improve for thousands of existing and new residents.

Keep the National Western, replace I-70 and revitalize a half dozen neighborhoods? Now we’ve got something to sell Denver voters.

Gaylord Deal Is Way Over the Top

2011-06-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Metro Denver is known for its regional collaboration and within the collegial economic development community the Golden Rule is “never criticize thy neighbor’s deal.” However, upon reviewing the details of the City of Aurora’s recent lavish agreement with Gaylord Entertainment, it’s difficult to stay quiet on the sidelines.

Last Monday night, the City of Aurora approved a complex incentive package worth $300 million to subsidize a proposed $800 million convention and resort hotel development planned by Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment. Gaylord was founded by the Oklahoma billionaire family of the same name and has evolved into a giant publicly-traded entertainment corporation with holdings that include the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Perhaps the company’s most enduring contribution to American culture was the production and syndication of the Hee Haw variety television show.

But Gaylord sure is uptown sophisticated when it comes to wringing incentives from Aurora. Gaylord secured an astounding bag of goodies – the largest subsidy of a private project in Colorado history – for a project that is very unlikely to deliver on its promises. Here are the particulars:

The Concept: Located on prairie 10 minutes from Denver International Airport (DIA), Gaylord plans to develop a convention, hotel and resort complex similar to its properties near Nashville, Orlando, Dallas and Washington D.C. With a western theme, the 85-acre campus will include 1,500 hotel rooms and up to 400,000 square feet of convention space, about half the space of downtown’s Colorado Convention Center. The City of Aurora cites a number of benefits in supporting the project, including jobs, tax revenues and “establishing Aurora as a resort destination for both national and international visitors.”

Good luck generating the projected spin-offs. Gaylord’s secret to success is designing convention experiences based on an all-inclusive business model. On its corporate website, Gaylord touts the themed hotels as “Our hallmark -- everything in one place – providing meeting attendees and leisure travelers with convenient onsite access to award-winning dining options, quality spa and fitness facilities, top-notch entertainment, on-site shopping, resort activities and much more.” When Americans visit all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, most never see Mexico. When Gaylord’s visitors are shuttled from DIA to Gaylordland, I suspect most will never see the gripping attractions of Aurora, let alone Denver.

The Subsidy: For sheer audacity, anyone involved in the community and economic development world should read the Incentive Agreement approved by Aurora’s leaders last week. The $300 million subsidy is clearly spelled out in a mere 38 pages.

Let’s start by taking Gaylord on its word that the project will create 1,800 jobs. Divided by $300 million, that is $166,667 of subsidy per job – for service jobs! Jobs that generally won’t help families escape federal poverty levels.

Next, take a look at how 85 acres of fallow greenfield can produce $300 million in subsidy. It is truly mind-boggling. First, the empty field has been designated as “blighted,” qualifying the site for tax increment financing (TIF) subsidies. Recent legislation in Colorado was intended to prevent TIF use on greenfields, but apparently the law only applies to land zoned for agriculture, as opposed to former agricultural land that is now ready to become a resort.

The money trail starts with a garden variety TIF distribution. The 87 mills of future property tax will be distributed back to the project. For 30 years Aurora gives up 10 mills, and for 25 years Adams County gives back 27 mills and Brighton School District 46 mills. It might have been a nice gesture to share some of the TIF with the schools, since they may be useful in preparing locals to work in the resort.

But we’re just getting started. Here’s what is provided to Gaylord in addition to the 87 mills of property tax TIF:

A general improvement district overlay adds an additional 40 mills for 33 years. That’s a total of 127 mills of property tax that is reinvested in the project for the next 25 to 33 years.

A sales tax TIF captures 3.5% of sales tax from Aurora, and 2.9% of sales tax from Colorado through a proposed use of the state’s Regional Tourism Act. Total sales tax capture is 6.4%.

Add a proposed “Admissions Sales Tax,” 3.5% from Aurora, 6.35% in “enhanced tax,” resulting in an additional 9.75%.

Add the hotel’s share of lodging taxes, including 7.7% from Aurora, 2.9% from the State and 2.0% from an “enhanced lodger’s tax” equals 12.6% on every room night.

Add an exemption from City Use Taxes on construction materials, a cap on development fees, and a commitment to provide expedited “first priority” permitting from planners and building inspectors.

We aren’t done yet. Just like winning the Lotto (and they did), Gaylord has the option for cash now or over time. If they want cash now, the City or its Redevelopment Agency will issue more than $200 million in bonds secured by the preceding cash flows. If the project cannot meet bond payments (i.e. if the property underperforms), then the City has a “moral obligation” to fill the gap from whatever money it can find. The staff report notes that Aurora does not have a legal requirement to pay the debt, but “the financial community would expect Aurora to honor its pledge” and the City’s bond rating and reputation could be damaged if it didn’t. In effect, today’s Aurora City Council and staff shift any downside risk associated with this deal to future City Councils and staff.

The Cannibalization – Throughout the past week, the Denver Post has reported that downtown interests are unsettled with the Gaylord project and are moving toward conducting their own economic impact study. While downtown should be concerned about erosion of convention market share and potential relocation of the National Western Stock Show, I suspect the bigger fish to fry are right in Gaylord’s new neighborhood.

The second line of Gaylord’s own press release on the Aurora deal touts, “Located less than ten minutes from Denver International Airport, one of the most traveled and accessible airports in the world.” That would be the same DIA that has been trying to develop a 500-room terminal hotel for the past 15 years. With Gaylord so close to the airport, it won’t get any easier for DIA to finance its hotel and Gaylord is positioned to become the defacto airport hotel. In a touch of irony, the Aurora deal to Gaylord may weaken the very asset, DIA, that created the opportunity for Gaylord in the first place.

Also, if the DIA hotel dissolves, be sure to subtract those nearly 1,000 non-subsidized jobs from Gaylord’s alleged economic impact.

The Consequences – While Gaylord, Aurora, its attorneys, advisors and the vanguard of greed congratulate themselves, we should all look closely to the storm clouds that are brewing beyond those picturesque hills to the west. California, as chronicled here, is nearing the elimination of redevelopment and TIF in order to redirect revenue to local schools and services. In California, TIF proponents had difficulty defending redevelopment because of past abuses, much like what we’re seeing unfold today in Aurora.

In post-Great Recession America, how can Aurora leaders justify giving $300 million to out-of-state billionaires while they are closing the city’s libraries and cutting basic services? Of course it’s not that simple, but, like in California, try to explain the nuances of redevelopment versus the provision of basic services to a restive electorate. Is this the deal that kills the Golden Goose in Colorado, just like in California?

With so much at stake, perhaps now is not the time to sit by and be so damn polite.

Dog Days for California Redevelopment

2011-06-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

When we last left the California redevelopment saga, there seemed to be some guarded hope for reform. Hope dissolved in the last month, culminating in last week’s adoption of a state budget that once again eliminates redevelopment agencies and tax increment financing. In yet another ironic twist, Governor Brown vetoed the budget, but his action was not related to any latent love for redevelopment.

The newest legislative package presents two options for redevelopment agencies: mandatory death by decree or voluntary death by dismemberment.

The first option is offered by bills that are similar to the Governor’s original blueprint for shutting down redevelopment and would eliminate all agencies by October 1. The new legislation takes the middleman out of the equation by eliminating redistribution of tax increment to the state and simply funnels funds directly to local schools, police and special districts. The bills provide greater details and nullify many of the asset and fund transfers that agencies have engineered since January. And while raw legislation is never a particularly intriguing read, the tone is torturously direct. Consider this excerpt on the objective for freezing redevelopment assets and funds: “This part is intended to preserve, to the maximum extent possible, the revenues and assets of redevelopment agencies so that they may be used by local governments to fund services and schools. It is the intent of the Legislature that redevelopment agencies take no actions that would further deplete the corpus of the agencies’ funds regardless of their original source”.

Depleted corpus is the theme of option number two, companion bills that allow for “voluntary alternative redevelopment programs”. Localities can keep their redevelopment agencies if they will voluntarily donate their unencumbered tax increment to schools and other local services. The legislation offers a complex formula for redistributing TIF, but the end result would convert agencies into asset and accounting managers. Unencumbered TIF, which allows agencies to be entrepreneurial and seek new investments, would essentially disappear.

Both sets of bills were unanimously backed by Democrats, allegedly the friends of cities, in each of California’s legislative houses. Republicans voted no, but not out of affection for redevelopment -- they simply don’t want to back anything associated with the Governor. So the legislative prospects look bleak.

Redevelopment proponents continue to circle their wagons in increasingly hostile territory. It is likely that any final budget bill will face a legal challenge that would tie up the process for awhile; however, the eventual outcome looks clear. Redevelopment morale is low and formerly robust agencies are feeling like morgues. San Jose’s Redevelopment Agency, which recently managed an annual budget of $185 million, is expected to have eight employees by next month.

Despite the gloom, as in the aftermath of any cataclysmic event, there are the seeds of new energy. The demise of redevelopment may trigger the creation of a whole new generation of public/private partnerships to fill the void. Many of our past and current clients are considering the restructuring of their downtown organizations. California could emerge as a hotbed for innovation to manage, market and finance downtown and community development in post-Great Recession America.

Stay tuned. It could be an exhilarating ride.

The Urbanist Woody Allen

2011-06-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

I run hot and cold on Woody Allen films. I enjoy the self-effacing humor and creative storylines, but sometimes grow weary of the formulaic rhythm and predictable Allen character projections in many of his films. But I sure enjoyed Midnight in Paris, the latest Allen offering. Among many positives, the movie reveals Allen’s passion as an urbanist, and got me thinking about how he has celebrated cities in most of his films over the past 35 years.

Midnight in Paris is first and foremost a celebration of the city. The movie begins with the montage of city scenes that opens many of Allen’s films, but it quickly finds new creative ground. Owen Wilson plays the Allen character, a self-doubting author who is engaged to be married to the beautiful but shallow Rachel McAdams. Wilson is looking for authenticity and finds it in the city. In wildly entertaining twists, each evening he travels back to the 1920s and shares humorous encounters with artists of the day, including Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Picasso. At a key moment late in the movie, Wilson speaks passionately about the city, and how its vibrancy overshadows the power of individual personalities. It is the place that fosters the interaction that leads to creativity and vitality, the stage that allows art and innovation to flourish.

Allen’s love of the city is woven into the themes of most of his films, particularly since 1977’s Annie Hall. In his most critically acclaimed picture, Allen juxtaposes the urban sophistication of New York City with the suburban superficiality of Los Angeles. Allen’s character in that film would get physically ill every time he had to land on California soil. His preference for the city was part of Allen’s quirkiness at the time, as cities were mired in economic decline, social unrest and crime. Few could have anticipated then that Allen may have actually been a visionary foreshadowing the rise of the American city.

Many of Allen’s subsequent films celebrated New York City. In recent years he has taken the passion overseas, notably Barcelona in 2008’s Vicky Christina Barcelona and now the French capital in Midnight in Paris.

Allen’s biases also are apparent in his characters. In Midnight, Owen Wilson seems to embody the urban attributes of artistic exploration, liberalism, creativity and much self doubt. Rachel McAdams, on the other hand, perhaps projects Allen’s vision of the suburbs, including conspicuous consumption, political conservatism and an acceptance of conventions.

For us urban snobs, it’s an entertaining show, and may prompt a second look at some of Allen’s earlier work.

Urban Farming is the Real Deal

2011-05-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

There was a mixed vibe from Thursday’s Denver Post article profiling mayoral candidate Michael Hancock’s plan to promote urban farming to create jobs in the city. One University of Colorado economics professor criticized Hancock’s plan as “akin to the notoriously inefficient collective farms of the old Soviet Union”.

Not so, according to a recent article in the business section of the New York Times entitled “Cash Crops Under Glass and Up on the Roof”. If fact, rooftop greenhouses, let along urban farming, are quickly turning the corner to profitability. The article looks at rooftop greenhouses in Toronto and New York City that are using hydroponic growing techniques to create bumper crops in the heart of the city. Hydroponics allows plants to grow using only mineral enriched water. Despite capital intensive start-up costs to build the greenhouses and install growing equipment, the operating costs are much lower than conventional farming since hydroponics eliminates the need for costly inputs such as soil, fertilizer and pesticides. The greenhouses provide a 12 month growing season, allowing for multiple harvests. The strongest cost advantage is the elimination of long distance shipping, which can double the cost of fruits, vegetables and food crops.

Taking issue with the CU economics professor, seems like any process that can drastically reduce production and distribution costs for a product high in demand (and food has market demand of about infinity) is the key to successful capitalism and profits. The Times article cites an estimate from New York Sun Works, an advocacy organization for urban farming, stating that more than 14,000 acres of rooftops are available in New York City. If actively farmed year-round, they could produce food for as many as 20 million people.

Still not convinced? Consider BrightFarms, a for-profit company formed in 2006 with the idea of creating hydroponic farms on the rooftops of grocery stores. With a capital investment of about $2 million to create each one acre rooftop greenhouse, BrightFarms expects annual revenue of $1 to $1.5 million from each unit. An added benefit is the 25% reduction in heating and cooling costs for the building below the greenhouse. BrightFarms is forecasting $100 million in annual company revenues by 2015 and $1 billion by the end of 2020.

Measure that rate of return for virtually any investment in the post-Great Recession economy – it certainly beats real estate, stocks and the added-value of certain economics courses at the University of Colorado. Perhaps the only attribute that urban farming has in common with the old Soviet model is that it may truly be revolutionary.

Peñalosa Reforms in Peril

2011-05-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

Enrique Peñalosa has become something of an urban planning folk hero in Denver. I first heard Peñalosa as an inspirational speaker during Denver’s Living Streets Initiative in 2009. He was back as a keynote during the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Rocky Mountain Urban Leadership Symposium last fall. Peñalosa is known as the visionary mayor that brought progressive planning principles to Bogota, the burgeoning capital of Colombia that is home to more than seven million people. During his 1998 to 2001 term as mayor, Peñalosa fought the conventions of sprawl to advocate for extensive bicycle and pedestrian ways, “no car days” on busy streets and a new bus rapid transit system that was unparalleled in the Hemisphere. To woo the locals in Denver (and elsewhere), it doesn’t hurt that Peñalosa brings plenty of charisma and Latin charm.

Ten years after Peñalosa, the New York Times reports that Bogota has slipped into chaos. The story chronicles a city mired in crime, corruption and congestion. The current mayor has been suspended due to an investigation into kickbacks and scandals. Gridlock on city streets is resulting from an increase in vehicles (Colombians are now more able to afford cars) and a paralyzing web of construction. Peñalosa’s bus rapid transit system is viewed as a victim of its own success, as crowded buses are the focal point of a growing crime wave. Some Bogotanos view the dysfunction as comparable to the pre-Peñalosa period when the city was embroiled in the daily crosshairs of drug wars.

The next mayoral election in Bogota is set for October. Peñalosa is back in the mix, running for a new term to once again tame his wild city.

A key lesson for Denver and other cities is to not rely solely on the vision and charisma of one leader to create sustainable change. Denver’s success over the past 20 years has been due in part to the broad buy-in and support from the entire region to the visionary public and private leadership that emerged here in the 1980s. While we marveled at how Peñalosa could quickly engineer change in his city, our more methodical planning and consensus-building processes result in changes that endure.

With a mayoral race at play in our own city, Peñalosa’s struggles at home offer a timely and cautionary tale.

A Spring Awakening for California Redevelopment?

2011-05-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

With the California legislature paralyzed over Governor Brown’s budget solutions, the provocative proposal to unwind redevelopment agencies by July has stalled. Amid the theatrics, an approach to reform redevelopment emerged from the California senate last week in the form of Senate Bill 286. Unlike a prior superficial stab at reform promoted by the California Redevelopment Association (see our post dated March 22), SB 286 offers a blueprint for substantial changes that bring more accountability and eliminate many abuses found in California redevelopment. The bill offers ideas that could prevent a similar siege on redevelopment in other states.

After reviewing the legislation, and a helpful summary prepared by redevelopment advocates, we see significant improvements in the following areas:

More Accountability: SB 286 establishes systems and controls that will make redevelopment agencies more accountable both collectively and on a local level. Beginning in 2013, all agencies will report progress in creating jobs and eliminating blight using the same set of metrics. Standardized annual audits will be performed by the state and financed by an audit fund created from redevelopment proceeds.

Fewer Abuses: Many of the storied abuses from redevelopment will be stopped. Redevelopment must be used in areas that are “predominately urban”, with a tighter definition of blight and a focus on smaller, incremental projects. Areas designated for redevelopment cannot exceed 25% of the land area of any city. No more support for golf courses or casinos. Stadia subsidies will require community-wide elections. Redevelopment proceeds must be used for more narrowly defined purposes to prevent agencies from subsidizing non-related municipal functions.

Revenue Realities: To help address the state’s budget deficit, new redevelopment areas will no longer capture school funding as part of tax increment financing. This provision acknowledges the overriding importance of schools as a foundation of local economic development, in addition to the political reality that education trumps redevelopment among an anxious California electorate.

Redevelopment Planning: SB 286 adds a provision requiring redevelopment agencies to develop 5-year implementation plans for project areas. The plans require clear goals and objectives, and the creation of local benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of redevelopment initiatives -- similar to the “management plans” required for property-based business improvement districts, but applied within a redevelopment context.

About a third of the draft legislation is devoted to maintaining and better defining the 20% low and moderate income housing set-aside required in California redevelopment law. There are some curiosities, such as clauses dealing with redevelopment in Contra Costa County. And the legislation does not deal with the immediate state revenue crisis that precipitated the governor’s assault in the first place.

SB 286 will likely undergo additional refinement, but it does provide a welcome and serious platform for reform.

Chicago Shines at IDA

2011-04-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Despite being one of America’s truly great cities, Chicago has not hosted a conference of the International Downtown Association (IDA) in decades. Led by a series of strong mayors, Chicago has not seen the emergence of the sophisticated public/private management organizations and business improvement districts that have evolved in most other cities. Fortunately, IDA was able to partner with the fledgling Loop Alliance to bring its spring offering to the Windy City.

The city was the star at this confab. Held in the heart of the central business district, Chicago has the energy and adrenalin rush of New York or Boston, yet offers a Midwest sensibility that makes it more hospitable. And while I’ve been to the city several times, I haven’t had the chance to study it through the lens of a professional conference.

