Dr. Morgan, What’s your definition of Small Business?
I wholeheartedly agree with the concepts discussed in Dr. Morgan’s article but believe his recommendations should go further.
I especially like how he articulated that the “Someone” who should do “Something” is really us “Windsorites” and not some phantom nameless power or government.
Now, here’s where we diverge. I must assume that when Dr. Morgan talks about small business, he doesn’t include Mainstreet or Artists. Why else would he remain silent on measures that would protect these types of local businesses. To name a few, measures such as
- artist incubators -low cost, live and/or work spaces for artists (how about the vacant space in the main floor of the Pelissier parking garage?) or ones like they have in Michigan like the Parks Trade Center
- protecting Main street from unfair competition of Big Box National chains who rarely rent to local businesses and draw customers away from our main streets. Stopping Sprucewood big box from making the problem worse when our own consultants say we’re already over retailed.
- Repopulating the core giving Main Streets a larger customer base that is in close proximity as per the items in the Residential Intensification Analysis
None of these items were mentioned in Dr. Morgan’s Small Business Task force report to the city and they have never been publicly commented on by him
Many of these measures could be achieved by simply completing and implementing the Community Improvement Plans or official plan review that we have spent hundreds of thousands to create but sit on shelves collecting dust.
Sure, I recognize that main streets may not be housing the particular types of small businesses that Dr. Morgan may be referring to but I am saying that we shouldn’t differentiate when it comes to the importance of small, local businesses.
Look at what Phog, a “small as it gets” local business has done for P.R. for Windsor
Look at what a Walkerville Pharmacist, gourmet emporium, and a few other local busiensses has done for making a neighborhood so much more livable and a model for new resident recruitment.
Look at what a few galleries have done to transform Pillette Village into an arts destination.
It wouldn’t be difficult to transform more hospitality locations into tourist attractions that can be copromoted with our Casino, Wineries, Riverfront Park to create a critical mass or cluster that will draw far more visitors.
Protecting our main street businesses, we will find that the products that we produce to revitalize Windsor’s economy do not have to be limited to items we manufacture using a skilled tradesman, or delivered by a truck. Those products could be art, music, neighborhoods people want to move to, distinations that will draw visitors, make them extend their visits and return more often.
I just returned from Austin Texas, where in my opinion they have built an entire economy by supporting local businesses. They even had a motto “Keep Austin Wierd - support your local business” to signify the uniqueness that local businesses brought to their city, giving it a sense of place like no other.
When will we learn that continued building of big Box, Geography of Nowhere type development will not create the atmosphere necessary to see an incubation of all small businesses or recruit and keep the types of creative people who will invent new small businesses
If I asked them in Austin which small business turned things around and made the city what it is today? I know they woudl answer - ALL OF THEM
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there are many aspects that I agree with in your article Mark but one resounding divergence comes when discussing the role of the arts in the community and in the local economy. i have had many discussions with people like Tom at Phog about similar issues and the same point comes up. should the city or government subsidize space or locations for artists to use as studio space? not in my books. sure those spaces are empty but why should the space be given to artists? the artists are looking to create to eventually make money by selling their work. they essentially are just another business. i as a business owner don’t get my rent subsidized because i am in the core or on mainstreet as you put it. the artistic community has to get together and act. the success of phog and specifically all the attention it brought to windsor was due in large part to a huge effort on Tom’s part. it was a lot of work. the creative class in this city has to want to do something and want it bad enough to put something on the line. then you’ll see movement.
I don’t know rino, it’s six of one or half a dozen of the other. When the city has vacant space in the Pelissier St. Garage for a decade, where is that money going to?
Giving the space to artists might see it succeed and it might not but when you have vacant space for 10 years dont’ you meet the insanity criteria of “doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results”?
Would you rather see that space sit empty for the next few decades or burn then let an artist have it for free? I realize thats not what your saying but it is the result of your logic.
Maybe if the city gave that space for free, the vacant space surrounding it would then become desireable and we wouldn’t lose the half property tax subsidy that currently go to the building owners
Any way you look at it your giving up tax money. Maybe it succeeds, maybe it fails. I would err on the side of action everytime
In addition to that, other cities like Kalamazoo believe gov’t subsidized artist space was a key component of their successful revitalization.
Its usually dependant on the people implementing the plan, currently we have the traffic department managing vacant commercial space in parking garages.
How does that make any sense in any real world. This space sat for a decade without even a “For Lease” Sign. It took a year of reminding the traffic department that properties listed with realtors that had “for lease” in the window usually had a higher success rate of being leased.
