Strategic Neighborhood Redevelopment: Part 2 – Waking up the Marketplace – A Macro Approach
By Ian Colgan | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Jul 12th
Successful neighborhood redevelopment requires a broad macro approach.
This article is Part 2 of a four part series titled “Strategic Neighborhood Redevelopment.” This series provides the considerations involved in formulating a meaningful neighborhood redevelopment strategy. From Development Concepts Inc.’s 19 years of redevelopment experience, we’ll explain what is involved in establishing redevelopment strategies that produce sustainable private investment.
You can find Part 1 here.
Micro vs. Macro Responses
Given the impediments described in Part 1 of this series, it is surprising that there have been few comprehensive attempts to organize dysfunctional neighborhoods to better respond to the marketplace. One likely reason is the lack of an agreed-upon, systematic, “macro” approach to address the impediments and prepare distressed areas for market investment.
In many cities, the approach for neighborhood redevelopment has been predominately on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Public sector and not-for-profits are the primary catalysts for change. Their mission, due to limited resources, has been to incrementally reinforce selected parcels of real estate. It is clear the pervasive impact of the impediments described in this section make a “micro” approach ineffective in creating a substantive impact able to capture the attention of the marketplace. While some good comes from a targeted reinforcement approach, it does not reset the real estate context in a manner that responds to today’s market requirements.