A personal highlight was the overview and tour of Millennium Park which has become a global icon. Built over former rail yards, the lavish $440 million park includes a Frank Gehry designed amphitheater and inspiring art installations, including the stainless steel bean that ended up with a $23 million price tag. Half of the park’s cost was covered by corporate and individual donations, revealing the depth of the philanthropic community in Chicago. Much of the park’s design was finalized on the fly after construction had commenced on its infrastructure. And although permanent structures are difficult to get built in Chicago parks, many of Millennium’s venues qualified as “architectural installations”.

The conference featured two Chicago-based celebrity urbanists as plenary speakers, starting with Carol Coletta, CEO of CEOs for Cities, who provided an enthusiastic presentation of fairly standard strategies for revitalizing cities. To their credit, CEOs for Cities provides excellent research on urban trends, but Coletta’s emphasis on improving talent, place and opportunity, and the references to Richard Florida’s work are becoming cliché. Coletta’s bio suggests that she is one of the 50 greatest “urban thinkers” of all time as determined by the readers of PLANETizen, an online urban issues journal. Right there with Aristotle, Daniel Burnham and Jane Jacobs? I’d be more convinced if Coletta had more depth doing urbanism, as opposed to simply promoting it.

I was less enamored by Aaron Renn, the author of a popular blog, the Urbanophile. Renn promised to be provocative in his critique of downtown planning practices, but I found his talk unfocused and reliant on a contradictory combination of curious opinions and industry standards. Renn brings a bio with 15 years in corporate management and IT consulting, and while he is unquestionably passionate about cities, I don’t see the experiential connection to the work that validates his critiques. But I must be missing something, since the “praise” and the “awards” tabs of his website offer endorsements from PLANETizen and, of course, Carol Coletta.

The chatter among IDA conference delegates was very positive about the break-out sessions which traditionally focus on substance with less flash. And after attending nearly 20 years of IDA’s offerings, the family dynamic of this group is unparalleled. I am looking forward to the annual fall conference in Charlotte.

Lessons from the California Redevelopment Crisis

2011-04-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

The following article appears in the April issue of the Downtown Idea Exchange. The article summarizes our past blog posts on the struggle in California to save redevelopment agencies and tax increment financing, and offers suggestions for how cities and states can pro-actively prevent a similar fate.

In a bold stroke this past January, California Governor Jerry Brown announced his intention to help reduce the state’s enormous $25 billion budget deficit by eliminating redevelopment agencies and tax increment financing (TIF) by July. An important tool for downtown revitalization for more than 50 years, TIF has been used in virtually every state throughout the nation. TIF allows for the incremental increase in property tax (and sometimes sales tax) from new investment and value to be reinvested within the geographic boundaries of a designated redevelopment area. The rationale for TIF is that projects and community facilities wouldn’t happen without the upfront investment that TIF allows, therefore the community overall is better off.

California is arguably the most aggressive state to use TIF through its 400 redevelopment agencies. Governor Brown’s analysts found that 12% of the state’s total property tax base is now being consumed by redevelopment and TIF. In a deft political move, the Governor offered a trade-off – Eliminate TIF and reallocate the property tax proceeds to local schools, police and other services. While a significant amount of TIF is encumbered to pay long term debt, the Governor’s office estimated that more than $2 billion would initially become available and grow over time. Predictably, the proposal has created political turmoil with local governments and redevelopment agencies pitted against powerful public employee unions. And while the drama could take years to fully play out, including anticipated litigation on the legality of the Governor’s plan, early polling found that two-thirds of California voters backed the Governor.

Regardless of the outcome in California, the redevelopment crisis offers many lessons for downtown advocates, including the following:

Measure Results: While a large consortium of local governments, redevelopment agencies, downtown organizations and other civic groups have mobilized to fight the California budget proposal, it appeared that they initially scrambled to make their case. Redevelopment proponents spent much of the first quarter of the year compiling data on projects and tangible impacts. Much like how the National Main Street program keeps track of its program results, statewide redevelopment networks need to make sure they have a current tally of the new jobs, investment and other measures that result from their work.

Communicate Results: Redevelopment is a hard concept to explain in a sound bite, and Jerry Brown, a former mayor who understands the nuances of TIF and redevelopment, knew of this vulnerability early in the game. Forget about explaining how this all works -- redevelopment proponents need to simplify their message. Something like “jobs, community facilities and local control”, period.

Refocus Redevelopment Tools: In California and elsewhere, redevelopment has strayed from its original intent to revitalize blighted areas. For example, the tool has been used to subsidize Wal-Marts in suburban greenfields, and other communities have designated the majority of their commercial land to capture local tax increment. To preempt the California scenario, downtown advocates can work with state governments to tighten up their redevelopment laws to make sure this powerful tool is focused solely on downtown revitalization and blighted areas.

Create Different Tools: In California, the controversy over redevelopment has created an opportunity to create different and perhaps better tools. For example, many states have Downtown Development Authorities (DDA) that combine the advantages of TIF for investment with a business improvement district-type assessment for operations and marketing. DDA’s should endure better than redevelopment since they are tightly focused on downtowns, leverage investment from both public and private sector partners and generally do not include eminent domain powers that have contributed to redevelopment’s “urban removal” stigma.

Diversify Downtown Development Resources: Like any business venture, downtowns would be wise to diversify the funding and array of tools used to promote development. In addition to TIF and redevelopment, options include business improvement districts, community development corporations, parking management districts, events production companies and more. These tools can be combined into one tool box – a holding company model that has emerged in many mature downtown management organizations such as Denver, Seattle and Houston.

Importance of Statewide Networks: Statewide advocacy networks for downtowns should be strengthened to maximize the effectiveness of lobbying efforts in increasingly tense state budget battles. Urban areas are often at a disadvantage in state capitals, outnumbered by suburban and rural interests. Through statewide downtown networks, large cities can join with suburban town centers and rural Main Street partners to advocate with a unified sense of purpose.

Five Ways Denver's Next Mayor Can Improve Health

2011-03-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Denver's next mayor will have an opportunity to support policies that shape our daily experiences and improve our overall health while building the city's economic vitality.

With the mayoral election fast approaching in May, here are five ways Denver's next mayor can make a difference in our physical (and economic) health (in no particular order):

1. Expand bicycling programs – For starters, the popular B-Cycle program should be more accessible to neighborhoods and all Denver residents. According to B-Cycle's data, the program saved 15,868 gallons of gas and burned more than 6.3 million calories for users in its first year. The new mayor can continue to expand bike infrastructure by redoubling efforts to build safe and protected bike lanes throughout the city. There is no reason Denver can't set the national standard for a bike infrastructure that truly impacts our commuting habits. We have a great climate and relatively flat terrain. Bike lanes are much cheaper and easier to build than new roads and the bike industry in Colorado generates millions of dollars annually.

2. Improve pedestrian access – While a bike-friendly city will encourage more residents to get active, there are many health benefits to good old fashioned walking. Making Denver more pedestrian-friendly means adding sidewalks where they don't exist and widening them where they do. Installing new street signs and traffic signals will make streets safer to cross. Neighborhoods that are walkable are more valuable than those that aren't. Walkable commercial areas also generate more sales and property tax.

3. Build transit systems – Denver's next mayor should support efforts to promote regional collaboration to finish the FasTracks build out. Voters will support a ballot measure to complete the project if regional collaboration is accompanied by an educational campaign promoting the significant economic, environmental health benefits of transit.

4. Invest in kids – Investing in safe routes to school, supporting healthy lunch options and providing safe places to be active will help keep our kids healthy. Denver's new mayor should also strive to ensure that all kids have access to affordable health care. Though Colorado has the leanest population in the country, current statistics show 14 percent of Colorado children are obese – ranking us No. 23 among states. Medical costs associated with obesity cost Coloradans millions of dollars annually.

5. Encourage food access – Denver's mayor should follow the lead of other major metropolitan areas by appointing a "food czar" (a food policy director whose responsibility is to improve residents' access to healthy, affordable food). Policies that would encourage food access could include extending low-interest loans and other financial incentives to encourage grocery stores and markets with fresh produce to locate in underserved neighborhoods. A focus on community gardening in backyards, school yards and parks also will improve access in "food deserts" (defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet).

Our new economic reality will require Denver's next mayor to think differently, forge new partnerships, leverage opportunities and make the most of each dollar the city spends. Research shows that mixed-use and transit-rich environments are conducive to better physical and fiscal health. Perhaps more important are the intangible benefits of living in a community that embraces and supports healthy living initiatives.

Of course, the critical ingredient is leadership that understands the importance of good health, a rich urban fabric and the courage to implement policies to make the vision a reality.

(Note: This blog was first posted at the Colorado Health Foundation blog on March 16, 2011.)

Real Reform for California Redevelopment?

2011-03-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Late last week, while the world was fixated on disaster in Japan and war in Libya, redevelopment almost died in California. In the California Assembly, Governor Brown’s proposal to reallocate tax increment financing (TIF) to schools and local services fell one vote short of the two-thirds needed to approve it.

As the drama continues in Sacramento, I am perplexed by the response from redevelopment proponents. The California Redevelopment Association (CRA), a competent and reasonably well funded advocacy organization, has advanced an alternative in the guise of “reform”. CRA’s Plan B is to have redevelopment agencies voluntarily share up to 10% of their TIF proceeds with school districts.

This is reform? Really??

Redevelopment agencies could voluntarily share TIF with local school districts today, and many do through intergovernmental revenue sharing agreements. It seems like a tone deaf response by CRA. With redevelopment one vote short of total political meltdown and a popular Jerry Brown on the offensive, couldn’t CRA be a bit bolder and offer real reform?

The CRA proposal comes two weeks after critical findings by the California State Controller emerged from a limited review of 18 of the state’s 400+ redevelopment agencies. While the review was motivated to support the Governor’s budget proposal, it does reveal authentic shortcomings. Specific observations include the lack of a consistent methodology to measure jobs created by redevelopment, a pattern of sloppy financial accounting practices by local agencies and evidence of using TIF beyond blighted areas. A notable excess in the City of Palm Desert finds redevelopment encompassing more than 50% of the city’s territory, a TIF fund balance of $242 million (nearly $5,000 per resident) and the use of TIF to repair a “blighted” 18-hole golf course.

In a hostile and desperate political atmosphere, CRA and other proponents should be leading a sensible dialogue on real reforms. Here are some ideas that could be explored:

Redevelopment proponents should offer to dial-back some of the most egregious abuses of TIF. Consider shrinking oversized districts and refocusing TIF to basic infrastructure that reverses blight and creates jobs.

Offer the 20% housing set-aside to the Governor. California redevelopment law requires that 20% of TIF funds be allocated to create affordable housing. This set-aside has always been difficult to use. In the pre-recession market, inflated California housing prices made affordable deals problematic. In post-recession California, is affordable housing a top redevelopment priority while hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes sit vacant?

Tighten up on redevelopment accountability. There are a variety of policy and budgeting reforms that could refocus TIF on its core purpose. Plus, the notion of a uniform method of measuring jobs, investment and other impacts should be attainable. The National Main Street Center is able to do this for affiliates throughout the country.

Design legislative alternatives to improve revitalization tools. California’s redevelopment law was crafted in the 1940s. Does any business model created more than 60 years ago still work in 2011 and beyond? There are revitalization tools that have evolved across the country that could work well in California. For example, many states have Downtown Development Authorities, combining TIF with a PBID in one entity focused on a community’s central business district.

As a community and downtown development advocate, I hope they know what they’re doing over at CRA, but the strategy seems cynical – They appear to be wagering the future of redevelopment on pressuring legislators and bankrolling litigation, while taking a pass on a policy discussion on how to make it work better.

California’s Cookbook to End Redevelopment

2011-03-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

Last week, the California Department of Finance released draft legislation to systematically dismantle the state’s redevelopment agencies and end tax increment financing (TIF). In 27 pages, the legislation provides a methodical handbook for unwinding more than 400 local redevelopment agencies and reallocating $5 billion in annual property tax revenues. The fate of the legislation is unclear, as the ongoing political battle is fierce and the constitutionality of the effort, if successful, is likely to be tested in the courts; however, a careful read of the bill is instructive for all downtown and community development advocates. A helpful summary is also available from the California Redevelopment Association.

The legislation begins with very clear and simple rationale for eliminating redevelopment. The state is in financial crisis and “the state’s investment in local economic development and redevelopment agencies is less critical than providing for police and fire protection and is less critical than preventing additional harm to public education”. The constitutionality of the action is dismissed – “redevelopment agencies were created by statute and can therefore be eliminated by statute”.

The bill is pitched as an urgency statute, which means with legislative approval and Governor Brown’s signature, redevelopment is effectively frozen in California. All activities, obligations and assets are maintained as is until July 1, the date for the formal dissolution of all redevelopment agencies.

July 1 starts a transitional phase, in which redevelopment activities are transferred to “successor agencies” each governed by a new “oversight board”. Most successor agencies will be the local or county governments that initially established the redevelopment areas. The oversight boards will be dominated by the new beneficiaries of liberated redevelopment funds. Each oversight board is to have seven members, with three appointed by the county superintendent of education and two more appointed by the county board of supervisors. Gone is any vestige of localized community control that has been a hallmark of most California redevelopment agencies.

Three basic accounts will be set up by county controllers to capture proceeds from TIF and the sale of agency assets. One fund is to support the State for one year. A second fund is for “enforceable obligations” from the redevelopment agency – bonds, agency loans and legally binding contracts. The third fund becomes a supplement to local property taxes to support police, fire, schools and other services.

As described in our January 23 post, scores of redevelopment agencies across the state have been working feverishly over the past 45 days to protect TIF funds from the Governor’s intentions by obligating billions to projects and programs. While the legislation does not predate these actions, it does appear to put them in peril by empowering the new successor agencies and oversight boards with reviewing all obligations: “nothing in this act shall prohibit either the successor agency, with the approval or at the direction of the board, or the oversight board itself, from terminating any existing agreements or contracts”.

Debate over the legislation will continue in Sacramento over the next several weeks.

Welcome Erica Heller to P.U.M.A.!

2011-02-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

It is our pleasure to welcome Erica Heller, AICP, to P.U.M.A. as senior associate. Erica brings recent experience in land use consulting from Clarion Associates, plus she is a past practitioner within the City of Lakewood, Colo., redevelopment agency and planning department. Erica broadens and deepens our market-based planning and development capabilities and is an outstanding addition to the team. Please welcome Erica at erica@pumaworldhq.com.

Also check out our new team photo, taken across the street from our office within the atrium of Denver’s historic Union Station. Originally constructed in 1881, Union Station was once the bustling terminal for more than 80 trains per day. Today, the historic depot is getting ready for a massive makeover as it becomes the new multi-modal hub for Denver’s FasTracks light rail system.

U.S. Transportation Policy at a Crossroads

2011-02-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

Paramount to downtown and community development interests is the pending reauthorization of transportation funding, which provides federal support for our nation’s infrastructure including highways and transit. With revenue from the federal tax on gasoline, transportation spending has generally enjoyed bipartisan support through a convoluted legislative process that is repeated about every five or six years. Until now.

Since the November elections, a striking contrast is emerging between the Obama administration, which develops budget parameters, and the new Republican House majority, where the transportation legislation is birthed. In the Obama budget released earlier this week, the President outlines an ambitious holistic transportation approach that places priorities on fixing existing roads and bridges, and investing heavily in transit, high speed rail and community livability. The Obama spending priorities reflect a philosophy of strategic investment to make the country more globally competitive, plus strengthen urban areas by improving mobility of all types.

In addition to priorities, the President’s budget offers some exciting innovations on how our government spends money. 55 different highway programs are consolidated into five. The President once again proposes a national infrastructure bank (see PUMAblog post dated September 14, 2010) as a way to leverage private investment and to make rational apolitical decisions on funding infrastructure. The President’s budget does come short on financing all of this, as gas tax proceeds are declining and about 20% of the spending will need to be paid through “new revenues”.

Meanwhile, Republican House transportation policies are being shaped by a newfound dogmatic focus on austerity and reverence to traditional conservative strongholds in the suburbs and rural areas. Initial indications are that highways will be the top priority and retaining transit funding will be a struggle. Funding for alternative modes, enhancements and livability, which have been used extensively in downtown areas, are likely to be D.O.A. in the House.

To monitor the transportation reauthorization process in Washington and provide strategic advice for downtowns, P.U.M.A. has joined with a dozen downtown organizations throughout the nation in an unprecedented effort to support a lobbyist working on behalf of the International Downtown Association. We expect that the downtown constituency, particularly business leaders in selected cities, can be helpful in communicating the economic benefits of transit and enhancement funding to key legislators.

Stay tuned – it promises to get real interesting as DC policy battles heat up in the spring.

Colorado’s “Bottom-Up” Economic Plan

2011-02-08T10:29:00.001-08:00

State-led economic development efforts often appear to fit the same pattern. Targeted industries, trade missions to foreign lands and debates over the value of incentives seem to dominate. Governors come and go, but the basic economic development infrastructure and methodology remains with results that are often difficult to measure.

In Colorado, new Governor John Hickenlooper is shaking up conventions with his “bottom-up” approach to develop a new statewide economic development plan. Hickenlooper has invited residents, businesses and civic leaders from each of Colorado’s 64 counties to define their own opportunities, priorities and needs for economic development. County plans will then be consolidated into 14 regional blueprints, adapting to shared economic strengths and corresponding with the state’s regional delivery system. Finally, a statewide economic development plan will result, addressing the common denominators throughout the state while allowing for local nuances. This balance has often been problematic for Colorado, which boasts urban, suburban and rural constituencies, and a vast geography of mountains, plains and plateaus.

This may be an unprecedented approach to developing a state economic development plan. Certainly the politics are different, as traditional top-down economic development strategies tend to be created by technocrats in collaboration with business leaders and economic development practitioners. The Hickenlooper approach provides the opportunity for any resident of the state to share ideas, from a series of state-sponsored regional forums to an online survey that is accessible to all. Many of the counties are also following suit with inclusive policy-making processes.

The key to the success of this grassroots approach will be to keep it simple. Any process that invites thousands of inputs could become overly complicated and cumbersome. But if the Governor’s initiative can establish a menu of key constituent priorities, blend in regional market realities and keep implementation pragmatic, Colorado may be creating a new recipe for statewide economic development.

