By Ian Colgan | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Nov 22nd
This article is Part 1 of a two part series titled “Entertainment Districts as Economic Development Initiatives.” This series describes the role of entertainment and entertainment districts in economic development.
Entertainment is an extremely important component to the contribution of activity and vibrancy in a downtown. The concentration of entertainment uses creates a definable sense of place that can act as an enormous draw for people, both locals and tourists. Restaurants, bars, and taverns attract more people when clustered in a definable area rather than on their own. Integration of uses such as cinemas, theaters, restaurants, and cafes encourages multiple consumption of entertainment themed businesses.
One of the consequences of retail and entertainment uses moving outside of central business districts was that after the working day was over, downtowns emptied as workers went home and the businesses supporting them closed. Entertainment businesses and attractions attract people, and therefore activity, to downtowns and neighborhoods during all hours of the day, particularly during the evening and nighttime hours. This brings a balance of activity to downtown, creating what has come to be termed a “24-7 downtown” – that is, a downtown with activity throughout a given day or week.
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By Ian Colgan | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Sep 13th
This article is Part 4 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 in involved in establishing redevelopment strategies that produce sustainable private investment.
You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.
It is not uncommon to hear urban economic development experts discuss what it takes for an urban site to be competitive with “greenfield” sites. They often refer to this as trying to “level the playing field.” This statement should serve as an accurate barometer of what the goal should be in engaging in redevelopment activity. Due to economic decline and general neglect, a significant percentage of our urban real estate is not capable of attracting meaningful investment. More importantly, the quality of life for those that live and work in these areas is absolutely unacceptable. Just as importantly, this real estate represents a lost opportunity to leverage investment for tax revenue. Faced with undesirable land and risky development prospects, investment has continuously occurred in areas outside of urban cores, often outside of a core city entirely.
Reclaiming hundreds of acres of non-productive real estate needs a methodical approach, and many of the solutions are more common sense than rocket science. What is needed is a proactive, systematic, market based approach that focuses both the private sector and the public sector on creating an attractive real estate investment environment in designated redevelopment areas. This is not a new concept. Organizing around each of these five components identified in this paper make sense in pursuing a redevelopment strategy. Continue Reading »
Tags: Neighborhood Redevelopment, Redevelopment Strategy
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By Ian Colgan | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Aug 23rd
This article is Part 3 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 in involved in establishing redevelopment strategies that produce sustainable private investment.
You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Five key components are required for a successful redevelopment strategy
There are no easy answers to address the issues of neighborhood distress. A carefully crafted strategy, established with community stakeholders and public and private sector leadership, can make a difference. What will work on a larger scale, providing sustainable results, is likely to involve several critical components. The following components are essential building blocks to an effective and comprehensive redevelopment strategy.
Tags: Code Enforcement, Community Buy-In, Land Acquisition, Neighborhood Redevelopment, Private Investment
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By Cindy Higbee | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Aug 9th
New homes at DCI's Martindale on the Monon project
While certainly challenging, urban residential development can be very rewarding. For several years now DCI has been doing residential redevelopment in the Martindale on the Monon neighborhood in Indianapolis. So far we have built nearly 40 new homes for dozens of families and have helped to kick start the revitalization of a once forgotten neighborhood. In the process, we have gained some firsthand knowledge of the pitfalls to urban development. To assist anyone considering a similar endeavor, we thought it might be helpful to pass our insights along. Continue Reading »
Tags: Appraisals, Mortgages, Neighborhood Redevelopment, Property Taxes, public-private partnership
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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. Continue Reading »
Tags: Macro Approach, Marketplace, Neighborhood Redevelopment, Neighborhoods, public-private partnership
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