Give this property to the traffic department to mismanage, but god forbid you give it to artists to create activity in your downtown.
How about simply letting artists decorate it? Do you know how many successful programs such as http://www.phantomgalleriesla.com/ ? exist in North America
i can acknowledge that the concept has been successful in other cities and that it is ‘better’ to have them full rather than they stay vacant but why look to the artists in this city for that. i know many talented individuals that can, say, open a restaurant and be as creative as they like because they have free rent. retail outlets, service providers such as software companies, office space, education centers, meeting centers, homeless shelter, and so on. there has to be a unified concerted effort on behalf of the arts community in this city to show that they should and could be trusted to be given these sorts of things. it seems as if the arts community is sitting waiting for the city to come to them and say here you go…..free rent. approach the city with a real tangible proposal and be realistic. ask for a lot but give a lot. come up with a proposal that is beneficial for the city in more than just promises. in simple words….it’s time the creative class step up and be heard.
You are definitely right about the artists needing to make a proposal. A “taylored to Windsor” (I dislike the term made in Windsor when someone already did it better) Phantom Galleries proposal could have happened at any time.
Really, it only involves taking the info from Phantom Galleries and doing a lot of cut, copying and pasting of Windsor’s name.
I agree with you that the artists have to want it, roll up their sleaves, and do it.
However, the artists make life more interesting and the hopeless optimist in me just naively has faith that they could rise to the challenge. Artists would brink a much needed visual impact to our city that we are here, we’re unique and give Downtown WIndsor an immediate sense of place. We’re spending tens of millions on streetscape which is a blank canvas that needs to be decorated or it will also fail. Artists, flowers, tree lights and other decorations are needed to leverage streetscape to pay a ROI on an investment that will othewise do nothing. Streetscape must be leveraged
But again, you are right that it doesn’t necessarily have to be artiists, just some other use that would require the “Low to no” capital or maintenance cost to the city.
Could the Artist save the Business World?
In an ideal world, many local companies would benefit from these master crafters. But right here in Philadelphia, a multitude of arts organizations and businesses could follow these models by collaborating in several creative ways.
Here are some other ideas for those hitting the wall:
Artists are already experts, with tips to share, about living frugally. To write, paint or dance, we are accustomed to making sacrifices and living on meager salaries so we can immerse ourselves in our work. Invite an artist to give a workshop on ways to trim expenses and stay focused on fulfilling a passion.
Ask a professional photographer to teach employees how to take effective, but creative, digital photographs. This skill may translate into new ways of seeing other organizational issues and reduce photography costs for promotional materials. At the very least, the session will refresh exhausted and stressed employees, which will pump some renewed energy and hope back into the organization.
Like photographers hunting for an unconventional view, swap positions for a day to gain a better understanding of each other’s pressures. Company presidents will better grasp the unrelenting demands on administrative assistants and vice versa.
Hold an employee-wide problem-solving session with several artists in attendance. Challenge participants to assume the role of CEO and offer solutions — rather than complaints — about imminent demands. At a minimum, the negative water-cooler gossip might diminish.
Hire a writer to teach effective ways of communicating an organization’s mission along with basic grammar skills — a critical need sorely lacking. Without crystal-clear and targeted messages, sputtering boats are doomed to sink.
Follow the lead of Art4Barter, coordinating regional exhibits for artists interested in exchanging their work for specified products and services from cameras to dental work. Although many of us still prefer cash, this model — intended to inspire those in other fields — offers a way to stay in the game until the storm passes.
Accommodate employers, clients, and customers dealing with a strapped budget. But don’t take advantage of each other, and hold onto your integrity as a good-faith player.
Offer a creative solution rather than contribute to the frenzy of fear, which is feeding on itself and taking on a life of its own. Contagion will spread on the side selected.
Most of all, remain focused on the true essentials of a contented life. We all need money to pay basic bills and live, but what else do we need besides our loved ones, good health and a passion? If you’re an artist, you simply need to create.
By sharing our inherent talents as we navigate this financial tsunami together, we can all hang onto our true worth in gold.
Learn more about upcoming performances and workshops with Pilobolus at http://www.pilobolus.com. For details about exhibits and keynote presentations by Art Wolfe, see http://www.art
http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/03/18/arts_culture/doc49c0d3b88e20e987634465.txt
The Economics of creativity: How Boulder County arts organizations are weathering the economic storm:
http://tiny.cc/8MFvq
According to the Colorado Council on the Arts’ recently released study, “The State of Colorado’s Creative Economy,” more than 180,000 jobs are “associated with creative enterprises and creative occupations,” in particular in the areas of design, literature and publishing and film and media.