“The Defenders of Redevelopment Have a Hard Sell”

2011-01-31T08:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, the California Redevelopment Under Siege saga hit the political spotlight. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, nine big-city mayors converged on Sacramento to meet with Governor Jerry Brown to make their case for keeping redevelopment agencies intact. The Governor has proposed eliminating redevelopment and tax increment financing beginning this July as a way to help balance the state’s budget. As the Governor stated, “the defenders of redevelopment have a hard sell” in California, and perhaps beyond. And Brown may be the right messenger with the right message at the right time to be successful in his quest.

The Message: Brown has masterfully framed a trade-off for Californians – either support redevelopment, or support schools, police, fireman and other basic service providers. In the meeting with the mayors, the Governor noted “my hunch is that redevelopment is a somewhat mysterious process to the average voter”. Early polling has found that two-thirds of California voters support phasing out redevelopment agencies and using tax increment funds for schools and services.

The messaging challenge is enormous for redevelopment advocates. Forget about trying to explain how TIF and redevelopment work. Benefits have to be distilled into a simple elevator line – something like “jobs, community facilities and local control”, period. Even simplified, it’s problematic when pitted against schools and services, and the giant employee unions that support them.

The Messenger: As a liberal Democrat, Jerry Brown is the perfect messenger to sell the dismantling of a quasi-government. Republicans, while harping on reducing government for eons, have little credibility in this area, particularly in left leaning California. In addition to party affiliation, Brown’s resume as past governor and big city mayor uniquely qualify him to advance the idea.

Following his meeting with the mayors, Brown acknowledged that redevelopment has many benefits but that California simply cannot afford it during a fiscal emergency. Redevelopment advocates throughout America should watch and listen closely, since the majority of states (and the nation as a whole) could also be characterized as encountering fiscal emergencies. Despite the enormity of California’s budget problems, Nevada, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas all have deficits that are estimated to be a larger percentage of their own state budgets.

For redevelopment, an important tool for downtown revitalization nationwide, California needs to be watched closely as a bell weather state.

Protecting Redevelopment in Long Beach

2011-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

California cities are scrambling to respond to the potential demise of redevelopment included in Governor Brown’s budget. Reactions range from deer-in-the-headlights shock, to passing policy resolutions supporting redevelopment to accelerating deals to encumber funds in the pipeline.

And then there’s Long Beach. This past week I was able to witness a remarkable series of events that aim to safeguard redevelopment resources for this city of a half million. At risk to all California cities is the ability to use property tax increment to improve designated redevelopment districts. Cities generally like redevelopment since it allows community development decisions to be made locally. The State has been eyeing the funds to help close yawning budget gaps and, with Governor Brown’s budget, as a way to finance the redistribution of service responsibilities away from the state to cities.

On January 18, eight days after the Governor released his budget, a special meeting of the Long Beach City Council was held to obligate $1.2 billion in projected redevelopment funds to be used throughout the city on neighborhood and downtown revitalization, housing, parking structures and other infrastructure. The action is intended to protect Long Beach from any future action to curtail redevelopment by the state. While the Long Beach spending strategy is largely based upon existing development plans and projected budgets, packaging and approving $1.2 billion in obligations in about a week represents an ambitious undertaking.

Long Beach is not alone. Similar actions were taken last week throughout California, including Los Angeles and San Jose.

On the morning following the Long Beach City Council meeting, in a seemingly unrelated action, the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) approved a plan developed over the past six months, with assistance from P.U.M.A., to create a downtown development corporation. DLBA is a downtown management organization financed mostly by property-based business improvement district assessments. The new downtown development corporation (DDC) is envisioned as an affiliate of DLBA that will focus on creating financial resources for small businesses and innovative real estate concepts. The idea is based upon non-profit community development corporations that have been active in neighborhoods for decades, but with a focus on downtown.

Interestingly, one of the project opportunities envisioned in the DDC business plan is the acquisition and improvement of assets currently held by the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. The conveyance of assets was viewed as a way to further the civic purpose of redevelopment following the expiration of the downtown redevelopment project area scheduled for 2017. With redevelopment now under siege, the DDC might emerge as a useful partner sooner than later.

While state legislators may yet reverse the actions of cities encumbering redevelopment monies, Long Beach emerges as an intriguing case study. Its harmonious public/private approach to downtown revitalization allows it to react in a more nimble and pro-active way than most. And the new DDC may create an important new community investment mechanism that advances revitalization long after the day of reckoning has passed for redevelopment in California.

California Redevelopment Under Siege

2011-01-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

I always liked Jerry Brown. When I was a student at Cal in the late 1970s, Brown was “Governor Moonbeam”, hanging out with Linda Ronstadt, a young, innovative and out-of-the-box kind of guy. Later, I voted for Brown during the 1992 presidential primary when he carried Colorado. He went on to be Mayor of Oakland, then most recently California’s Attorney General. Little did I know that, beginning last week, Jerry Brown could become the most influential force to change downtown revitalization in modern memory.

On January 10, days after once again being sworn in as governor, Brown unveiled an audacious budget proposal to attack California’s projected $25 billion deficit. One of Brown’s recommendations is the complete elimination of redevelopment agencies and tax increment financing (TIF) starting in July of this year. The budget has sent downtown advocates scrambling as redevelopment and TIF have been central to revitalization for decades. The action also creates an ominous national precedent for this common downtown development tool.

The magnitude of California’s budget crisis is epic. The deficit alone is more than the entire annual GDP of Panama. To create a balanced budget and cure structural problems, Brown is proposing a mix of tax extensions and budget cuts. There is a general theme of “realignment” by decentralizing many state services back to local and county governments. Ironically, Brown was responsible for initiating the growth of state services when local governments lost revenue following the passage of Proposition 13 during his prior term as Governor.

As part of the realignment strategy, the Governor would dismantle redevelopment agencies and TIF. TIF allows for increases in property taxes to be reinvested within geographically defined districts. Used in California since the 1950s, TIF has leveraged billions in center city investments. According to the new budget, 12% of the state’s entire property tax base, or about $5 billion, is annually encumbered by TIF. The Brown budget will eliminate TIF and, in theory, immediately free up $2 billion that can help balance the state’s books in 2011-12, then in subsequent years be distributed to schools and local governments. It’s shrewd politics, potentially pitting cash starved local governments against their own redevelopment agencies to ultimately reduce state spending obligations.

Beyond shock, the initial reaction by downtown advocates is to mobilize political capital to save redevelopment and TIF. Organizations such as the California Redevelopment Association, League of California Cities and the California Downtown Association are banding together in a united front. Hopefully, this crisis will also spur insightful thinking into new and improved methods to advance revitalization. Truth be told, there are examples of TIF abuse. Some cities have designated the majority of their commercially zoned land as TIF to keep funds local. Others have used TIF for greenfield development, such as big box stores, that arguably did not need subsidy. Perhaps there are compromises ahead that could better focus TIF for its intended purposes in blighted areas and downtowns.

The budget proposal is not a slam dunk, and in the last election California voters easily passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from raiding local funds after a controversial TIF grab by Governor Schwarzenegger. However, the Brown budget intensifies the focus on TIF and is likely to have consequences well beyond the Left Coast.

California is our company’s second home – We’ll closely monitor the future of the new Jerry Brown era, now beginning its second full week, and its impact on downtown redevelopment as it evolves.

Hell Yes We’re A Cowtown!

2011-01-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

For decades, Denver has struggled with its civic identity. It’s been an ongoing conflict between being viewed as a “cowtown”, a lingering vestige of our Old West roots, and wanting to be a “sophisticated urban center”, the city that we are rapidly becoming. In the 1980s and 1990s, economic development officials distanced themselves from the cowtown image as if it suggested we were hokey ignorant slobs. We were aiming to be recognized as a legitimate city, although at the time we couldn’t really deliver. Today, as we become more confident with our emerging vitality, we may be realizing that “cowtown” and “sophisticated urban center” can co-exist. It’s about time.

Denver’s schizophrenia is on my mind as we celebrate the 105th edition of the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, which is mid-way through its annual two week run. The National Western showcases our city’s heritage and the agricultural economy of our vast Rocky Mountain and High Plains trade region. The stock show portion of the National Western features “more than 15,000 head of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, alpacas, bison, yak, poultry and rabbits”. Collectively the livestock creates a distinctive plume that wafts over the central city when aided by a gentle north breeze. Nearly three dozen rodeos are presented, including Mexican and African-American varieties. And who can beat the tradition of having the champion steer exhibited in the lobby of the swanky Brown Palace Hotel?

I’ve got great memories of the National Western. As a kid, highlights included the rodeo, the smell of fresh cotton candy and the myriad of kitschy western vendors crowded in the hallways of the Coliseum. Later, my wife and I enjoyed taking our own kids to the event, particularly the endless stalls of livestock. Need to impress a friend visiting from New York City? Nothing beats an afternoon at the National Western, followed by dinner at a downtown steakhouse where you can dine on what you’ve just met.

I’ve also got memories of being from a “cowtown”. Going to college in California, classmates often asked if I had grown up riding horses on the streets of our city. In New York, people just gave a blank stare, not really distinguishing Denver from the great wasteland that stretches from about New Jersey to the Pacific Ocean.

It’s time for Denver to fully embrace “cowtown” and merge it with our urbanity. By far my favorite event produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership is the National Western Stock Show Parade – a 30-minute high noon parade of cowboys, cowgirls, livestock and civic officials moseying down the entire length of 17th Street, the heart of our financial district and known as “Wall Street of the West”.

Cowtown and the National Western are the type of civic DNA that define a place. It’s part of who we are and why this city exists. It’s got the perfect set of ingredients, embodying the entrepreneurial spirit of the West, the toughness of the cowboy, the quirky cuteness of the mutton-busting kid. It’s real and part of what makes Denver a great and distinctive city.

Inspiration from Fresno

2011-01-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday’s Fresno Bee editorial seeking a mercy visit from President Obama pretty much sums up the economic state of affairs in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Experiencing Depression during the Great Recession, the Valley includes six of the top ten metro areas with the nation’s highest unemployment rates. The housing bubble coupled with a crippling agricultural drought cruelly conspired to slam the Valley. Fresno’s unemployment rate hovers at about 18%.

For decades prior to the recession, downtown Fresno endured a cycle of disinvestment as the region sprawled. Downtown was further handicapped by a series of unfortunate planning decisions and failed “silver bullet” projects. Its Fulton Street pedestrian mall is dated and too long, superblocks for government campuses create unintelligible circulation patterns and suburban zoning standards favor cars over pedestrians. While places like Detroit and New Orleans get most of the national attention for recent urban rescue efforts, Fresno is in the same league.

Despite these challenges, downtown Fresno is on the verge of a turnaround. This past week, I had the pleasure of co-facilitating a planning retreat for the board from Fresno’s new downtown property-based business improvement district (PBID). P.U.M.A. worked with local leaders over the past two years to help form the district, an effort guided by Dan Doyle, a banker and original advocate of Sacramento’s PBID, and the tireless Jan Minami, executive director of the PBID Partners of Downtown Fresno. The PBID creates a property owner-governed assessment that will generate more than $600,000 annually to fund economic development, marketing and management programs. More importantly, the PBID establishes the first unified and credible private sector voice for downtown in modern memory.

On the public sector side, downtown is a top priority of Mayor Ashley Swearengin. Personifying a completely new image for Fresno, Swearengin brings young, energetic and intelligent leadership to City Hall. In a city that is a poster child for sprawl, the Mayor is an unabashed urbanist. One of her first actions was to create a downtown development office that is advancing several planning and revitalization processes. A champion of the PBID, she actively participated in the entire full-day planning retreat -- I can’t recall a mayor of a major city engaged in a similar activity in my 17 years of consulting.

The PBID has the potential to become a game changer for Fresno. It marks a significant shift in the culture of downtown as the private sector takes initiative and joins with a compelling local government partner to influence the future. It’ll be fun to watch the city rise.

(Check out the local CBS news account of the PBID planning retreat.)

A Platform for Denver’s Next Mayor

2010-12-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

With Mayor John Hickenlooper packing boxes to move across the street to the State Capitol, a free-for-all is unfolding in the Denver mayoral race. Up to a dozen candidates could run, ensuring a daily dose of drama through the May election and subsequent runoff in June.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for Denver. While the city has weathered the economic storm better than most, the changing world around us demands visionary and bold leadership. With a federal government paralyzed by partisanship and states reeling from epic budget deficits, cities are America’s only remaining bastion for sensible reinvestment and innovation. Denver is positioned to be one of a dozen American cities that will lead the economic recovery and remain connected to the global economy, while the rest of the country stagnates in indecision and austerity.

There are parallels to the 1980s, the last time Denver faced an economic crisis. In that era, leadership from Mayor Federico Peña and progressive business leaders launched a cycle of civic reinvestment that has continued through the past decade. While the challenge in the 1980s was Denver’s dysfunctional economy, today’s troubling context is a national economy that drifts in recession while captained by a political system that can’t agree on how to steer the ship.

For Denver, and other cities that want to be competitive, our next leader must understand global trends that are rapidly reshaping our world and have local sensibilities to develop and sell a proactive agenda of continued civic investment. To keep the city vital, competitive and globally relevant, the platform for Denver’s next mayor should include the following four priorities:

Economic Innovation & Creativity: Job creation in the future will be driven by small, innovative firms that create goods, services and ideas for an emerging generation of technologically savvy consumers. Denver has many advantages to be an economic engine, including our strategic location, quality of life and convergence of both old and new energy economies. The City’s Office of Economic Development (OED) is long neglected and could be reengineered to support the private sector forces that are transforming the definition of economic opportunity. The next mayor should reinvent OED to offer incentives such as venture capital, flexible spaces, leases and incubators tailored to support small emerging businesses in our downtown, neighborhood business districts and industrial areas.

Denver-Centric Transportation: Great cities of the future will feature a variety of mobility options for their residents, including rail, buses, cars, bikes and pedestrians. Diversifying transportation modes is critical to our competitiveness as lifestyles change and petroleum inevitably becomes increasingly expensive and scarce. With FasTracks, we are currently a national leader in regional light rail. However, Denver’s internal transportation network is still a work in process. Within the city, we need to develop a more comprehensive transportation network that connects neighborhoods to downtown and regional transit. A variety of alternatives should be explored, from streetcars to dedicated bike lanes. After FasTracks is fully funded, Denver’s next mayor should explore, with willing suburban partners, a local financing solution to support Denver-centric transportation.

A Continuum of Quality Education: Education is the essential raw material to economic and cultural prosperity, and American cities may be on their own to promote excellence in a national system mired in mediocrity. In Denver, we have enormous opportunities to create a continuum of quality education from preschool through graduate school. While the city does not control the school system, Denver’s next mayor can continue to be a partner to strengthen Denver Public Schools through a variety of complementary investments. The mayor can exert influence to encourage smart, sensible and reform-minded people to run for the School Board. Downtown’s Auraria campus, which includes three colleges serving more than 40,000 students, will become an increasingly valuable asset as out-of-state universities become prohibitively expensive. Powerful partnerships could be developed between DPS, Auraria and the downtown business community, and our next mayor could be the chief facilitator.

Regional Cooperation: Urban challenges and opportunities do not respect political boundaries and great cities require regional collaboration to mobilize civic energy and resources. Mayor Hickenlooper’s most enduring legacy may be the spirit of regionalism that he was able to cultivate. The next frontier in regional collaboration will be creating service delivery efficiencies. With continued pressure on local budgets, regional solutions to police, fire, libraries and other basic services need to be evaluated. Regional revenue sharing of sales and other tax revenues make more sense than cities competing over shrinking pies. The era of endless sprawl is over, and all jurisdictions need to look at collaborative models as we grow inward, as opposed to outward. Denver’s next mayor can lead this process.

Let the campaign for Denver’s next mayor begin and let’s hope the city wins.

A Cultural Conundrum

2010-11-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

Of the professional groups hardest hit by the Recession, architects and urban designers are located toward the top of the list. In an economy with little or no development, these firms have been savaged. Many talented design professionals that we have worked with for years are either waiting out the storm or reconsidering careers. To stay afloat, some design firms have diversified, many seeking work outside the boundaries of the US to more lucrative markets overseas.

It was with this thought in mind that I began a fascinating read on the cover of the Saturday New York Times, “Building Museums, and a Fresh Arab Identity”, an architectural critique by Nicolai Ouroussoff of massive cultural facilities being built in the Mideast. The story looks at multi-billion dollar investments that are unfolding in two Arab sheikdoms, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. In Abu Dhabi, the new museums are mostly outposts of Western institutions, including Paris’s Louvre and New York’s Guggenheim. In Qatar, equally ambitious buildings are housing more indigenous art forms, including a Museum of Islamic Art. In both countries, the architects are almost all American and Western firms, doing their best interpretation of how these museums should embrace their Arab settings.

In the end, Ouroussoff questions whether these amazing world-class structures will succeed, and how success will eventually be measured. In Abu Dhabi, the dominance of showcasing Western culture may not resonate in the Mideast. In both countries, the landmark buildings are being financed primarily by wealthy Sheiks with little or no broad-based participation. It’s a top-down approach to culture, which seems to rely on more of a bottom-up reason for being.

There are several angles on this story that are relevant to the downtown and community development world in the US. First, we are witnessing our own trend of building landmark cultural institutions in many of our cities. Second, it’s certainly interesting to see how design is evolving in places that don’t have the same budgetary constraints that we have. Lastly, the story provides a provocative social angle on cultural development in general. Capital investment in cultural institutions often is advanced by the most wealthy in society, but are our museums, theaters and other venues most successful when they are accessible to and embraced by all?

The Emergence of the American City State

2010-11-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Last week’s mid-term elections clarified that cities will need to lead America’s economic revival as the federal government remains politically paralyzed and many state governments are systematically dismantled. Current political events were spotlighted earlier this week in Denver as the Downtown Denver Partnership created and hosted a Rocky Mountain Urban Leadership Symposium and the International Downtown Association (IDA) convened its American Issues Legislative Task Force.

The Rocky Mountain Urban Leadership Symposium was perhaps the most ambitious policy event ever produced by a downtown management organization. More than 300 regional leaders listened to a variety of thought-provoking speakers and panels, including Alan Berube from the Brookings Institution, futurist Alex Steffen, and Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor and change agent of Bogota, Columbia. The forum advocated both the inevitability and merits of urbanization in a changing world and explored applications in the Rocky Mountain West, the least urban part of the nation. A subtext was the need for leaders to take unpopular positions to prepare for the future, a bold proposition in a country suffering from economic malaise and political dementia.

