Downtown living: understanding what's needed for more business development in Detroit.

Like most Major metropolitan areas in the United States, downtown Detroit has a high connection of corporate headquarters, sports and entertainment venues and cultural institutions, Lacking are residential units and retail establishments. Detroit is not alone in its quest to attract investment in both of these sectors to the downtown core. Successful downtowns like New York, Boston and Chicago have a 24-hour population. Instead of rolling up the sidewalks at the end of the workday, downtown residents keep the streets alive in the evening as, together with tourists, they eat, shop and seek entertainment.

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The typical downtown office worker commutes from outside the downtown core - usually the suburbs - works for eight to ten hours and returns home to his family and neighborhood. At most, a downtown employee might spend S 10 on lunch before returning to his or her home turf, where the majority of that person's disposable income is spent. Aside from the small eating establishments that center to the ,lunch crowd, office worker spending alone cannot support most retail businesses.

The same holds true for visitors that come downtown to attend sporting events, casinos, nightclubs or concerts. While their spending may be more significant than an office worker, it is often limited to the venue they're attending. The economic impact of this type of spending is limited because the "spin-off" is very small. A successful downtown not only attracts visitors at night but welcomes its residents to create the critical mass a retail operation needs to say in business.

Detroit is nor alone in its mission to re-create a 24-hour downtown population. But times have changed, and it's not an easy challenge. We're much more mobile now, with retail opportunities at almost every intersection. This is why creating residential opportunities downtown is so important to maintaining a thriving urban core. Instead of asking suburbanites to travel downtown to do the same shopping they can do closer to home, the downtown has a built-in customer base that enjoys the added benefit of leaving the car at home and walking or taking mass transit to "catch a bite," refill a prescription or buy a loaf of bread.

Additional retail venues will also attract visitors who are downtown to attend a concert or play the slots. Even more importantly, residential and retail developments generate foot traffic, which in turn creates a sense of security. And if people feel safer, they'll stay longer, spend more money and look for opportunities to come back (and hopefully, bring some friends!).

Ever since Super Bowl XL was a glimmer in Detroit's eye, the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Downtown Detroit Partnership, among others, have been working to attract investment to downtown Detroit. High on the priority list have always been residential and retail investment, along with the additional hotel rooms needed to attract more convention activity to Detroit.

Build It And They Will Come.

Unfortunately, attracting residential and retail investment is like deciding which came first, the chicken or the egg. People are reluctant to move downtown without access to grocery stores and other essentials nearby. Likewise, potential retail business owners are reluctant to locate downtown without a captive audience in the form of downtown residents. So far, it looks like there are enough Detroiters willing to exchange some of the shopping conveniences we have all come to expect for a more urban living experience. In recent years, over 1,500 residential units have been constructed or are under construction in the downtown area.

Attracting retail investment to downtown Detroit has proven to be more challenging. The majority of new retail businesses to open in the past few years have been restaurants and bars. However, a Borders Books and a CVS Pharmacy have opened in recent years, along with a relocated Kinkos, several florists and more than a few coffee shops. Clothing stores have been particularly hard to attract and retain in the downtown core, but there are a few that have found their niche.

According to a study commissioned by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Downtown Detroit Partnership, there is significant unmet demand for retail opportunities in downtown Detroit The capacity for additional home and garden, furniture, electronics and clothing stores is significant, and with a growing downtown population, should only increase in the future. Downtown Demographics (1. Mile Radius from Woodward & Jefferson) Population 2006 (est.) 9,989 2011 (proj.) 10,060 % change 2006-2011 0.71% Households 2006 (est.) 5,601 2011 (proj.) 6,149 % change 2006-2011 9.78% Average Household Income 2006 (est.) $50,559 2011 (proj.) $57,689 Daytime Population(2006) 36,978 Source: MapInfo.

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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Retail Opportunity in Downtown Detroit & Surrounding Neighborhoods

Retail Demand Unmet Retail Opportunity Food service & $81,839,000 ($127,705,665) drinking places General merchandise $89,508,000 n/a stores Health & personal $74,591,000 n/a care stores Building materials, $42,105,000 $34,673,670 garden equipment stores Food & beverage $109,287,000 ($77,102,729) stores Sporting goods, $25,894,000 ($19,936,436) hobby, book & music stores Electronics & $30,103,000 $20,317,142 appliance stores Furniture & home $12,294,949 $12,294,949 furnishings stores Clothing & clothing $47,426,000 $14,666,090 accessories stores Note: Negative figures denote sufficient supply with some uses likely drawing demand from a larger area than downtown. Source: Social Compact DrillDown Select New Housing Developments in Downtown Detroit Project Type Location Units Woodward Condo Woodward & 600 Place Brush Villages of Mixed Woodward & 174 Woodward Use Temple Broderick Lofts 12 110 Tower Witherell Woodward Lofts 1448 80 Cente Woodward Griswold Condo Michigan 80 Capital Park Ave &

Griswold Metropolitan Lofts Woodward & 70 Building John R Book Condo 1114 67 Cadillac Washington

Blvd. Garden Court Condo 2906 E. 65

Jefferson 1001 Condos 1001 55 Woodward Woodward

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