This accounts for nearly 4 percent of all jobs in the state, and according to the study makes creative enterprise the fifth largest employment sector in Colorado.
In addition to these jobs, local arts organizations also point out that ancillary revenue is produced by artistic endeavors.
“We bring millions of dollars into the metro area through our events,” Davison says.
This includes everything from pre-event dinners and post-event coffees to money spent in parking garages and sales tax revenue.
“People do eat out and use the parking garage and maybe do some shopping on the side that they wouldn’t have done,” Levine says.
There’s also the charity component. Last weekend, the Phil participated in a food drive with the League of American Orchestras, and patrons received discounted tickets with a food donation at the door.
And while the arts pump money back into the local economy, they also provide a lot of cultural bang for the entertainment buck, arts organizations say.
Meet our post-industrial Waterloo
KITCHENER–This southwestern Ontario city’s past, and its hopes for the future, intersect at King and Victoria streets.
On one corner stands the old Kaufman Footwear factory, now a trendy condominium development. On another corner, the University of Waterloo’s new health sciences campus is rising on a former industrial site.
A few blocks away, a warren of buildings that for decades housed the Lang Tanning Company is in the early stages of being transformed into “The Tannery District,” which its developer envisions as an eclectic mix of stores, restaurants, artisan and office spaces.
This is the new face of Kitchener, part of a sprawling region that is now better known for churning out BlackBerrys and engineers than boots. An hour’s drive west of Toronto, the Waterloo Regional Municipality includes Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and four rural townships, and is home to about half a million people.
Like many Ontario communities with large heavy manufacturing bases, the region has been hit hard by the recession.
The unemployment rate for the Kitchener census metropolitan area, which for years has been lower than the national rate, rose to 9.1 per cent in February, well above the Canada-wide figure of 7.7 per cent.
The meltdown in the auto industry has claimed many jobs here, including some 1,200 at Kitchener Frame, a parts company that ceased production late last year.
But the region hasn’t hitched its wagon to a single industry. Its strengths in financial services and post-secondary education – the region boasts two universities and a community college – have helped offset manufacturing declines.
So has a thriving technology industry that is still hiring, in spite of the recession. Communitech, an industry-led technology association, estimates there are some 2,000 unfilled technology jobs in the region.
And the region continues to show creativity and nimbleness, exemplified in a forward-looking plan to remake Kitchener’s frayed downtown that many think will help insulate it from the worst of the downturn and position it to flourish when Ontario’s economy recovers.
Kitchener, the old industrial heart of the region, started planning for the future long before the recession hit.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/605992
Mark you make so many excellent points.
My main point is that all the previous and all the next big box stores will not be a participant of anything you have discussed. They are not our future, they are our past and if we build more of them it just shows we are living in the past.
Nowhere in the the Costco Badlands are you going to see any potential for what you’ve mentioned. With the exception of Casey’s whose owner seems to be an exception to the rule with his progressive character. (The man has helped more local causes than I could shake a stick at)
Dr. Morgan, where do you stand on protecting our mainstreets? What do you think should be done about residential intensification and commercial building in an overretailed city? Where should it be in the city’s priority list for you?
Our civic leaders listen to Dr. Morgan and his silence is an endorsement of their actions.
You’ve started an excellent article here, why don’t you finish it?
I just report the news Mark on what I find that is relevant to Scaledown, I don’t make the points.
There will a load for tomorrow in News! From Lingerie to electric cars, and Copenhagen’s dream traffic for bicycles!
If you want Mark, you can sneak in a get a peek at tomorrow’s News, you have the power!
i want to be clear in my belief that the creative class can and should be the ones to make an impact on windsor. i am probably 90% in agreement with all that was written here but it’s the way that we move forward on it that matters. sitting waiting for the city to make proper well thought out decisions is overly optimistic. preparing proposals that make sense and can’t be avoided is being proactive not reactive. too many times in this city we have seen city officials make decisions that are questionable and all we can do is rant about how bad of a decision it was. the change in tide in this city is obvious. the vacuum of industry and economic uncertainty is here. we as a community need to pounce on that void and fill it. the enthusiasm is there, the action needs to follow.
Agreed, I think too many people focus on trying to ring the perfect initiative when the implementation is more important. I’ll take a perfectly executed plan B over a poorly implemented plan A any day
That’s why I am more likely to support a wide range of initiatives such as engineering campuses or canal plans, urban villages etc
Which is the right one? They all are if you did them properly
The Buck N Change store on Ouellette and Wyandotte is closing. Reason; sales have bottomed! We can’t even support a dollar store in the core!!!