The IDA Task Force meeting focused on advancing downtown priorities during the upcoming transportation reauthorization process, where Congress will establish policies and funding formulas for the next five-plus years. It may be the only major legislative accomplishment expected from a Congress preoccupied with gearing up for the 2012 presidential election. The IDA Task Force discussion revealed how broken the federal government is today – polarized by partisanship, fragmented through an archaic congressional committee structure, and handicapped by a bureaucracy with an outdated business model.

The prospect for initiative at the state level is equally grim. The New York Times reports that a historical shift to conservative state leadership occurred in the mid-term elections. Nearly all of the pre-existing and new “red” states are promising Draconian cuts in services and a prohibition in new revenues.

So how do we compete with countries like China and India with strong central governments that are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into infrastructure, innovation and sustainability? The best bet is America’s cities, where local decisions can still be made to invest in the collective best interest. Despite the conservative tide of last week’s election, Transportation For America reports that more than 75% of local tax initiatives to support transportation enhancements passed. Cities that invest in their infrastructure, public education and quality of life will have a competitive advantage domestically and can still be relevant in and connected to the global economy. This point was illustrated at the Rocky Mountain Symposium by the notable examples of Denver and Salt Lake City emerging as national leaders for the future.

The Amazing Viral Events of Grand Rapids

2010-10-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Think of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and many of us may have a hard time conjuring any image at all. A western Michigan city of about a half million people, Grand Rapids has evolved around logging, then later furniture, manufacturing and health services. Today, Grand Rapids is emerging as a remarkable leader for downtowns in an intriguing niche – the ability to harness its young entrepreneurial energy and use of social media tools to create an extraordinary series of special events that are attracting thousands of visitors.

Special events are often the bane of downtown organizations. They are known to suck human energy and monetary resources while relying on unpredictable weather gods to occasionally create a great downtown experience. But not in Grand Rapids. The downtown association simply seeds ideas through the distribution of small grants. Then the locals do the rest.

Locals such as Rob Bliss, a 21-year old social media hound who was profiled this past August in the New York Times. Using social media, Rob has launched a variety of quirky events that regularly attract thousands of millennials to celebrate downtown. Consider the world’s longest water slide, the ever-popular zombie walks, public swing dances or the occasional good natured pillow fight – all with thousands of participants.

The granddaddy of Grand Rapid’s events is ArtPrize, which is winding down this weekend after its second successful season. Launched last year by Grand Rapids native and twenty-something Rick DeVos, ArtPrize offers the largest cash awards ($250,000 for first prize, $450,000 total) for a public art competition anywhere on the globe. Competing art pieces must be exhibited for two weeks in publicly accessible venues, mostly in downtown. Winning installations are chosen by the public, who vote via cell phones or social media. This year more than 1,700 artists exhibited in 192 open venues. More than 465,000 votes were cast.

We’re fortunate to be launching a downtown planning process for the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority. Last week, P.U.M.A. market analyst (and visual artist) Pamela Phox was able to soak in some of the ArtPrize vibe. Pamela reports that downtown was electric, with good natured crowds milling throughout the central business district at all hours. She also noted the predominance of families and women with baby carriages – an event that truly attracted the entire city.

This week we return to Grand Rapids and look forward to learning how the infectious energy from its viral events can be embodied in the downtown’s vision for its future.

A Horses-Eye View of Fort Worth

2010-10-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Flying back to Denver after four days at the International Downtown Association annual conference in Fort Worth, here are some parting impressions…

• Fort Worth, which is viewed as more energetic than Dallas, has its charms and challenges. Anchored by Sundance Square, the 22-block Bass family-owned core of downtown, Fort Worth has a great entertainment vibe. Most evenings the streets filled with thousands of young night club patrons and I was struck by the racial and class diversity of the crowds. Downtown does seem to have yawning gaps of surface parking, plus there seems to be less housing than other similarly sized downtowns. Most perplexing are the surface parking lots in the center of Sundance Square, a missed opportunity ripe for a signature public space or market.

• IDA and host organization Downtown Fort Worth Inc. improved the conference format by providing more opportunities for interaction through discussion roundtable and field study formats. My personal favorite was the horseback tour of the Trinity River development area near downtown. Attendees also seemed to be younger (or, as my teenage son would not-so-diplomatically say, perhaps I’m just getting “Old”) and there were many delegates new to downtown management. I am also re-energized, honored and pleased to be back on the IDA board of directors after a six year hiatus

• Perhaps the most vivid impression is outside the airplane window as one looks at the vastness of the Fort Worth/Dallas metropolitan area. While we tend to usually think of California as the national poster child for sprawl, Texas certainly has its share. The DFW area seems to stretch forever, its form influenced by the same post-World War II development patterns that shaped most of our cities. Integrating new urban principles that promote transit, density and sustainability, particularly in the context of a conservative political climate that values individuality and personal freedoms, seems particularly daunting here.

A Texas-sized challenge for downtown Fort Worth as it evolves into the future.

Downtown CEOs Recalibrate at IDA

2010-10-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the International Downtown Association Annual Conference in Fort Worth and I had the pleasure of listening to a roundtable discussion with about 40 CEOs from big city downtown associations from across North America. The discussion was informal and facilitated by Rich Bradley, CEO of the Downtown Washington DC BID.

The job of the downtown CEO is pretty interesting and complex -- its analagous to being a city manager for a downtown. In addition to all of the day-to-day details associated with maintaining and managing a downtown environment, CEOs are expected to maintain a big picture view on the future vision and direction of their downtown and the greater global issues that affect it.

Participants at the IDA roundtable were asked if the role of their organizations had changed since the onset of the Great Recession. Common trends included:

All of the CEOs agreed that the local influence of their downtown management organizations had grown over the past couple of years. Being viewed as results-oriented groups that can get things done plus the having the greater stability of BIDs and other financial resources, coupled with the declining capacity of local governments were identified as reasons for this shift.
Most downtown organizations report broadening the scope of their programming beyound traditional clean, safe and marketing roles. New areas of emphasis include transportation, economic development and environmental sustainability.
Managing residential constituencies is a growing trend, and several of the downtown groups have hired full time liaisons to deal exclusively with resident issues.

Diversifying revenues beyond BID assessments was discussed as an organizational priority. Enhancmentment options include capturing parking revenues and getting more involved in community development activities.

The group also agreed that the increasing influence of their organizations could help shape local, regional and perhaps national policy agendas.

More later on the conference and the host city.

Sacramento Impressions

2010-09-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

We’re in the thick of the fall conference season, and I’m leaving Sacramento after spending the past day at the annual conference of the California Downtown Association. Sacramento has been a great city for P.U.M.A., and I’ve had the privilege of visiting on several assignments since we helped to create California’s first property-based business improvement district here back in 1995. Here are some impressions on downtown and the conference in 2010…

• Downtown Sacramento looks great compared to the state of affairs 15 years ago. It’s cleaner, safer, more attractive and vibrant. The Midtown area east of the central business district has emerged as a sophisticated destination for dining and entertainment. However, as with many cities, downtown’s fortunes are judged by one street – K Street. K Street is a transit mall that has struggled to meet the longstanding expectation of being a retail center and “Main Street”. There continue to be vacant storefronts along the corridor, but new hope with a controversial yet timely plan to bring vehicles back to the street and a new entertainment complex that is under construction.

• Mayor Kevin Johnson shared some pretty interesting remarks during his welcoming comments earlier this morning. Johnson is a former NBA all-star who played for 12 seasons with the Phoenix Suns. He became interested in downtowns after traveling to the heart of 29 cities through the NBA. In his final season, he asked his teammates about their least favorite downtowns, and a consensus emerged around Johnson’s hometown of Sacramento. The problem, back in 2000, was the city’s lack of dining and nightlife, which is a big problem if your workday routinely ends at about 10:30 p.m. Part of Johnson’s motivation for running for Mayor was to combat the stigma his hometown endured from his NBA peers and to help create the vitality that he had witnessed from other cities.

• It was great to reconnect with friends who have directed the evolution of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership over the past 15 years. Led by CEO Michael Ault and Deputy Director Danielle Biller, the DSP has emerged as one of the nation’s “best practice” downtown management organizations. The DSP recently added a business recruitment program that will focus on K Street.

Now it’s on to Fort Worth for the annual conference of the International Downtown Association…

Main Street Colorado!

2010-09-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

We welcome Jill Mendoza to PUMAblog!

Anna, Brad and I had the pleasure of attending the Downtown Colorado, Inc. Annual Conference in Glenwood Springs last week. The title of the conference was Downtown Trends: Essential Community Responses to the New Economic Reality. The conference provided great networking opportunities and it was inspiring to hear the creative strategies that are being explored in response to “the new economic reality."

P.U.M.A. was lucky to be able to present sessions such as Creative Components of Mixed-Use Infill, The Economic Benefits of Living Streets, the issues and challenges facing Colorado’s development improvement districts such as BIDs, DDAs and URAs. Brad presented a plenary session on best practices in downtown management strategies which got a write-up in the Aspen Times.

Other conference sessions were filled with dynamic and useful information for downtown managers who must demonstrate a new kind of resourcefulness to keep their local economy and sense of community alive.

During the Governor’s Awards for Downtown Excellence Gala Dinner and Reception, several communities were recognized for their outstanding projects and people that reflect an attitude of perseverance and dedication to community revitalization in Colorado. Click here for a full list of the 2010 Governor's Awards for Downtown Excellence winners.

PUMA is proud to support Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI), which is a non-profit, membership organization committed to building better communities by providing assistance to organizations and individuals engaged in downtown and commercial district revitalization and development across the State of Colorado. Not only are downtowns rethinking their approach to revitalization, but DCI is also rethinking how it can better serve these communities. The DCI staff – Katherine Correll, Heather Garbo and Genevieve Zeman did a wonderful job of keeping the conference fresh and topical. In addition, DCI continues to form new relationships with other resource organizations in an effort to bring the best mix of tools to communities.

This was my first DCI conference and I was incredibly impressed with the caliber of speakers and the content of the sessions. The presentations were both educational and entertaining, while highlighting case studies that were extremely relevant. I found there to be a great sense of camaraderie among the attendees, which was refreshing and engaging. I look forward to my continued involvement with DCI and I am proud to be a part of the revitalization efforts in Colorado!

Infrastructure Bank is a Good Idea

2010-09-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day, President Obama announced a series of election year economic initiatives including a plan to jump start transportation projects through a proposed “infrastructure bank”. In the current toxic political environment, the transportation program was quickly branded as “stimulus” (now a politically incorrect word) and its prospects for any serious consideration before November are dim. Colorado’s Congressional Democrats running in tight campaigns sheepishly distanced themselves from the transportation initiative to demonstrate their new found fiscal restraint. Too bad, because the transportation proposals, and the infrastructure bank in particular, are really good ideas.

The infrastructure bank, which has been seriously discussed among policy wonks at Brookings and several Congress members for the past several years, would be a quasi-governmental institution that could pool tax dollars and private investment to finance big ticket projects such as roads, transit and airports. It could also be expanded to other types of infrastructure such as sewer, water, electricity and alternative energy. All of these investments are critical to our cities, a growing need that we see frequently through media coverage of crumbling roads, bridges or water pipes. Consider last week’s antiquated gas line that literally incinerated a neighborhood in San Bruno, California.

The infrastructure bank could bring rationality to a corrupt appropriation process that rewards political seniority and results in endless cycles of pork (i.e. the notorious “bridge to nowhere”). Funding from the infrastructure bank would be allocated competitively to merit-based projects that serve the greatest public needs and it would reward cities and states that work together on regional solutions. It would leverage public investment with the ability to issue bonds and raise private capital. The concept has apparently been used effectively throughout, ugh, Europe, for more than 50 years.

Perhaps what is most attractive about the infrastructure bank is that it fundamentally changes a broken part of our government. Obama’s stimulus program really never had a chance since he was using a dysfunctional delivery system – our federal government is based upon a 1970s business model that is ill-equipped for today’s challenges of diminished fiscal resources and enormous deferred investment. The infrastructure bank could be a step in reinventing how government works which is key to America regaining its edge with global competitors.

Let’s hope the idea regains some traction after the November election.

Colfax Streetcar Intriguing for What It Is Not

2010-08-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

When you read about an urban development trend in USA Today it is usually a signal that it has hit the mainstream. Evidence today’s page 3 article entitled “Portland Streetcar Success Has Fueled Interest Elsewhere”. The article recaps the success of Portland’s now legendary Pearl District which is served by a modern streetcar line that is credited with much of the area’s recent economic success. Modern streetcars offer at-grade fixed-rail transit that co-exists with vehicles and other modes. Streetcars are popular in part due to nostalgia – most American cities had extensive streetcar systems that were systematically dismantled to make way for cars and buses in the 1950s – and they are credited with triggering economic development. The mode is becoming more popular as the Obama administration remakes federal transportation funding goals to encompass a broader community development agenda.

In our hometown, we were pleased to be part of a City of Denver streetcar feasibility study that was completed earlier this year for a section of the legendary Colfax corridor. Colfax is Denver’s “Main Street”, a 26-mile former US highway that was featured in Jack Kerouac’s classic On The Road and has been the focus of a sustained revitalization effort for the past 30+ years. Our role was to evaluate economic development benefits from streetcar and assist in the public process.

The potential for streetcars on Colfax is notable for what it is, and what it is not. On the economic development side, we found limitations on spin-offs due primarily to the layout of the corridor. Unlike Portland’s Pearl District which offers redevelopment potential in full city blocks, Colfax has a relatively shallow commercial frontage along the corridor adjacent to Denver’s highest density residential neighborhoods. There is redevelopment potential, but the shallow lot depths limit the size and scale of new investment.

Meanwhile, it is the neighborhoods that offer the stunning case for Colfax streetcars. The lead transportation planners on the project, Fehr & Peers, found incredible ridership potential for streetcars. Currently, Colfax buses are the most heavily used in the city with more than 20,000 daily riders, rivaling Denver’s existing and planned light rail lines. Add streetcars coupled with the favorable demographics of the urban dwellers nearby, projections jump to over 30,000 daily riders. These estimates are nearly 10 times the ridership anticipated on some of the demonstration lines currently being funded mostly for economic development by the USDOT in cities such as Dallas or Charlotte.

The ridership case should help move Denver quickly up the federal funding food chain if the city chooses to further advance the concept.

Of Superstars, Basketball and Cities

2010-07-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

I’m a huge NBA basketball fan. As a somewhat athletically-challenged kid, basketball was the only one of the big American games that I tried to play. Since I didn’t have natural skills, I had to understand the game – passes, screens, the details. It’s a big reason I enjoy going to the games – I actually understand what they’re doing out there.

I’m also attracted to pro basketball because it is the most urban of our big sports. Every game is a celebration of urban culture, from the music, the energy, the diverse (allright, mostly black) make-up of the teams. The annual All-Star game is a showcase of the latest urban and hip-hop celebrity culture. Some cities connect their entire urban ego and “coming of age” on the line with the NBA – consider Oklahoma City’s Thunder or Sacramento’s Kings.

And then there’s Cleveland. I’m still struggling to figure out what exactly happened to the NBA and its convergence with urban identity last week. For seven years, Cleveland had a love affair with its locally grown superstar LeBron James. LeBron’s image was all over downtown, from tavern posters to giant billboards on the side of buildings. LeBron emerged as the fresh, hip, urban symbol of pride for a city that has been slowly regenerating over the past several decades. But last week LeBron bolted to Miami and the love affair was abruptly over. From the Cavaliers owner to the man on the street, it got ugly as LeBron was seen as sacrificing loyalty for greed. Was it possible that cities fortunes were also hanging in the balance? Did Cleveland decline, and Miami suddenly emerge as a great city?

The whole drama begs the question on how important sports franchises are to a city, and, in particular, its downtown. Scores of American cities have spent billions of dollars over the past couple of decades to build palatial stadia, mostly in central business districts. They have become essential elements to a city’s identity, and many (but not all) have become successful economic generators for spin-off restaurants, entertainment and housing.

The original appeal of sports franchises was not always about the money. Once upon a time, loyalty did matter and players committed to franchises for the duration of their careers. But the business model has changed. Today, it’s about salary caps, television contracts and endorsement revenue. Ironically, the stadiums have helped to change the culture of sports as the venue is a large part of the economic equation for both the franchise and the city.

LeBron leaving Cleveland may be the latest and starkest example of the modern professional sports business model, but it’s not the first. A big question is whether the fans will keep coming if the old values disappear entirely. Can we build an affinity to the local team if the local team has no affinity for us?

Vancouver – City of Circumstance?

2010-06-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to join 60 business and civic leaders and participate in the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Urban Exploration program. Following the completion of the Downtown Denver Area Plan in 2007, Urban Exploration is an annual study tour to a city that can provide inspiration for our civic efforts to realize our vision. Past visits have included Portland and Washington D.C. This year’s trip was to Vancouver.

Vancouver has become the gold standard for western American cities that are aiming to create a vital 24-hour downtown. Somewhat bland through the 1980s, Vancouver blossomed over the past 20 years. The downtown area now is home to nearly 90,000 residents and it has amenities that include extensive trails and parks, excellent schools, and stimulating dining and nightlife. Through a 48 hour series of meetings and tours, our task was to understand the combination of policies and market forces that created today’s Vancouver, and to see if there are applications to Denver.

On the policy side, former lead planner and Vancouver visionary Larry Beasley emphasized three major themes – “density, congestion and regulation are all our friends”. These constructs were translated into a series of policies that include:
• A “Living First Strategy” that aims to concentrate local private and public investment to support the creation of housing.
• A transportation and mobility policy that emphasizes, in order of priority, pedestrians, bikes, transit and lastly, cars.
• An aggressive regulatory environment that creates clear development guidelines and a design review process to elevate architectural excellence in construction. The approach, which is based upon an analysis of underlying real estate economics, aims to help steer developers toward maximizing value for both projects and the community-at-large.

These policies were created in the early 1990s, just in time for a market phenomenon that propelled the city into an aggressive development cycle. A massive flight of wealth from Hong Kong in anticipation of its annexation by China landed in Vancouver. According to Beasley, the wave of Asian investment was critical in implementing Vancouver’s progressive policies by accommodating a culture that already was accustomed to density, congestion and regulation and anxious to replicate the urbanized environment that it was leaving behind. In the 2000s, local market demand created a second wave of investment as the downtown became more desirable.

