How to develop an indie retail center without going upscale?

So how does one develop a new independent-business retail center as an economic success without going upscale?  In continuation of yesterday’s entry, here’s Kennedy Smith:

“To make it work in everyday neighborhoods, or even in ‘slightly more affluent than everyday’ neighborhoods, the costs of that sort of intensive support system for independent businesses must be shared by the public sector (small business development centers,

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Why building a CoolTown retail center isn’t easy… yet

...and that’s defined as a retail-entertainment destination town center of innovative, local, independent businesses targeting a progressive, creative audience on a budget.

Until now, there really wasn’t a means of developing such a place as new - any new retail center consists of national and regional chains (like CityPlace, West Palm Beach, pictured.) Even if the focus was on independent businesses (as they are in ski resorts), it

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The best theater in America?

When your theater has its own fan site, you know you’re cool.  That’s the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, Austin’s only independently-owned and operated movie theater, and yes, it was voted the by Entertainment Weekly.

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Looking for a model downtown music festival?

Check out Austin’s South by Southwest, better known as SXSW.  Is it a music and media conference and festival, an interactive technology festival or a film conference and festival?  Yes. The music festival is one of the biggest in the U.S., and possibly the biggest in the heart of a city.

Much of it takes place on Sixth Street, one of Austin’s premiere entertainment districts and closed for pedestrians.  Ongoing since spring 1987, the event

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Best place to live if gas goes to $10/gallon?

New York City, according to SustainLane, a nonprofit website for healthy and sustainable living via their Ten U.S. Cities Best Prepared for an Oil Crisis report.  It’s no small honor, as NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s acknowledgment attests, “That New York City has been recognized by SustainLane as the best prepared city to face a nation-wide oil crisis is testament to the resiliency and strength of our infrastructure.”

The rest of the list, which in

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And the winner for best ‘third place’ for teens is...

Manboo in Japan.  Maybe.  Think of it as a social hangout/cafe/living room/gaming room/entertainment center/salon/computer school/hostel.  Let’s break it down…

At Manboo, for $4/hour you can:

- Relax in big comfy chairs or sofas in cubicled living rooms and surf the internet, watch one of hundreds of DVDs, read comics, or play one of hundreds of PS2/Xbox games.

- Stay overnight for $11/hour.  There are lots of couches to sleep on,

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From brownfield to community

Yesterday’s entry profiled how a subdivision was practically transformed into a small city, and while that may have been controversial if the homes had any historical significance (they really didn’t), there’s no question that replacing a brownfield (polluted site) with attractive housing, retail and a public plaza would have any opposition… right?

Well, perhaps a little, since density is still a dirty word (people still won’t forgive the high-rise urban

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When 2250 homes replace 64...

Environmentalists value land preservation.  Commuters hate traffic.  Home buyers can’t afford single-family homes.  There aren’t many inspiring, pedestrian-friendly places to shop, dine and be entertained.  Well, Pulte Homes just made a lot of those people happy with MetroWest in Vienna, Virginia.

64 single-family home owners on 60 acres sold their homes at a hefty profit so that Pulte could build 2250 homes, plus 300,000 s.f. of office and 100,000 s.f. of

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Make way for the retail condo

We know about the residential condo craze, but do you know about the retail condo craze?  Probably not because it’s not quite a craze yet, but $1.1 billion in retail condos were made in 2004-2005, up from $120 million in 2002-2003.

What’s a retail condo?  Like a residential condo, it’s simply an individual unit in a larger building that one purchases rather than leases/rents.  What may not be as well known is how beneficial they can be to the local economy, to

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Why an entrepreneur has a hard time watching TV...

...and why third places are crucial to job growth.

First, a brief story.  In exchange for $1 million in Apple stock in 1979, Xerox presented Steve Jobs with cutting edge computer concepts he was free to use.  He witnessed the graphical user interface, followed by the mouse - and the concept of the Macintosh began to form in his head.  He was so excited, he left the presentation early.  He said if he had only stayed for the whole thing, he

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So what kind of ‘loft’ is it really?

Everything and anything remotely resembling a residential loft is being marketed as loft (a short history here), so rather than resist, it may be more effective to sub-categorize them.  Based on Barbara Thornburg’s You call this a loft? in the L.A. Times…

Artist’s loft - A true artist loft is like a blank canvas - unfinished, unfurnished, and costs next to nothing.  These also tend to be expansive (ie 4000 s.f.) to accommodate the artists’ work.  This

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Wall Street Journal article.

First of all, for the first time ever people are finding it cooler to live in multi-family homes than single-family homes - the median condo price for the fourth quarter of 2005 was $228,000 compared to single-family homes at $213,000, but if you read this blog regularly, you already knew that.