Since Ilike playing devlo’s advocate somuch here goes:
Mark you stated teh plans above are all great of they were done properly. Now I am not trying to ruffle feathers here but what has the city done properly when they institute policy or use taxpayers dollars to build legacy projects? Most have been horrendous mistakes! Especially the legacy projects.
Oe reason that I believe is a part of this issue is the will to do it. Whether it is council or administration, the design is always changed for the worse or implemented as a knee-jerk reaction that the project is not thought out well enough. As well, we are alwasy trying for the magic bullet to solve all of our problems. We know this shouldn’t be the case, but it is.
As for the small business task force. Is this task force supposed to help small businesses open in Windsor? I hear about the SBTF but I know of not one business person who was able to utilize them or receive any help or tips from them.
As I have been told many times in my life. Do all of the little things well and the large issues will usually take care of themselves. Why do we in Windsor, do the exact opposite of this? Why do we in Windsor look to others to fix problems when the answer is staring at us in the face…OURSELVES!
Hey, I’m a fan of Parks and Rec’s projects
Riverfront land assembly, The Riverfront Park in front of the Art Gallery and the Park where peace fountain are both breathtaking. Bert Weeks Memorial Garden, Superbowl Legacy playground are all successful projects. The Landscaping on Dougall coming into the city and flowering the BIA’s looks darn nice.
But yes we screwed up a lot of things. Some of my biggest pet peaves are:
1. Not leveraging the 400 bldg to create a mixed use development
2. The police station has absolutely no integration or interaction with the street along most of its main floor. We built an impenetrable fortress.
3. Tearing down Norwich Block for the white elephant we now have
4. I understand but disagree with planning on the the cold, sterile and antiseptic downtown streetscaping (its supposed to be a blank canvas that we paint with our decorations but I’d like to see it more warm)
But I won’t accept that our past equals our future. Lets simply do it right
The small business task force is done, to me, it seemed like it was assembled to identify municipal red tape. Unfortunately it didn’t identify the broader issues of Main Streets and Residential intensification, which I think are Key to small business
How much does a 5×5 canvas cost? Sell these to anyone (artists, restaurants, etc.) and have them decorate them and hang them in the empty storefronts. The art becomes property of the city in exchange for the exposure that the artist (or restaurant or ?) gets. If the person wants the canvas back (or wants to change their display regularly) they can pay a rental fee instead of donating the work. If a business just wanted to display an ad, then tell them that their poster/ad has to be 5×5 as well. A restaurant could put up photos and a map, a store could advertise specials, an artist could show their work, a band could promote an album.
I think that always centering the free stuff around artists is unfair. While I believe that we would benefit from more art, I think we would benefit from more EVERYTHING downtown as it lacks a lot (other than fab restaurants). There are many people/businesses that would benefit from free or reduced rent as stated earlier.
I love all the articles and committees and maps and energy going around but I feel like there aren’t many that are actually pushing things forward. I agree with Mark that planning is great but waiting until you think things are perfect instead of implementing them is just a waste of time.
We have taken just over 1 year to plan the Special Olympics Provincial Games for this summer. While we have the support of an existing group, most of the planning had to start from scratch as each city works with a new set of volunteers. Since about 1,000 will come to our city for this we have to work out the logistics for food, lodging, competitions, awards, signage, souvenirs, entertainment, etc. It’s a colossal undertaking and I spend many hours each week working on this even though I am not getting paid. If we can carry out this large event in that timeframe then some of the other plans that I have heard of should not take that long. Surround yourself with creativity, yes; but don’t forget to fill your project team with do-ers.
I also wanted to say that I don’t always think that big box is bad…depending on what it is. The Borders Books in Ann Arbor is fabulous and they are in a beautiful building and they sometimes have live acts during the day if there is someone playing a concert in town that night. Is that not considered big box though? They still take up most of the block and it’s 2 levels.
Its not about big box being bad, its about the lack of site plan controls connecting the big boxes to the street.
OUr city does not require them to build in a way that makes them pedestrian friendly. It does not require them to utilize existing buildings.
The Borders Book store would go just as well in the Abandoned Home Depot store by the mall as it would in a new sprucewood development.
These abandoned big box stores are being called “greyfield Sites” as there are few replacements for them. What will happen when the war between Rexall and Shoppers is finally fought. How will we reuse the spaces that eventually become abandoned.
All of these big box chains have urban versions of them. If our city had a brain they would force them become part of our main street revitalization instead of letting them be part of their destruction