Back in Denver, a mantra of “density, congestion and regulation are our friends” is unlikely to be embraced. Plus, there are no prospects of a massive influx of capital anytime soon. But there are many pearls of wisdom that the Downtown Partnership group identified that could be incorporated into our own development planning, including:
• Continued emphasis on making downtown more inviting for pedestrians and bikes.
• Consideration of stronger design review standards and processes.
• Focus on creating residential amenities, such as a downtown school or a year-round public market.

All in all, Urban Exploration is a great way to advance the vision of Denver’s downtown plan and its civic ambitions.

Denver’s New Bike Share Program –Absolutely World Class

2010-05-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

The City of Denver launched its new B-Cycle program on Earth Day this year. It is a wonderful addition to the City’s transportation infrastructure and one of the most robust bike share programs in the country. Bike sharing has long been a part of the transportation infrastructure of European cities and becoming more popular in the States. Denver (thanks to its successful bike share pilot during the 2008 Democratic National Convention) is on the leading edge with a system of more than twenty stations linking downtown, some of the close-in urban neighborhoods and amenities like the Library, Botanic Gardens and Cherry Creek Mall. About 40% of all trips made in America each day are fewer than two miles long – the perfect length for a bicycle trip. B-Cycle is a fantastic way to run errands, get out at lunch or get to a meeting. It’s a marvelous combination of hardware - the bikes themselves are snappy red three-speed cruisers that come equipped with a lock and a basket; and software – the kiosks themselves tell you where available bikes are and where available docking stations are to return a bike. It’s designed so you can pick up a bike at any station and drop it at the same place or any other bike share location with an available dock. The City bills it as the “magic bike”: there when you need it and gone when you don’t. It costs $65 for a seasonal membership (March thru November). Perhaps the best $65 I’ve spent in a long time.

The Routes of Man

2010-05-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

It’s unusual to have a high school friend succeed as a critically acclaimed writer. It’s an added bonus when his latest book is relevant to your profession and can be enthusiastically recommended to your colleagues.

Ted Conover has used ethnographic research – prolonged immersion in a culture -- as a basis for five books. His subjects have included riding the rails with American hobos, venturing across the border with Mexican laborers, living the high life in Aspen and working as a prison guard in the notorious Sing Sing prison, a book that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Ted’s latest work was published this spring, The Routes of Man – How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today, and is of special interest to those of us that work in downtown and community development. In Routes of Man, Ted chronicles how roads are changing cultures around the globe – from the jungles of Peru, to the icy canyons of Kashmir, to the crazy car clubs of China. While planners tend to look at the nexus of transportation and land use in economic or technical terms, Ted is looking at this through a humanist lens. Through his intimate method of research, he explores how roads affect people, their way of life and their future.

I recently asked Ted which of the six road stories were most significant from his perspective. Tough question, as all of the journeys were impactful, but he did say that the most “eye opening” were the West Bank of Palestine, and the burgeoning metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria. In the West Bank, Ted found that the complex system of roads and checkpoints managed by Israel to control terrorism were creating a de facto territorial prison for Palestinians. Parallels to his earlier work in Sing Sing are fascinating.

The chapter on Lagos should be required reading for all downtown and community development professionals. 60 years ago Lagos had 288,000 people – today the number is more than 14 million and estimated to be 23 million by 2015. Lagos is a harbinger of the future as the world’s next giant cities will similarly emerge in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ted experiences Lagos from the ambulances that are stationed along key highways in order to respond to the inevitable carnage on the roads and to serve the impromptu medical needs of nearby residents. The accounts are harrowing, as are the descriptions of the extreme living conditions created by the oil wealth of the few and intense poverty of the many. Despite the chaos, there is a sense of social order to it all, and from the stories of everyday people, there is an underlying theme of hope that a better society will emerge.

Oklahoma!?

2010-05-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

The backdrop for this year’s National Main Street Conference (see yesterday’s PUMAblog post) is Downtown Oklahoma City, one of the nation’s most remarkable turnarounds for a mid-size downtown.

We first wrote about downtown OKC in our Fall 2000 newsletter. At the time, downtown was starting to reap the benefits from an unprecedented investment in center city amenities. The Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPs) initiative was a civic response to bolster OKC’s economic development competitiveness. In the early 1990s, the city lost several high profile corporate relocation efforts, in part due to the community’s sub-par quality of life. To reverse this, voters approved a sales tax increase to create an initial $350 million investment in a variety of improvements concentrated in downtown, including a canal and riverwalk, baseball stadium, library and arena. We were engaged to help form a downtown business improvement district (BID).

In this capitol of the reddest of red states, two subsequent MAPs sales tax votes have been approved, the latest this past December. The current MAPs plan will finance $770 million in civic improvements, including a 70-acre downtown park, a new convention center and a streetcar system.

The private sector is also participating in the transformation of downtown. Recent projects have included housing and hotels. A 50 story $750 million office tower, the tallest currently under construction in the country (see image), is being built by OKC-based Devon Energy. The city’s largest companies partnered to purchase the young NBA Thunder franchise which surprisingly made the first round of the playoffs further elevating civic pride.

Guiding downtown improvements is Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., a management and marketing organization that includes BID, special events and community development business centers. It is led by CEO Jane Jenkins who has more than 20 years of experience in downtown management. New DOKC VP Tom Verploegen brings another 20+ years of experience from leading the downtown organization in Mesa, Arizona. Add in VP Kathy Ford-Wallis and DOKC has one of the most experienced teams of any downtown organization in the nation.

We recently had the pleasure of working in Oklahoma City once again, crafting a strategic plan for DOKC and a business plan to guide the next ten years of the BID.

Keep an eye on Downtown OKC – inspiring change from an unlikely place.

Recession’s Nadir Hits Main Street

2010-05-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

This week I’ve been attending the annual conference sponsored by the National Main Street Center , this year held in Oklahoma City. I co-presented “Creating BIDs in Challenging Times” with Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. colleague Jane Jenkins, and generally soaked in the conference vibe.

Main Street is one of two major nationwide organizations focused on downtown revitalization, the other being the International Downtown Association. Main Street offers a trademarked “Four Point Approach” template for downtowns in rural markets and neighborhood business districts in cities. Headquartered in Washington DC, Main Street’s business model relies upon a confederation of state networks that coordinate locally-based programs. The program is heavily reliant on state and local government funding, a dependency that is painfully visible during this conference.

First, attendance is down more than 50% from past conferences to about 900 delegates. Monday night the six members of the Colorado delegation met for dinner, reduced from our past confabs of more than 20. Strained budgets at both the local and state levels are the top reason for lower attendance.

Second, the recession’s impact dominates informal chatter throughout this conference. Due to the time needed for lower sales and property values to creep through the tax collection system, the full impact of the recession on local government has been delayed by 18 to 24 months. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been running into this dynamic everywhere – from our current client communities spread from Minnesota to Hawaii, to the daily deluge of grim headlines in the listserv provided by the International City Management Association.

Despite evidence that economic recovery has started, there is tough sailing ahead for local and state supported Main Street programs. It is probably a good time to rethink the Main Street business model, although that is not a topic of discussion here. Certainly more emphasis on diversifying revenue for local Main Street programs through business improvement districts, downtown development authorities and community development corporations should be front and center. Public/private partnerships seem essential to sustain statewide Main Street networks. Colorado’s unique model with the non-profit Downtown Colorado Inc. attracting a mix of federal, state and private sector funding appears to be fairing better than most.

PowerPoint: Friend or Foe?

2010-04-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

This week I entered the PowerPoint Twilight Zone.

On Monday, I was one of five speakers using four different PowerPoint presentations at the annual meeting of the Downtown Berkeley Association. Fortunately, the audience was kind as we navigated between presentations and provided an onslaught of information during a one hour tour of perhaps 200 slides. The one speaker without the PowerPoint assist was quite smug about her extemporaneous capabilities from the Old School.

On Tuesday, while Goldman execs were denying culpability in the global economic meltdown and the Republicans were blocking financial reforms, the number one emailed story in the New York Times was “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint”. The story talks about the pervasive use of PowerPoint in the Pentagon and how the military establishment has become addicted to the popular Microsoft software. PowerPoint presentations are everywhere and full time staff members are focused solely on slide production. Military planners are lamenting that the reliance on PowerPoint is dumbing down their ability to fully evaluate options, inter-connections and nuance – decisions are being made by bullet points and incomprehensible flow charts (see image above). And these are decisions on whether to wage war, or not.

As a consultant, this all hits close to home. We have grown to rely on PowerPoint to help facilitate public meetings and present our ideas to governing bodies. As a member of the last generation that went to college with a typewriter, I am amused when a junior associate freaks when the projector doesn’t work, or the computer crashes. Yet, the power of PowerPoint in what we do is undeniable.

Given that PowerPoint is likely to stick around for awhile, perhaps the best tip sheet I’ve seen for an effective presentation came from a July 2009 issue of PM Magazine, a professional journal of the International City Management Association. In “Avoiding Death by PowerPoint”, Corbin Ball, a Washington state consultant, offers the following suggestions:

1. Limit the number of words on each slide to 15
2. Use a bold, simple and large font
3. Use transitions wisely
4. Avoid stock templates
5. Choose a design template where the words are easily distinguished from the background
6. Let the audience know where you are going
7. Use a wireless advance mechanism
8. Use pictures and graphs

PowerPoint may not be Zen, but it doesn’t have to be insufferable either.

Herbal Renewal

2010-04-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was walking near our Lower Downtown Denver office when I ran into an acquaintance that I knew as a building contractor in the 1990s. After taking a beating in the upscale custom home market, Don was eager to show me his new retail venture. Housed in a historic storefront, Don is opening a deli, and in the basement, he proudly toured me through the “Lodo Wellness Center” – a medical marijuana dispensary that displays a variety of labeled buds, food products and hand-held appliances.

Colorado, California and 12 other states have passed medical marijuana laws, and coupled with lax enforcement by the Obama administration, there has been a proliferation of retail outlets. 2009 was not exactly a banner year for retail, but in Denver, more than 350 dispensaries opened and in Los Angeles the number of outlets is estimated at about 1,000. Assuming roughly 2,000 square feet each, that’s 700,000 square feet of mostly storefront space in Denver, 2.5 million in LA. Factor in rents averaging $15 per year in Denver that’s $10.5 million, in LA at $25 per foot its $62.5 million. In rent. Each year.

To get a sense of the phenomenon and its potential influence on commercial real estate, I was recently enlightened by the April 1 issue of Rolling Stone, certainly a credible source on the subject. “Marijuana America” is an investigative article that looks at how the pot industry is rapidly changing as the country tilts toward legalization -- From the small grower in California’s Humboldt County, to the Med Grow Cannabis College that teaches best practices in Detroit, and to The Farmacy retail chainlet in Venice Beach and LA.

The economic impact and value of the industry is staggering, and much like the end of liquor prohibition during the Great Depression, pot legalization makes a compelling dollars and cents argument in the Great Recession. The US is currently paying an estimated $42 billion per year from a combination of the costs of enforcement and lost tax revenue from a regulated marijuana industry. Over a decade, this would pay for nearly one half of recent federal health care legislation.

Legalization has downsides including potentially broadening drug abuse, and, interestingly, the danger that an industry currently composed of entrepreneurs could be consolidated into a handful of major corporations just like the liquor industry. But it is a debate, and perhaps a trend, that is not going away. It also presents a potential retail reality that downtowns and neighborhood business districts should prepare for.

Cleveland’s Compelling Community Co-ops

2010-04-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last month, I was in Cleveland to participate in a foundation-sponsored event to promote the success of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s effort to renew its BID. At the event I was able to catch up with a program director for the Cleveland Foundation that is leading the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative, a ground-breaking and replicable model for community economic development that has applications for both downtowns and neighborhood business districts.

The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative is based upon creating community-owned businesses to provide basic goods and services for large anchor companies that typically export dollars. In the case of Cleveland, the program is built around the economic heft of the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. Despite the robust standing of these world-class institutions, the surrounding neighborhoods are perpetually challenged with low incomes and disinvestment.

To break this cycle, the Cleveland Foundation and its partners (which include other foundations, local government and federal agencies) identified nearly $3 billion in spending that the anchor institutions annually send out of Cleveland. To capture some of these funds locally, neighborhood cooperative businesses are being formed to serve the major institutions. The cooperative model allows local residents to earn an ownership stake in the business, helping to break the cycle of poverty and ensuring the business’s commitment to stay in a specific geographic area. Maximizing their long term chances for success, businesses are oriented to capitalize on emerging green economies. Seed funds for the businesses are provided by the foundations, federal grants and creative use of tools such as New Market Tax Credits. Businesses are expected to be profitable, recycling business loans into a revolving fund for future business start-ups.

Two businesses have already been launched – a commercial laundry and a home weatherization company that will also produce surplus solar energy. Two businesses to be launched this year include a 5-acre hydroponic greenhouse and a community media company integrating print and online formats. The program has recently been featured in a variety of national and international publications, from Business Week to The Economist.

The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative offers incredible inspiration for downtowns and business districts throughout the nation. Most of our business districts have large economic anchors – a branch of government, a hospital, an educational institution or a large corporation. The procurement model that asks these anchors to spend locally for goods and services could benefit existing businesses as well as help incubate new businesses. The cooperative ownership structure is also compelling, particularly in communities that suffer from chronic unemployment and disinvestment.

Welcome Guest Blogger(s)!

2010-04-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to invite clients, colleagues and friends to add to PUMAblog when and if you get the passion to pontificate.

Today, Rena Leddy, executive director of the Town Green District in New Haven CT provides insight from her bi-coastal experience during the Great Recession. Is the east approaching this differently than the west? Are Californian's too relaxed, New Englanders too uptight? Read Rena's post and decide...

If you'd like to take a shot a composing a blog (only request is that posts be relevant to the downtown and community development world) please email me at brad@pumaworldhq.com so that I can create a login for you.

East vs. West & The Great Recession

2010-04-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

by guest blogger, Rena Leddy, ED Town Green District, New Haven CT

Nearly every city and state is deep in debt with high deficits, but how they come out of it may depend on sociological and personal traits. Having grown up in Connecticut, lived in southern California and moved back to Connecticut, I am all too aware of the many character differences. I feel a bit like I’ve been whip- lashed after growing up here, spending five years in Los Angeles and coming back to the East Coast during the worst financial crisis since the Depression.

Look, we know there are obvious differences between the East Coast and the West Coast – the East Coast has humidity and long winters and is more densely populated. The West Coast is drier, sunnier and more spread out. On the East Coast, we are outspoken and probably more conservative. On the West Coast, people tend to be more laid back and more liberal. On the East Coast, we are always rushing, aiming for the top – working hard– perhaps our Puritan roots. West Coasters may play harder than East Coasters. Of course there is also the difference between East Coast pizza and West Coast pizza (I prefer the East Coast Pizza – I am in New Haven” the Pizza Capital”, after all). And, they tell me there’s a difference between East Coast Rap Music and West Coast Rap. But, are there differences in how we are dealing with the “Great Recession”? Is one Coast going to come out of the recession quicker than the other coast? Due to our sociological and demographical differences, how are cities and states handling the recession differently? Will these differences cause cities and states to handle massive budget deficits, politics and policies differently?

I don’t know the answer to the question, but it’s made me think. I think that the East Coast’s perception of the recession is “darker” perhaps more pessimistic. Some believe we have it the worst. But, we also have a hard work ethic. The West Coast has it just as badly; in California it may be even worse. Yet, Californians seem to understand that the whole country is in this recession, the whole world is for that matter. There is a feeling on the West Coast that we will get out of this and then we will go on about our lives. No worries.

So, if one feels dire– does one give up or make rash decisions or is there a greater sense of urgency and responsibility that allows for quick innovative changes in government? Or, if one feels less dire -- does one not pay too much attention to the issues or are they able to feel less paralyzed and therefore make quick, innovative changes in government?

What do you think? How are your cities and states reacting differently to the recession and the financial crisis? What are the implications for BIDs?

The Health Care Vote and BIDs

2010-03-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Last fall, I had the privilege of presenting our “Top Ten Global Trends Affecting Downtowns” research at a conference of downtown managers in Australia. While the presentation looks at demographics, lifestyles and global competition, nearly all of the questions from the audience related to America’s health care system and proposed reforms. The audience was reacting to a presentation slide that indicated that Aussies, with an average life expectancy of 81, spend about 8% of GDP on government-managed health care, while in the U.S., with an average life expectancy of 78, we spent 14% (now 17%) of GDP on our insurance-managed model.

I then found myself trying to explain the U.S. system to a completely perplexed audience. Out-of-pocket costs, denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, the difficulty of entrepreneurs to obtain insurance and other examples were incomprehensible to an audience that had health care as a birthright and absolutely no stress over affordability.

To simplify the issue to the group, I generalized that in the U.S. we have emphasized policies that favor the individual over the collective during the past 30 years. In the case of health care, as an individual, one may purchase the best health services and products available; however, if one could not afford it, you’re pretty much out of luck. I then suggested that our country was at an important crossroads since many of our pressing problems – health care, education, energy independence, etc.– require a collective response to solve. At the time, I was doubtful that we could shift and that the future of the American empire was probably hanging in the balance.

The challenge of shifting from individual to collective approaches has also had me reflect on the success of the hundreds of business improvement districts (BIDs) in the U.S. About one-third of our work at P.U.M.A. is related to creating and renewing BIDs in downtowns. Even in the throes of the Great Recession, we’ve seen success in advancing BID formation and renewal in cities as diverse as Cleveland, Columbia MO and Fresno. Forming a BID creates a collective response (and tax) from a group of individuals. Moreover, these individuals, as property and business owners, tend to be pretty conservative folks. Perhaps the same principles that lead to BID success can be applied to our national policy challenges? These principles include:
• Clear goals and well defined benefits
• Results-based programs
• Disciplined budgets
• Transparency and accountability
• Measurable results

Time will tell if today’s historic vote on health care signals a shift in our national outlook from the individual to the collective. We may, in our collective wisdom, throw the bums out in the November elections and start over.

A Management Manifesto for Business Districts

2010-03-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Spring 2010 PUMA newsletter is now available as a download on our website. We’ve gotten a great response to this issue, a feature article that provides “A Management Framework for Downtowns and Commercial Districts”.

