Embrace What You Have, Not What You Want
I WAS QUITE THE BROKEN RECORD in EVANSTON (IL), where I worked on the “Evanston Thrives” Retail District Action Plan that was unanimously approved by the City Council last month, along with a stellar team led by Interface Studio (Scott Page, Sarah Kellerman, Ben Bryant) and also including All Together (Marisa Schulz) and Ninigret Partners (Kevin Hively). Throughout the process, I never stopped underscoring the importance of the city’s biggest demand generator, Northwestern University, to the retail prospects of its Downtown. That’s because: 1) the campus and its largest concentration of dorms sits along Downtown’s northern edge; and 2) the 23,000 students do not really have anywhere else to which to gravitate, no “college drag.” In other words, they are “captive” and lacking in alternatives, whereas many other residents were quite dissatisfied with the core and look first to the city’s several neighborhood-scaled, “browse-worthy” shopping streets. The former, then, seemed like the more reliable customer. As an analyst of market forces, that’s how I typically see the world, but I also realize that many people don’t. Instead, they want the retail in their Downtown to reflect their own sensibilities and aspirations, regardless of whether that’s realistic, equitable or reflective of competitive advantage. I can certainly understand the impulse – we can get quite emotional about the places we call home – but when stakeholders try to fit a square peg into a round hole, they should ready themselves for an uphill climb and an unsatisfying outcome. Better, in my mind anyway, to embrace what you already have, then try to work with it (rather than against it) to get a little more of what you want. Contrary to popular belief, students do spend money and can support more than just a food court, helping to attract businesses that also appeal to residents. Like a small-format Target. A specialty grocer (e.g. Trader Joe’s). A hybrid college/general Barnes & Noble. A fair-trade gift shop. Ethnic eateries. Craft brewpubs. Artisanal coffeehouses. A multiplex. An Apple store. A retail mix, that is, in which most everyone can find something they like.