Developers are finally starting to take advantage of this demand - Urban Lofts Townhomes sold 60% more

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...and at $112/mo., it’s not hard out here for a writer

Seems like writers have it good in Manhattan as far as workplaces are concerned.

This one, called Paragraph, is a 2500 s.f. loft near Union Square.  Compared to the Village Quill reviewed yesterday, this one’s 24 hours as opposed to being closed from midnight to 6 am, 365 days/year, though it has only a fraction of the art/community-oriented events that the Quill has. The workstations are more private, though a bit too much cubicle

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Workplace for $133/month in Tribeca, NY?!

Yep, it’s true, but only if you’re a writer and you know about the Village Quill.  Within the 1700 s.f. loft, you get a workstation with broadband internet and access to a lounge, meeting room and wifi-zone.  The Quill helps foster a sense of writers’ community with regular art-oriented events, such as writers’ workshops, live music performances, author readings, and film screenings.  Plus, it’s in Tribeca, Manhattan, a creative haven itself.

For a

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For the MidCity, Washington DC neighborhoods, it’s www.midcitylive.com, an updated version of the initial version I introduced half a year ago.

What is it?  We all have our TV guide for what entertainment is on TV each night, but what about what’s happening that night in your neighborhood downtown?  You know, the real world?  That’s what CoolTown Studios helped design, develop and manage for the 200 businesses that make up Washington DC’s largely independent-business neighborhood

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Can cities prosper ‘slowly’ in a fast world?

First of all, what would a slow city be?  Primarily, it’s one that prioritizes slow food rather than fast food, and there’s an international movement behind it, CittaSlow.  It’s wikipedia definition:  “Cittaslow’s goals include improving quality of life in towns while resisting the homogenization and “Americanization” of cities, where standardized franchise stores dominate.

The official website also defines the slow city movement in terms of

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Is your city ready for the ‘matriarch economy’?

10 million firms (48% of all privately-held firms) have 50% or more women-ownership.  Women are starting firms at twice the rate as men, their businesses outperform the economy in employment increases and sales growth. Women aren’t just starting retail businesses, but in high tech also, as an increasing number of them are obtaining MBA, engineering and science degrees.  Then, there’s the growing female influence in the housing industry.  Dr.

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Ultra-affordable urban green housing?

It’s a brand new building.  It’s in the heart of San Francisco.  It’s incredibly affordable.  It’s a certified green building.  It has a roof deck with great views.  But it’s probably not for you.

Eleven of the newly constructed Plaza Apartments units will have rents at 13% of area median income (AMI), sixteen at 35%, and the remaining 79 at 42%.  Yes, there are government subsidies involved, but there are two main factors that allow such high-quality

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What is the mother of all art events?

That’s easy - Art Basel in Switzerland and Miami Beach are the largest and most significant art fairs in the world.

Rather than host the typical stuffy art fair in an enclosed convention center, Art Basel Miami Beach for instance, is regarded as a mulitmedia beachfront fiesta, with concerts, dancing, and food tasting, with exhibition sites located in the city’s beautiful Art Deco District - a vibrant creative haven unto itself.  Also, the art among the

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What’s a successful monthly downtown event?

While the last entry listed a series of neighborhood downtown events, the question is if there is a monthly event that stands out?  The First Thursdays block party in Austin, TX (no surprise) comes to mind.

Several thousand people, perusing art, listening to bands, shopping at sidewalk tables in front of dozens of unique stores, and taking advantage of drink and dining specials.  At least 44 venues open their doors late on the first Thursday of

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Any good ideas for neighborhood downtown events?

Just as a theater doesn’t come to life unless it has a show, a neighborhood downtown needs some fun, jazzy events to create some ongoing vibrancy, as well as economic growth.

So, since there isn’t a single resource that I know of listing such events, especially ones with an edge, here’s a start:

Food: Taste of ‘Insert Neighborhood Here’ events let people peruse a variety of booths representing local restaurants.  The Shaw neighborhood in

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How can Times Square make room for its crowded pedestrians?

Manhattan has a definite problem with running out of space for its pedestrians amid its frenzied onslaught of auto traffic, especially in high-traffic destinations like Times Square.  So, perhaps they could take a lesson from Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China - and establish the main street for pedestrians only.

The first commercial road in Shanghai, being the busiest, most popular street in the city wasn’t enough.  Thus, a large

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How much are women influencing the future of our neighborhoods?

More and more every year as evolving demographics show, with positive results…

- The National Association of Realtors states that the percentage of single female home buyers in the past 20 years has doubled, second only to married couples.  Considering their neighborhood buying preferences, expect even an even stronger market for cooltowns.

- Women make up 58% of the undergraduate college population, and rising, which will

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