The idea for the article came out of a conversation with Tim Martinez, a program manager with Denver’s Office of Economic Development. Tim was having difficulty recommending the right set of tools for different business districts that he is advising throughout the city. There are a variety of options, ranging from special districts to tax increment financing to membership associations. We discussed how the different tools can be matched to the different stages of evolution of a business district. A blighted district may be better matched for public-driven tools such as a redevelopment agency or an entrepreneurial community development corporation, while a mature district could support private-initiated tools such as a business improvement district or events production company.

The result of this conversation grew into the article that matches both the tools and the form of the toolbox to business districts in three stages of evolution – stagnant, growing and mature. The framework evolved from our recent work advising citywide business district development programs in both Denver and Oklahoma City. Tim responds “This is a great resource that I have passed around and would like to utilize further. Much of what we are doing at this point is introducing the idea to business owners and planting the seed and seeing who steps up as a champion.”

If you visit the website to grab the newsletter, be sure to check out the updated PUMA team photo. The picture was taken from the rooftop of the historic Oxford Hotel in Lower Downtown Denver. The Hotel is next door to our worldHQ where we have been happily based for more than 16 years.

Movies on My Mind

2010-03-01T21:27:00.001-08:00

With the Oscars approaching, I am succombing to the marketing and catching up on the expanded list of contenders. This weekend we took in District 9, a science fiction finalist for best picture which has some fascinating ties to urban development, plus jogs my own memory of other films relevant to our field.

District 9 is not recommended for the faint of heart. Punctuated with graphic violence and creepy crustacian aliens, and shot in a realistic documentary style, the movie explores many unsettling urban themes including racial (or in this case specie) intolerance and spatial management to change undesirable behaviors. To move a million despised aliens from a ghetto outside of current-day Johannesburg, the plot employs failed urban renewal and slum relocation schemes that were commonly used in many of our cities in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. A contemporary twist is added as the government uses a contract-for-services arrangement with a multi-national corporation to carry out the unsavory resettlements.

Here are other movies that I regularly recommend to colleagues in the downtown and community development world...

Chinatown, nominated for 11 Acadamy Awards and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, looks at how corruption and graft played a role in the development of the San Fernando Valley through the sale of Los Angeles water rights in the 1930s.

Atlantic City, starring an old Burt Lancaster and a young Susan Sarandon, is set amidst a fascinating back drop of a decaying Atlantic City, New Jersey, which continues to slip despite the promise of an economic boost from a rapidly expanding gaming industry.

Anyone out there willing to share others?

Changes At P.U.M.A.

2010-01-31T16:28:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to introduce Jill Mendoza as the newest member of the P.U.M.A. team! Starting in March, Jill will provide project support for our downtown management, planning and community development practices. Her specialties include strategic planning, economic development and marketing strategies, and market research.

Prior to joining P.U.M.A., Jill served as executive director for the Jackson Downtown Development Corporation in Jackson, Tenn., where she managed all facets of a non-profit economic development organization. She is experienced in the Main Street Four-Point Approach™ that includes program management in design, promotions, economic restructuring and organization. Jill’s prior work experience was in corporate marketing, including the development of strategies designed to target the Hispanic market segment.

Jill holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz., and a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. Jill is a Denver native and has also resided in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Anna Jones has been appointed Vice President at P.U.M.A. Anna, who this week will join the board of directors of Downtown Colorado Inc., is mid-way through her tenth year with our firm.

Former associate Jamie Licko has left P.U.M.A. to form her own consulting practice Centro Inc. We wish Jamie the best in her new endeavor.

Hacks, Pander Bears and Narcissists Need Not Apply!

2010-01-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Colorado's Democratic Party politics were turned upside-down earlier this month as incumbant Governor Bill Ritter announced he would not run for re-election. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has stepped up to become the Dem's new candidate, and while he will remain Mayor while he campaigns for Governor, the chain of events has set off fierce speculation on the future of Denver's Mayoral post.

In today's Denver Post, Susan Barnes-Gelt, a former city councilwoman, writes an opinion piece entitled "Denver's Next Mayor" that provides an issue framework that is relevant for local governments well beyond the Mountain Time Zone. In her column, Barnes-Gelt outlines five critical challenges that will be confronted by Denver's next Mayor, and I would speculate by leaders of all major cities through the U.S.:

Denver has an exceptional track record in approving bond issues to invest in itself, but Barnes-Gelt wonders whether ongoing fiscal challenges from the Great Recession will stifle this civic appetite.
A growing importance on innovation and public/private partnerships to adapt to a new and still evolving government revenue model.
Governing in a more polarized society, in Denver's case between the rich and poor.
Helping to fix an increasingly dysfuctional public school system.
Building upon Hickenlooper's impressive track record in regional cooperation which will be more critical in an era that demands regional solutions to many problems.

And how can you beat Barnes-Gelt's instantly classic closing line on who should step up to be Mayor? "Political hacks, pander bears and self-important narcissists need not apply"!

Hollywood Looks to the Future

2010-01-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate a strategic planning retreat for the board of directors of the Hollywood Entertainment District. The organization manages a business improvement district (BID) that maintains, secures and markets Hollywood Boulevard, one of the most recognizable stretches of real estate on the planet.

Like downtowns and business districts throughout the nation, Hollywood Boulevard has been hit hard by the recession. Uncertainty in the general economy is further aggrevated by drastic budget cuts affecting the City of Los Angeles. The City's Redevelopment Agency, which has been active in Hollywood, has had its coffers gutted by the State as it tries to plug its own yawning budget gap. In this context, one of the Hollywood Entertainment District's concerns is to make sure that the BID's effectiveness is not diluted by service demands created by shrinking local government services.

The top priority from the board retreat was to focus more on the aesthetics of Hollywood Boulevard, including both streetscape and storefronts. To advance this priority, and to create opportunities within the unstable economic and political environment, the board was intrigued by the notion of creating a non-profit community development corporation (CDC) subsidiary. The CDC option offers the following advantages for Hollywood Boulevard:

• Provide organizational focus and expertise on improving district aesthetics
• Diversify funding for both operations and projects through access to charitable and government grants, earned income through services and projects, and contract-for-service opportunities with the city and redevelopment agency
• Create the ability to target resources to specific properties
• Allow the organization to work within and beyond the boundaries of the BID
• Provide flexibility to respond to opportunities that a changing market may bring

In addition to traditional CDC functions, it could also provide leverage and new options with the City. It's a useful tool that other downtown organizations and BIDs may want to consider.

Help for Haiti

2010-01-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

We've all been distressed by the images and stories pouring out of Haiti after the catastrophic earthquake. This is also an urban disaster, and the challenges from a community development perspective are overwhelming.

To figure out how to help, I contacted my graduate school roommate who's family is from Haiti. Fortunately, Bob's family is OK ("so far" he qualifies). I asked Bob if he could suggest the best place to send a check -- he responded with Yele Haiti, a foundation formed by Haitian hip hop artist Wyclef Jean. Bob thought this would be the best bet since the organization has an excellent track record and already has a distribution system in place to immediately distribute aid. It's mission is also remarkably similar to what many of us do in our downtown and community development work: "To create small-scale, manageable and replicable projects to contribute to Haiti’s long-term progress. Projects are designed to make a difference in the fields of education, health, environment and community development."

If you've been searching for a meaningful way to respond, perhaps Bob's advice can help you too.

Article of the Year

2009-12-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

Throughout the year, we've shared articles of downtown and community development interest from a variety of sources, including the New York Times, APA's Planning magazine and Brookings.

But by far the article that I've recommended most to dozens of colleagues and friends comes from Rolling Stone. The Great American Bubble Machine, by political reporter Matt Taibbi, is the clearest explanation of the recession's finanical crisis that I've seen. By documenting the antics of Goldman Sachs, the now notorious Wall Street investment banking firm, Taibbi follows a path of speculation and greed beginning in the Great Depression. The telling of recent investment bubbles that led to the finanicial crisis, starting with tech stocks in the late 1990s, the syndication of housing mortgages and finally wild speculation in the commodity markets is enlightening and disturbing. Taibbi also looks ahead, with investment banks already getting ready to rig the carbon credit system that is anticipated from new climate change legislation. It's required reading for anyone trying to get a better grip on the crazy economic events of the past year, and offers a preview of coming attractions.

Perhaps a fitting way to say goodbye to 2009?

Here's to a festive holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead!

Melbourne Is Denver 2027

2009-10-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

Completed in 2007, the Downtown Denver Area Plan provides a vision for our center city through 2027. To develop the plan, Denver looked at several North American cities for inspiration, including Portland and Vancouver. We should have also looked squarely at Melbourne.

In all of my visits to cities throughout North America and beyond, perhaps 200 of them, I have never seen the future potential of my hometown embodied in a comparable downtown until yesterday.

The historical and physical similarities between Denver and Melbourne are striking. Both were founded by gold rushes in the 1850s. Both are grids, both grids are set at a 45 degree angle from the remainder of the city. Both are situated along rivers. Melbourne today has roughly 3.5 million inhabitants, about the projected regional population for Denver by 2027.

When driving into downtown from the airport, the first impression of Melbourne is unremarkable. Aussie’s share America’s car culture, and its big cities, including Melbourne, are sprawling. Entering downtown, the main boulevards are wide and attractive like many American cities.

But get out of the car and start walking around on a bright Saturday afternoon, and wow, what an exhilarating experience. The sensual overload includes literally thousands of people on the streets, walking through thriving inter-connected and multi-dimensional office, retail, restaurant, entertainment and civic districts. Melbourne offers a vision of vitality for Denver, and a key to its success, which could over time be replicated in Denver, is in its streets. Melbourne’s streets, which set the stage for the built environment, include the following wonderful qualities:

• The rectangular downtown consists of a lattice of about 10 streets, both east-west and north-south. The east-west streets offer an iterative pattern of a grand boulevard followed by a narrow two lane street (i.e. Collins Street, then Little Collins, Bourke Street, then Little Bourke, etc.). The narrow streets create great pedestrian scale packed with small shops and restaurants. Further breaking the grid are north-south alleys and connectors in the middle of blocks, many closed to traffic. New development, including large shopping malls and office towers, continue the pattern of alleys and connectors. Also encouraged are half-alleys or alcoves that provide further surprises and spaces for retail and dining. The result is what appears on the map as a downtown of super blocks is actually a network of alleys, connectors and alcoves that is more akin to a medieval European pattern.

• Melbourne has many extra wide streets, but efficiently breaks up the space both for cars and bikes. On many streets on the periphery of downtown, cars can park in the middle of the street (reminiscent to, of all places, downtown Fort Collins). Dedicated bike lanes are provided on major thoroughfares, adjacent to the sidewalks and protected from the vehicular lanes by a small median.

• Streetcars are everywhere. Downtown Melbourne’s streetcar network runs through each of the grand boulevards, effectively connecting neighborhoods to downtown, and to the regional rail network that leads on to the suburbs.

In Denver, new treatments for our wide downtown streets could be implemented soon. Bringing circulation and texture into the grid would take more time, but there are opportunities in the alleys of Lower Downtown and along some of the named streets identified in the Downtown Plan, such as California and Curtis Streets. Melbourne offers that vision today of what we could become tomorrow.

Impressions from Down Under

2009-10-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

I’m in Australia, on my way to speak at the annual conference of the International Cities Town Centres & Communities Society, which focuses on town center management in Australia and New Zealand. Ruth and I are turning this opportunity into a two week tour of Australia, including time in Sydney and Melbourne, the country’s two major urban centers.

My first impression is how remote this place is. For 14 continuous hours from San Francisco to Sydney, one flies over the endless expanse of the Pacific only to suddenly meet the eastern coast of the continent, which rises like a vast flat shelf. A visit to the Australian National Maritime Museum provided a great sense of this isolation as it relates to the country’s history and development – prior to air travel, the distance was measured in months, not hours.

Despite the distance, Sydney seems like a bustling western American city – I’m thinking Seattle if it was moved to California. The downtown is a vital world business center, and includes a large high rise commercial district with a sprinkling of impressive historic structures. My favorite urban space was the ferry harbor, Circular Quay, which retains its vitality and historic sense of purpose despite being dominated by high rises and the nearby iconic Opera House. Sydney has created a second waterfront through a classic redevelopment of a former shipping area, Darling Harbour. It includes a number of tourist destinations (a fantastic aquarium, IMAX, etc.) and several large mixed-use projects. Well done, but not terribly distinctive.

We were able to venture into nearby neighborhoods, and much like Seattle, Sydney’s urban neighborhoods are compact, walkable and anchored by thriving neighborhood commercial districts. And since I’ve taken the liberty of moving Seattle to the south, Sydney’s beach communities of Bondi and Manley were highlights, and very reminiscent of some of California’s older authentic beach towns.

In Sydney, I had the opportunity to meet with state government planners from the New South Wales planning office. My presentation focused on downtown trends, but the subsequent discussion centered on Denver’s regional transportation system. Like Seattle, Sydney’s road system is constricted by its seafront topography and traffic congestion is a big problem. Also similar to Seattle, Sydney has struggled to reach a regional transportation solution. The planners were fascinated by Denver’s FasTracks model based upon a regionally-supported sales tax and characterized by transit stations in relatively undeveloped areas that are being embraced by most localities.

The Fuss Over Denver's Living Streets

2009-10-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

When we were first commissioned to undertake an economic benefits analysis of Denver's Living Streets program late last year, we were intrigued but didn't really know where the road would lead. Living Streets is Denver's version of the international "complete streets" movement that aims to rethink the design of vehicular corridors to accommodate a variety of modes, including pedestrians, bikes and transit. Anna waxes eloquently about the concept in her post dated August 18.

This past week the Living Streets debate was surprisingly elevated. On Tuesday, the Denver Post business section featured an article on the Living Streets concept and the economic benefits study. The next day, the Post featured an editorial urging caution over the concept and feared that some of our most congested (and ugly) corridors could be unduly compromised. By Thursday morning, the Mayor was being challenged by a conservative radio talk show host on the concept. All of this was occuring while Denver Planning & Public Works staffs were convening a series of Living Streets community workshops.

For an urban design concept, the newspaper articles stirred a lot of community comments -- 40 by today's count. I realize that many of these comments are by folks who perhaps have a little too much time on their hands, but I was struck by the apparent ideological division. To me, those fearing Living Streets mirror conservative voices that are desperately trying to hold on to an idealized vision of the later half of the Twentieth century that is rapidly disappearing. Those embracing Living Streets echo progressives that are more open to change and see the connection between urban design, healthier lifestyles and economic development.

In any event, the controversy is helping to create a lively discussion on this city's future, which can only be good.

Opportunity in Paradise

2009-09-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

With more than 2 million tourists being delivered annually from cruise ships, one would think that downtown Nassau has it made. But that isn’t exactly the case. Despite its historic lore and the instant sizzle of its name, downtown has suffered from many of the same afflictions as American cities, including retail competition from suburban-style shopping formats and the depopulation of the center city. As a tourist destination, downtown struggles to compete with nearby Atlantis – the theme-park style resort that is one of the most expansive on the planet.

Downtown Nassau’s conundrum – its inability to prosper despite being the busiest cruise ship port in the Caribbean – became the most notable question following a presentation I made yesterday. I was asked how to combat the cruise ship companies’ tendency to promote specific stores and port attractions. My response was to forget about what happens on the boat, and take control of the destination.

Since 2006, we have been working off and on to help create a new downtown management organization in Nassau. The opportunity is extraordinary, but the challenges are formidable – downtown is congested, lacks parking, has a one dimensional tourist retail base and is poorly marketed.

Enter the Downtown Nassau Partnership, the latest and most promising effort to bring state-of-the-art downtown management practices to this unpolished gem. This time a supportive national government, motivated private sector and talented staff are working together to launch a new revitalization initiative. Converging plans include an urban design vision for a more walkable downtown, and a business plan that will create both the toolbox and tools to steer revitalization. It’s a great project, with the opportunity to build a downtown management organization from scratch that includes all the bells and whistles from the best practices in North America – part BID, part CDC, part redevelopment authority – all public/private partnership.

The key to success will be creating a place that re-engages Bahamians with their downtown. Arts, culture and entertainment appear to be near term opportunities that could provide the spark for renewal. If the locals become re-engaged, then certainly the cruise ship passengers will find a more authentic and pleasing experience. And finally, downtown Nassau will find its place in the sun.

Leaving Milwaukee...

2009-09-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the air between Milwaukee and Nassau, parting reflections on the IDA conference and the host city…

A personal highlight was the three hour bike tour on Saturday. What a great way to see a city! The guided tour meandered through established neighborhoods north of downtown, along the impressive lakefront park and into downtown’s historic Third Ward. Much like Denver’s Lodo and other great downtown historic districts, the Third Ward has an impressive intact collection of mid-rise nineteenth century warehouses that have been converted to edgy retail, restaurant and loft spaces. A deviation from the itinerary to sample some local brew made the tour complete.

The conference receptions and venues, in typical Beth Nicols style (CEO of the Downtown BID), were memorable. We had full access into each of three amazing buildings, including the modern public market that is a great prototype for what is being considered in Denver, Milwaukee’s extraordinary City Hall building (circa 1895) that has a floor to ceiling atrium and an ornate City Council Chamber, and the spectacular lakefront art museum designed by architect Santiago Calatrava.

Physically, downtown Milwaukee is a gem with distinctive architecture and a superb pedestrian riverwalk that winds through it. However, I was struck by the emptiness of the streets at night. Milwaukee’s attractions, including major civic venues, restaurants and clubs, are scattered about, without a critical mass that can create a healthy nighttime vibe. Like many large midwest and eastern cities that have lost population over the past 50 years, Milwaukee has great raw material but a long road ahead to backfill empty real estate with residents, retail and jobs.

The mood of the conference was serious, given the backdrop of the recession, but upbeat. There is a sense that now is the time to get downtown programs and organizations recalibrated, an opportunity to innovate and update business models that need to be aimed into new directions. As always, it was great to reconnect with IDA colleagues and Milwaukee offered an intriguing urban laboratory.

Adapting to the "New Normal"

2009-09-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

For those of us who believe the recession marks a serious realignment in consumer patterns, evidence, hope and opportunity were provided by this morning's speaker in Milwaukee, Rebecca Ryan, president of Next Generation Consulting. Ryan, who's company website will tell you she's a "human sparkplug" is a motivational futurist who has cornered the market on informatiion about the millennial generation.

This morning, Ryan used demographic data and trends to suggest that this recession marks a turning point in generational change, wealth and values. We are entering a "new normal" where the old rules don't apply, and unlike the suggestions from yesterday's retail panel, consumers are likely to have new expectations as opposed to short memories that quickly revert to the past.

To meet the expectations and capture the opportunities from emerging markets, Ryan suggests several benchmarks with the primary objective of reclaiming cities for people. Key benchmarks include...

Provide diverse price points for downtown living -- entry level housing is needed to lure young households.
Provide both quality and diversity in job opportunities -- millennials will likely try many occupations.
Healthy communities that provide a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities will be more desirable.
Learning opportunities should be provided in a variety of venues and formats.
Creating easy access, reducing congestion and providing alternative modes of transportation are critical.
Downtowns need to be inclusive, embracing social diversity.
Provide a stimulating environment, including active nightlife.

I drank Ryan's koolaid, perhaps because her conclusions are consistent with the Global Trends analysis that we undertook a couple of years ago and continue to espouse. I also bought her book "Live First, Work Second" and look forward to learning (and sharing) more.

The Great Downtown Retail Debate

2009-09-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the most prominent American retail consultants in the downtown world debated approaches in front of a packed room this morning in Milwaukee. Mike Berne (MJB Consulting), Midge McCauley (Downtown Works) and Susan Snyder (CivicVisions) offered spirited responses to a variety of questions that were informative, sometimes perplexing and occasionally insufferably promotional. The main attraction was the faceoff between McCauley (the self-proclaimed pioneer in the field) and Berne (the self-proclaimed innovator) who are fierce competitors in the industry. Several informative themes emerged that can help guide retail development strategies in downtowns, including…

Three components for developing a downtown retail strategy are getting a handle on the nuances of market demand (Berne), creating a merchandising plan to guide healthy mix (McCauley), and creating a unique and welcoming experience (Snyder).
The need to include landlords in the implementation of any successful retail strategy, particularly as partners to attract innovative retail concepts. McCauley noted that a sales pitch to gain landlord buy-in is that participating in a mix strategy can lead to greater value appreciation down the road.
All panelists agreed that the recession can also provide a necessary correction to ease out struggling or dated retail concepts. Berne noted that efforts should be focused on the handful of tenants that are “too important to fail” – critical businesses that contribute to the area’s identity, reputation and/or cache.
Snyder reminded the room that retail is only one component of a broader downtown revitalization strategy and that a merchandising plan should support downtown’s overall vision and strategic direction.

I found a couple of panel’s responses perplexing, including…
Agreement that past consumption patterns are likely to return and that consumers have “short memories”. I disagree, whether taking a cue from Japan’s “lost decade” or simply looking at American demographic changes, there is compelling evidence that our past era of conspicuous consumption is shifting to more frugal and sustainable patterns. This shift should affect retail strategies and shake up the traditional approaches and formulas from the past.
McCauley and Snyder supported the notion of regulatory controls (i.e. zoning) to compel retail on the ground floor of retail districts. Except for a handful of extraordinary successful districts, prescriptive zoning can discourage investment entirely (particularly in a recessionary economy) and does not guarantee the quality of the resulting retail.

Overall, with the exception of some sniping over the definition of a “chainlet” (Berne’s term for local multi-location stores, McCauley claimed she had never heard of it) the panel was low on drama, but high on substance and delivery.

On The Way to Milwaukee…

2009-09-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

I’m 35,000 feet above somewhere between Denver and Milwaukee, on the way to the International Downtown Association’s annual conference. This year I’m going to test drive the blog and hopefully post a few worthwhile observations over the next few days.

In the air on 9/11, something that would have given pause a few years back. We all have our own personal 9/11 memories, but collectively in the downtown community it brought on a period of anxiety and uncertainty. Would the era of the skyscraper be over? Would decentralization of corporations pull jobs from our city centers? Would concrete Jersey barriers remain on our sidewalks forever? And would anyone want to live in an urban area that could become an easy target? In 2001, we met two weeks after 9/11 in Pittsburgh, a smaller-than-usual IDA gathering, and certainly one overshadowed by the shock of the day.

Fortunately, eight years later, our fears did not come true. Throughout the decade downtowns have continued to be strengthened, attracting more jobs, residents, entertainment venues and regional amenities. Underlying trends in demographics, lifestyles and global competition are strongly favoring the center city location.

Today we gather in Milwaukee in another era of uncertainly, in the depths (hopefully!) of the Great Recession. But I don’t arrive with the same anxieties and uncertainties of eight years ago, convinced that this unusual time marks a change in consumption patterns and societal values that, in the long term, will continue to strengthen our downtowns. We’ll see if the Milwaukee crowd agrees…

Healthy Communities Smorgasbord

2009-09-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Coincidentally, while Jamie enthusiastically posts about the attributes of San Jose’s new downtown Safeway (perhaps inspired in part by the store’s extensive wine section “waiting to be consumed”?), I am devouring the September issue of the American Planning Association’s Planning magazine that offers a collection of articles looking at where food, health and urban planning intersect. There are fascinating reads on how planners can foster urban gardening, fresh food and family farming in a variety of contexts. It also demonstrates how health organizaitons are becoming big players in supporting community revitalization strategies, particularly in downtowns and urban corridors.

It’s a phenomenon we have increasingly witnessed in our work along Colorado’s Front Range. A couple of notable examples include…

LiveWell Colorado, a non-profit organization capitalized primarily by health organizations, is working to fight obesity by promoting healthy food distribution and walkable urban design in lower income neighborhoods. We met LiveWell as a key player in the revitalization strategy of Morrison Road, a Denver commercial corridor that serves a predominately Hispanic population.

Since the beginning of the year, I have chaired a working group at the Downtown Denver Partnership looking at the development of a downtown public market. Kaiser Permanente, a health maintenance organization, has emerged as a champion for the concept citing the many benefits of fresh food in combating obesity and other trends that are contributing to runaway health costs.

During Denver’s last Great Recession in the 1980s, the banks were our reliable stalwarts supporting community and downtown development. Today, we’re witnessing the health industry’s emergence as a key leader to advance progressive planning and urban revitalization. Inviting local health industry representatives into planning processes would appear to be a timely opportunity for community and downtown development advocates nationwide.

And Safeway in downtowns? I thought the wine section was pretty darn inviting too!

The Illusive Urban Grocery

2009-08-31T23:17:00.000-07:00

Brad and I found our way to San Jose last week and had a lovely evening visiting with Blage Zelalich, Deputy Director for the Downtown San Jose Association. As we sat in Billy Berk's catching up over some good eats, the bright lights of a new store down the street drew our attention.

Thursday in Downtown San Jose, Blage told us, brought the opening of a bright and shiny new urban grocery concept store by - to my surprise - Safeway. Now this isn't just any old Safeway grocery store. No, this small market, filled chock full of ripe fruits and fresh veggies stacked like art, prepared foods ready to be devoured, bouquets of beautiful flowers, and wines waiting to be consumed, all surrounded by warm and cozy decor (chairs and ottomans included) was more like shopping for groceries at a Crate and Barrel than having to buy goods at yet another chain grocery store. Was I really looking at a Safeway?

It seems the chain, which operates more than 1,700 grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada, has slowly begun rolling out this new small-format concept called "The Market by Safeway." And by slowly, I mean this is only the second. The first one opened in Long Beach, CA, in late 2008.

Just in case you were curious, "The Market" occupies 24,000 square feet in Downtown San Jose (a bit larger than Long Beach's 15,000 square foot concept, but a lot smaller than Safeway's average 45,000 to 60,000 square feet). The store's concept is to focus on prepared foods, freshly baked breads, locally grown and organic produce, fresh meats and seafood, an expansive wine selection (AND a full-service wine bar!), fresh cut flowers plus a cafe and sushi bar.

The concept is taking awhile to take hold for Safeway, but maybe there's hope that the search for the illusive urban grocery concept can be found in "The Market." In almost every city we work in, it seems it's on the top of the wish list... a downtown grocery, a Trader Joe's, an urban market... if Safeway can make it work is there hope that the idea can expand, that other traditional chain grocers can catch on?

Denver's Living Streets - Soul for the City

2009-08-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were young, walking along a narrow, gravel covered, weedy sidewalk next to a busy street or a wide swath of surface parking and you knew – just knew – that this was not a gentle condition. That, in fact, it was a very threatening condition. As you got a little older you started to accept this as the American way of life, that cars rule and little you on your feet or on your bike were fair game to the motorized world. That curbs were meant to be cut, that strips of stores should were meant to be lined up behind acres of asphalt, that melting snow (no longer white) was supposed to be swooshed on your new yellow sear-sucker bell bottoms that you had to beg your mother for. Luckily for all of us, we have moved successfully from adolescence to adulthood. As we have grown up the idea that streets are in fact part of the public realm, and should be subjected to a little multi-modal democracy, has finally arrived. The former Mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa, has perhaps been overly-quoted, but that is because he says really great things to illustrate a really simple idea – that Living Streets are good, and we, as promoters of the urban realm, should work hard to create them everywhere at every opportunity. A couple of compelling Peñalosa quotes:

“Public place is for living, doing business, kissing and playing. Its value can’t be measured with economics or mathematics; it must be felt with the soul”

“If only children had as much public space as cars, most cities in the world would become marvelous”.

And so it is – we are realizing streets are for all of us on our feet, on our bikes, in our wheel chairs, in our strollers, on the way to the bus and in our cars.

During the last several months, P.U.M.A. has been lucky to work with the City of Denver’s Living Streets Initiative, a collaborative effort of Denver’s Office of Community Planning and Development and the Office of Public Works. Our charge was to determine the quantifiable economic benefits of Living Streets using the Denver case studies of Colfax and Leetsdale Avenues. What we all know intuitively seems to be true – that pedestrian, mixed-use, transit rich environments provide economic benefits through increased property values and sales tax, reduced health costs and fewer costs related to roadway maintenance. Other benefits of living streets include better physical health, reduced traffic accidents, a stronger sense of community and a better place for kids of all ages (with or without sear sucker bell bottoms).

The full P.U.M.A. report and many other invaluable resources are available at the City of Denver’s Living Streets website. Plus, click here to watch a short video produced by Rocky Mountain PBS about the many benefits of Living Streets.

Rochester On My Mind

2009-08-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

I visited Rochester, Minnesota, this past week, five years after we completed a market-based Downtown Plan. Downtown Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic, a world class institution that employs 30,000 persons and attracts more than one million visitors to a city of barely 100,000. Mayo dominates the economy, skyline and soul of Rochester – a “company town”, anchored by one of the few growth industries in today’s economy.

Five years ago I remember a sterile downtown with pedestrian activity concentrated in the extensive skywalk and underground system. Not today. I was struck by the activity and energy in the core. A new two block plaza is a staging ground for outdoor cafes and events. A formerly struggling shopping mall hums with activity with two upper floors now occupied by the University of Minnesota. The Thursday Night Market attracts thousands of locals and visitors with ten hours of food, crafts and entertainment. Community organizations and clubs are changing their meeting days due to the popularity of the Market. The plaza was constructed with tax abatement funds, the Market organized by the Rochester Downtown Alliance and funded by a new business improvement district. All of these changes were recommended in the 2004 Downtown Plan.

Today, Rochester is planning to build upon the momentum and create a new vision for the future. The University, pleased by its new location (see photo of the "Peace Plaza" from window of the Chancellor’s Office), is looking to create a new downtown campus that will eventually educate 5,000 students. Mayo continues to grow. The key players, including the City, Mayo, University, Chamber and Downtown Alliance are working together to strengthen the downtown experience and are seeking more emphasis on housing, unique retail, complete streets, connectivity, enhancing the pedestrian experience and more. Wow -- What a fantastic transformation!

The Fabulous Ferry Building

2009-08-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

What is it about a public market that is so darn delectable to me? Yes, I love the delicious food... but in reality it's about the space; it's about the atmosphere; it's about experiences that tempt the senses and connect the food to community. In the past few years I've been blessed to visit the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, the bustling Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, and a number of charming smaller markets in between. But perhaps none stole my heart as much as the Ferry Building Marketplace did on a recent visit to San Francisco.

In and of itself, the historic Ferry Building is a shining star. Completed in 1898, the Ferry Building was the transportation hub for the city of San Francisco. The opening of the Bay Bridge, followed by the Golden Gate Bridge and increasing use of the automobile, however, ultimately rendered the ferry terminal useless. Then, adding salt to the wound, in 1957 the double-decker Embarcadero Freeway was built across the face of the beautiful building and remained there for 35 years, until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused extensive damage to the freeway ultimately causing it to come down. The freeway's undoing was the Ferry Building's rebirth.

Today, the Ferry Building Marketplace bustles with a tremendous mix of artisan food vendors and regional farmers who have a sustainable agricultural approach. Intermixed with these eclectic vendors are restaurants and cafes serving the regional cuisine and wines of the area using the goods sold in the Marketplace. The focus is specifically on local culture and cuisine and the mix is decidedly higher end. The set-up is well-defined and clean with plenty of open areas and public gathering space. The mix works beautifully as both market and community gathering spot... and perhaps most attractive is how the building pours so naturally out onto the waterfront.

And this is what, in my mind, makes the Ferry Building Marketplace the most compelling I've visited. In addition to giving birth to a tremendous market, the Ferry Building has been reborn as a working regional ferry terminal. On my visit, the building was teeming with commuters and tourists, locals and sightseers. As Denver seeks its own model for a market, I was moved by the success of the Ferry Building Marketplace: the rebirth of a historic building, the focus on regional foods, the mixed-use nature of what the building offers, and the community and visitor gathering place it has become.

Competing for Retail in Downtown Tempe

2009-06-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

We've previously blogged about the retail environment during this challenging economic time. Most of our comments have centered on the reality that while times certainly are a'changin', out of economic downturns often come some of the most creative and entreprenurial business concepts.

In Tempe, the Downtown Tempe Community, Inc. (DTC) organization led by Nancy Hormann has found a unique way to truly tap into those creative ideas and help make them a reality via a contest to put great retail concepts in empty downtown storefronts.

The idea is called the Mill Avenue Retail Competition. The DTC has teamed up with a downtown property owner willing to provide one-year of free rent in a retail store front to the individual(s) who submit the most creative retail concept and a solid business plan to back it. There will be one winner in the contest, but Nancy tells me up to three other concepts may be selected to receive $25,000 towards opening their retail concept in Downtown Tempe as well.

All the details, as well as the rules and regulations for the contest, can be found on the DTC's website.

As downtowns look for ways to incentivize those entrepreneurs out there, I think this is an innovative approach to encouraging them to locate in our buisness districts! Thanks for sharing, Nancy!

Cleveland Rocks!

2009-06-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

This past week I was in Cleveland working on the renewal of the downtown business improvement district, a BID that we helped form four years ago. We held a series of stakeholder meetings and forums, and despite the state of the economy, there is a high degree of satisfaction with the BID and prospects for renewal are good.

I was particularly impressed by the new faces and energy that showed up in our forums. Many young downtown residents and employees are excited at the future prospects for their city, and are seeking a way to get actively involved. To tap into this resource and nurture a new generation of downtown leaders, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) has created an innovative “City Advocates Program”. DCA is seeking volunteers that are willing to take actions on behalf of downtown, with the freedom to interpret “actions” as they see fit. Examples include writing a letter to the editor, serving on a taskforce, encouraging a business to locate downtown or helping a friend find a downtown apartment. City Advocates who complete 20 such actions over an eight month period are then eligible to be appointed to new designated seats on the DCA board, serving alongside veteran downtown property owners, businesses and civic leaders. The program was designed by a young developer who currently sits on the DCA board. In two weeks of limited publicity, nearly 20 individuals have signed up to the task.

Cleveland’s City Advocate program has implications for downtown organizations throughout the nation. Many are grappling with the challenge of diversifying their leadership to better represent changing center city markets and demographics, including diversity by age, gender and race. The City Advocates model allows individuals to design their own definition of meaningful involvement, plus ensures that they will be well informed by the time they join the board.

Infrastructure Mania!

2009-06-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Any self-respecting (or non-self respecting) urban development geek should get their hands on last week's edition of the NY Times Magazine -- the June 14 annual architecture edition entitled "Infrastructure!". The fascinating collection of stories included an expose on the infrastructure that is being created to accommodate our growing propensity to shoot electrons through the internets, "Datatecture". Housed in non-descript warehouses throughout the world, global computing, emailing and tweeting now consumes more energy annually than the nation of Sweden.

Another great read is the story on California's effort to build a bullet train between LA and San Francisco, "Getting Up To Speed". While high speed bullet trains hold great promise to provide an efficient transportation alternative throughout the country, the logistics are daunting. The article goes into great detail about both the capital, engineering and political investment needed to pull off this $33 billion pilot project on steroids.

And dig the crazy cover graphics with the Esher meets Where's Waldo retro drawing of infrastructure -- Wow!

Taming Timnath

2009-06-11T07:12:00.001-07:00

One of the pleasures of our work is the diversity of the communities in which we work. Last night I was in the one-room schoolhouse that serves as the Town Council Chamber for Timnath. The chatter before the meeting was of the damage to local alfalfa fields from the recent spate of nasty hailstorms.

Timnath, Colorado, is a hamlet of 500 persons located east of Fort Collins. The town is in the midst of the burgeoning Front Range and it's general plan expects a population of more then 25,000 within the next 20 to 30 years. The town's Old Town commercial district, all two blocks of it, has been the focus of heated discussions for years, with prior plans suggesting that it be scraped and replaced with your standard two-story mixed-use new urbanist lifestyle center. Our charge in Timnath is to set market expectations and a framwork for an achievable vision, or as my Toronto colleague John Williams would say, "real urbanism".

After completing a market profile, retail demand projection and community survey, we found that Old Town Timnath should pretty much stay as it is. It has existing regional draws to build upon, including a post office, school, church, a handful of unique shops and a wonderful community garden that features "The Great Zuchinni Race" as part of its harvest festival. Our counsel, which was well received by the Town Council, was to make these two blocks work, and move toward an authentic, compact Main Street using the collection of assets, albeit imperfect, that they already have.

Another thought from Timnath is the desirability of doing planning during an economic downcycle. Without the pressures of facilitating and anticipating imminent development, we can take a deep breath and truly look at our long term best interests.

Back to Basics

2009-05-25T17:02:00.001-07:00

At a recent International Downtown Association conference, I was having a discussion with downtown leaders from across the country about tactics they are taking to continue driving business to their retail shops and restaurants during these tough times. I was expecting to hear about elaborate, expensive campaigns, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the opposite... it's seems now is the time for getting "back to basics." Several downtown leaders mentioned their focus now is on grass-roots merchant promotions. Here are some "back to basics" tactics you may be able to put to use:

Discount shopper cards for downtown businesses. Check out Downtown Stamford's new iShop Discount Card.
Downtown dining events. Try organizing a Restaurant Week where businesses offer samples of their fare on a prix fixe menu. In Downtown Cedar Rapids, we had great success with Downtown Progressive Dinners, where diners paid one price and experienced multiple dining and entertainment venues, enjoying a different course at each.
Retail niche-focused special events. Create small-scale special events that compliment the niche of your downtown or district. If clothing retailers heavily populate your district, explore fashion shows. If furniture shops are popular, host design challenges. If food is your core draw, consider on the street cooking demonstrations or "contests" among business owners and chefs. These events raise awareness of businesses in your district, and create a new draw.

It seems that downtown organizations are getting very focused on marketing and programming that physically brings people into shops and restaurants as opposed to focusing their attention on large scale parades and events and big-picture marketing which isn't always the most effective way to introduce consumers to your downtown businesses and drive sales.

This is likely to be an ongoing movement as we dig out of our economic troublems. Any creative ideas out there that you'd like to share?

Putting it on the Map

2009-05-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press (AP) just released a great new visual tool that provides a useful snapshot of where the recession is hitting hardest across the U.S., and where conditions are improving. The AP's Economic Stress Index measures financial strain by county using unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy data. A few things revealed by the Index, according to the AP:

Places with technology-based economies were recession-proof for a while, but now are not.
Places with large numbers of government jobs — state capitals, university towns, communities with concentrations of hospitals — remain fairly recession-proof. These are places like Columbia, Mo. (a client of ours!); Madison, Wis.; the Raleigh, N.C., area; and Athens, Ga.
The regions we look to for our traditional sources of energy, for our coal and oil — Wyoming, West Virginia and the like — have generally not been hit as hard.
While bankruptcy declarations are happening everywhere, they tend to be higher in the South because of such things as low wages, state laws that give power to creditors and a culture that's more familiar with the bankruptcy option.

The AP’s visual indication of who is hurting most now can also be a map of optimism as recovery occurs... a map you can use to tell what's happening in your community, and those around you. The AP plans to continue tracking these statistics and updating this map monthly… a map they understand may have its limitations, but that can help compare and contrast places to illustrate emerging trends regarding why certain areas are starting to recover while others are lagging behind, and can offer early hints to where the tightness of the economic stress might be starting to loosen.

The Art of Transforming Fresno

2009-05-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

We just spent much of the past week in downtown Fresno working on the creation of a BID. Fresno is one of the most challenging markets we've encountered. The city has a rich agricultural heritage, but downtown has few connections with its past. Downtown suffers from many failed suburban-style experiments of the 60s and 70s, including too many super-blocks and a struggling pedestrian mall along its historic retail core. Today the city reels from the impacts of the recession and unrelenting drought.

Despite all of this, we found inspiration in the fledgling cultural arts district northwest of the downtown core. In this light industrial transition zone, a young artist-developer is infusing an amazing combination of mixed-use develpment and artistic expression. Reza Assemi, who's work can be viewed at http://www.muraldistrict.com/, is in the midst of constructing hundreds of housing units in several projects disbursed over a 15-block area.

What make's Reza's work remarkable is his approach of urban development as a form of fine art. Reza sees the entire neighborhood as an artistic enterprise, a blank canvas of sorts that is being filled by his projects and the artistic connections between them. His projects embody artistic elements throughout -- details within units, sculpture gardens within projects, and then public art to connect alleys and blocks. We've never seen such an ambitious vision for a district driven by one individual.

Not everone is thrilled with Reza's work in Fresno. Like any artist, he brings a lot of ego and attitude to his craft. However, in a desperate place he is remaking his city, and creating energy and optimism for the future. And while he opposes the proposed BID (!) we applaud his work and suggest that it could be a model for remaking other communities in a very difficult time.

Interest in Shrinking Cities Grows

2009-04-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued by a recent NY Times article on the fate of Flint, Mich. which has been hit by economic calamity for decades. Flint, once populated with over 200,000 people and projected to grow to 350,000, today has 110,000 residents and it continues to get smaller. In "An Effort to Save Flint by Shrinking It" the Times reports that Flint is preparing a new plan to guide civic downsizing. Entire neighborhoods of vacant homes will be replaced by parks or rerturned to their original forested state. Remaining community clusters will be replanned to be more self-sufficient, with new neighborhood business districts, trails and other amenities. Interestingly, Michigan apparently has state land trust legislation that allows public control over distressed properties allowing Flint's ambitious vision to have a chance to be realized.

Upon further investigation, the shrinking cities phenomenom is international in scope. Many European cities have been getting smaller in the past decade as populations start to contract. Similar dynamics from declining populations are expected in Japan, Russia and other industrialized countries. In the U.S., the phenomenon started in the industrial belt, the farming communities of the mid-west and now in the foreclosure riddled exurbs of sunbelt cities.

The University of California has created a program -- Shrinking Cities in a Global Perspective -- to look at trends and best practices. According to the program's director, one in every six cities in the world is shrinking, which sounds astounding until you really start to think about it.

Planning for shrinking communities could create exciting opportunities to revitalize cities that have been given up for dead.

Capturing the Cultural Buzz

2009-04-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Attracting arts, culture and entertainment is a key pursuit to invigorate urban environments. In Denver, the place to go for information and assistance is Ginger White Brunetti, a senior economic development specialist for the city. With support from Mayor Hickenlooper, Ginger has developed a formidable arsenal of tools to help the development of creative enterprises. Check out www.denvergov.org/CreateDenver and view the new Creative Space Agent, gather information on the City’s Create Denver Revolving Loan Fund or marvel at Denver’s unique mapping of the density of creative enterprises throughout the city.

Ginger recently distributed a New York Times article that looks at a new way to determine the creative draw of place (“Mapping the Cultural Buzz”). A group of geographers have developed a method for measuring the concentration of recognizable “cultural buzz” in places by a number of factors, including the frequency that places show up in a variety of media, from the news to the movies. Usual suspects for cultural buzz include L.A.’s Kodak Theater or New York’s Times Square, but there are other places that are less commercialized and qualify as hotbeds for creativity. Is it useful? Who knows, but certainly it provides an innovative new set of benchmarks and way of measuring success.

Job Sprawl

2009-04-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

As we work to create denser, multi-use, 24/7 downtowns, could it be that we are facing the loss of a key element in the mix: the businesses?

A report out this week by The Brookings Institution makes the case that "job sprawl" is occuring across America. Jobs data from 98 major metros studied from 1998 to 2006 shows evidence that jobs have gradually moved from urban cores to the suburbs. All but three of the 98 major metro areas studied showed a drop in the share of jobs located within three miles of downtown.

Why is this happening? More affordable rents in the suburbs and accessibility to larger number of employees are two of the reasons provided by the report. Brookings uses this data to warn that if this trend of job sprawl continues, we face increased traffic, environmental problems and the degrading economic vitality of our downtowns.

This data begs, for me, a couple questions:

What is the appropriate mix of uses in our downtowns and how do we ensure their long-term compatability and viability?
Is this movement of jobs just part of the natural evolution of our downtowns, as more residents find a home in our city centers?
If jobs are indeed moving out to the 'burbs while residents continue to find downtown a suitable place to call home, does that alter how we plan transit infrastructure and are there other planning considerations that should be top of mind as look at this trend?

I've begun to see evidence of this trend in some cities we are working in. Is it affecting your metro area? If so, how are you approaching it?

Urban Farmers

2009-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like I've read one article after another lately about urbanites bringing a little bit of the country to their backyard. The biggest story getting press is, of course, Michelle Obama's White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn. The food grown in the garden will be served in the White House and at a local homeless shelter.

I also recently read an article about the increase of "high rise gardens," where urban dwellers are turning their patios into their own little farm yards, a la Green Acres! Then, last week, a story emerged here in the Denver Post ("More Cities Welcome Chickens") about a movement in cities across the country to allow folks to raise chickens in their backyards. Why? People are seeing it as the answer to a sustainable, healthy food source.

So, Is a Food Revolution Now in Season as this New York Times article claims? Farmer's Markets have long been a staple of our downtowns, but perhaps there's room for urban farmers to be producers, too!

Hope From the Rubble

2009-03-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Two fascinating and different takes on the foreclosure crisis in last Sunday's New York Times. The magazine had a harrowing account of the chaos created by more than 10,000 foreclosed homes in Cleveland (see "All Boarded Up"). Cleveland is doing what it can to stabilize the situation in which neighborhoods are being ravaged by empty homes looted for ceramics, metals and anything of value. Cleveland's elected officials are leading efforts to fight back with the limited tools they have (i.e. code enforcement, some grant funds), but egregious actions by banks and online speculating of cheap homes is adding to the misery.

Meanwhile, a much more inspiring story is told from Detroit, hidden in the "Week In Review" section. Author Toby Barlow reports that cheap homes (sometimes as little as $100 each!) are being bought by young creative households. The homes are places for living, small businesses and art studios. Adjacent lots are being bought for new community gardens. Plus, new homeowners are not daunted by the gutted interiors, finding the residential shells ideal for installing new green solar energy systems.

Perhaps this is an opportunity for policy makers to follow a ray of new hope in the marketplace? How about designating heavily foreclosed neighborhoods as "creativity zones", with flexible land use regulations and incentives for green innovations?

Capturing the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs

2009-03-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

In past recessions, the convergence of lower real estate values and higher unemployment has led to surges in entrepreneurship. In Denver, 20 years ago, we were able to capitalize on this in Lower Downtown by attracting innovative small businesses and start-ups to empty storefronts and buildings. To make this happen, we established a business support office that provided a variety of hands-on services, including business counseling, leasing referrals and loan products.

The phenomenon is repeating itself once again, as evidenced by an article in yesterday's New York Times, "Weary of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own Businesses". As opposed to past recessions, the article points out that the internet is taking a key role in helping today's entrepreneurs identify contacts, resources and opportunities.

This suggests a new program opportunity for downtown and community development organizations that are trying to attract new small businesses through the use of social networking tools. I'm envisioning an online community that helps match entrepreneurs to business support resources -- training, vacant space, loans, peer support, etc. -- within your downtown or business district. The eventual goal is to get these folks into a storefront, but the online matching resource could be a great way to market the district.

Of course, I'm an old dog and this might already exist out there. Or does it?

A Virtual Twisitor Center

2009-03-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a misspelling up there in the title! After posting my earlier comments on social networking, I came across one of the coolest uses of Twitter I've heard about and it has definite applications for downtown organizations.

Travel Portland, the org dedicated to promoting tourism in Portland, OR, recently launched what they've dubbed a "Twisitor Center," a virtual visitors center using Twitter! Not only are they regularly posting great tourist tweets for subscribers... they've set up a system that allows Twitter uses to "tweet" questions to them and get immediate responses! Looking for the restaurant serving the freshest fish in town? Tweet your question to the Twisitor Center and in moments you'll have an answer delivered to you! Not only does staff respond, but other subscribers to the Twisitor Center can pipe in with their suggestions as well.

I sent a tweet on over to Travel Portland to ask them how the service has been working... in the short time since they've launched they've gone from just a handful of followers to more than 3,000 and have gotten tremendous feedback on the service. They've staffed the resource by hiring one person on contract to respond to all the tweets, though that person has other responsibilities as well.

Wow... information on demand and a service that allows interaction with the community, and encourages folks to talk about all the cool things your city has to offer? Sounds like a no-brainer!

All a'Twitter

2009-03-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

You've been putting it off, haven't you? Avoiding Facebook and Twitter like the plague.

Last fall at the International Downtown Association Conference in Calgary, Eric Robertson and I did a session on using social networking tools to engage, recruit and inform, and it seems like since then I've been hearing more about the unique ways not just downtown organizations, but governments are putting them to use.

This week Nielsen released a study that social networks are officially more popular than email. Of Internet users throughout the world 2/3 visited a social networking site last year, Facebook being the leader (the biggest increase in users 35 to 49 years old).

President Obama used a Facebook application to build the grassroots support that got him elected. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is such a big fan of Twitter, that he recently met with the CEO of the company to discuss a unique application of the technology to help release information to the citizens and to aid in business growth in San Francisco.

No doubt it's growing, so if you aren't engaging in social networking yet (either personally or for your organization) I'd recommend you try it! Facebook is the best place to start... Twitter has some excellent applications for staying in constant contact with constituents. We'll keep you posted on this blog on different ways to use the applications.

www.dailycandy.com

2009-03-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

If you aren't aware of it already, check out http://www.dailycandy.com/ for the latest retail trends across the country. You can sign up for a free daily email that alerts you to unique retail uses emerging in individual cities. It's a must-use resource for those in the downtown retail recruitment business!

Reinventing Retail

2009-03-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Retail is definitely one of the places we're bound to see some creativity in tough times, and I learned a few things today on a Retail Traffic Magazine webinar about how the economy is forcing a reinvention of retail, and how cities are positioning themselves more competitively to stay in the retail game. A few things I learned:

A market-based approach to retail is critical. You must understand what your community can support and work to retain/recruit that business type.
Retention is essential! Find out who is currently spending money in your city and what they are spending money on, and help your retailers change the marketing mix to accomodate that demographic. Do focus groups and surveys to understand your customer base.
Go back to basics - use collective public relations, advertising, marketing and special events that generate sales and drive people into stores.
Don't stop actively and systematically recruiting new prospects to ensure leads in the pipeline... this is a great time to sign a deal!
Look to your local entrepreneurs for creative new concepts emerging that will be the next big thing. Follow the lead of those in the know. Don't invest major money and effort trying to attract national retail.
Look for "pop-up retail" opportunities. In larger cities, big retailers (Target, JCPenneys) are using small, urban spaces as a test-run or to see how new goods and products sell.
Encourage property owners to get creative on their leases. Short-term leases are particularly effective. Important to making this successful is having financial tools in place (grants, low interest loans) to help tenants finance tenant improvements.

Maybe the most important point... make sure your community is prepared, positioned and willing to make a deal happen when the market picks up and the deal comes around!

15,000 Miles in Seven Weeks

2009-03-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

We've just completed a marathon of travel to our client communities, since mid January visiting in sequence Fresno, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Columbia, Oklahoma City and Fresno. Given the backdrop of national and global events, its been an interesting time to pop into different regions and locales. Here are some general observations...

There is high anxiety about the economy and uncertainty ahead. Some communities are late to the recession game (i.e. Denver, Oklahoma City), but all now get a sense of the severity.
Despite this, I am struck by the resiliance evidenced by most of our clients -- downtown organizations, property and business owners, and civic officials -- and their understanding that there is great opportunity from a crisis like this. Most are looking forward and talking about how to capitalize on the inevitible recovery to come.
I am also increasingly convinced that our basket case country has gone from "irrational exuberence" of the past to "irrational gloom" of the present. Too much cable news on my travels. Yes, this will be a challenging time, but the recovery may just come quicker and stronger than most now believe. There is a lot of wealth parked out there waiting, plus the prospect of new innovations and adaptations to our changing world is exciting.

For urbanists, we need to deal with current realities, but we should also ramp up the enthusiasm for the future. This challenging time could validate our core values (i.e. compact development, transit, diverse and inclusive communities) and create a far better world in the future.

Note that future posts will be less philosophical and shorter (Jamie says the kids won't read long rants or blather!) and will likely focus more on the what we learn from individual locales.

Happy travels!

A Realignment in Habits Will Help Downtowns?

2009-02-27T08:27:00.001-08:00

Many of us believe that the current recession also marks a realignment in American consumption, and that this shift could benefit downtowns. A recent New York Times article exploring a similar shift in Japan provides a preview of what could be coming to the U.S. (see "When Consumers Cut Back: An Object Lesson From Japan" )

After reeling through a decade-long recession in the 1990s, Japanese consumers have permanently cut down on their consumer appetites, everything from whiskey to automobiles. While this phenomenon is currently hammering the Japanese economy, it is telling of what could occur after a prolonged recession in the U.S. Why good news for downtowns? As people simplify their lifestyles and cut back on excess, we believe that urban and downtown living options will offer a way of life that is less resource intensive, becoming more attractive as an economic imperative for a more frugle society. Long term, this trend could benefit our center cities.

Streets as Public Spaces?

2009-02-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

I’ve heard this was in the works in NYC, and now it looks like it’s actually going to happen…

Starting Memorial Day, five blocks of Broadway in the heart of Times Square will be closed off to cars and turned into one large public gathering space. The City of New York plans to make the space inviting by adding open-air tables and potted plants, among other things, encouraging locals and visitors to sit and enjoy the ambiance of the city.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is advocating this project as a way to actually speed up perennially congested and slow traffic in Times Square, citing examples from other major cities that have held similar experiments, including London and their restriction of traffic in Trafalgar Square.

The added benefit of course, is a new-found source of public space in this dense urban environment. The project is being launched as a pilot and is only slated to stay in place through the end of 2009. Will it last? Will the traffic re-engineering work? And will the city be able to transform the street into a comfortable enough public space that people will actually want to use it? Something to keep our eye on…

Welcome to PUMAblog!

2009-02-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

For years we’ve shared stories from our work and our travels with you via our P.U.M.A. newsletter and website, and we’ll continue to use both to keep you updated on the latest news and work from our shop. Now, we’re excited to announce a new communication tool we are adding to our arsenal - PUMAblog!

Here on our blog, you’ll find real-time insight from our downtown and community development work, research and travels. We’ll pass along information on best practices and trends from a variety of programs, people and places, insightful data and information we think might be useful to you in your work, and musings on interesting places and local haunts we’ve been lucky enough to stumble upon during our travels to different cities!

We hope you’ll enjoy reading (and commenting on!) our regular blogs as much as we enjoy bringing them to you. And please, as we get PUMAblog up and running, please feel free to tell us what you’d like to see more of or hear more about! We’d like to make our blog both interesting and a useful tool for you. From your P.U.M.A. friends, happy reading!