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 Retail as a Development Tool: Does it Make Sense? December 20, 2002 @ 8:30 PM on WVIZ Julie Henry: The explosive growth of communities like Medina, Avon, and Solon has new strip malls and shopping centers popping up like mushrooms in Northeast Ohio's outlying suburbs. And now, some of the region's inner ring communities are trying to fight fire with fire. Hi, I'm Julie Henry. And today on Making Change, we're looking at how some inner ring suburbs are using retail to stop the exodus from their communities and even lure people back toward the heart of the city. Gregory Stoup, Research Director at the Center for Regional Economic Issues at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management joins us once again. And Gregory, University Heights has put a lot of money into its Kaufman's project at the corner of Warrensville and Cedar. Do you think retail is a good economic strategy for some of these older, inner ring communities? Gregory Stoup: Well, a lot of these communities are anchoring their economic development strategies around retail. And the reason for that is that retail is a good capture mechanism for bringing wealth from outside of the community into the community. And what these communities are trying to do is really tap into that wealth and build lifestyle centers around these retail activities to not only bring dollars into the region but also lure back some of the residents that they're been losing. JH: Now "lifestyle centers" is a term that refers to people looking for more than shopping when they go out to shop. Can you explain that? GS: Well that's because growth and retail really comes from two pieces. One piece is that external community, tapping into those dollars from outside the region. But the main part is really tied to the indigenous population. And the lifestyle centers are growing in popularity because the truth of commerce in retail is that foot traffic is really the type of commerce that really is sustainable in the long term. JH: And we refer to lifestyle centers, we're talking about having not just a lot of shops, but also restaurants, entertainment, places where people can stop and meet and mingle. GS: Absolutely. The idea that everything that you use in your typical daily routine, you would be able to walk to is sort of the overall picture for a lifestyle center. JH: So it's almost like recreating the downtown of 50 years ago in some of these shopping centers, isn't it? GS: Exactly. They're using the downtown model, and that's it precisely. They've seen that the success of many downtowns, our included to some extent, has shown that if you develop not just the restaurants, not just the retail sector, but also give people the attractions and entertainment that they're looking for, the commerce levels are sustained at a higher level. JH: Do you think it is a good ides for places like Lakewood and University Heights to use retail to help revitalize their cities? Is this a strategy that has some potential for actually working? GS: In Northeast Ohio, it is going to be a bit of a challenge, because we're talking about a region that is not really growing in terms of population. Our population is becoming less dense as we tend to move out and consume more land. So the inner ring suburbs are in a fight to try to pull back and lure back those residents they've been losing over the last 15 to 20 years. JH: Let's talk a little bit, too, about internet sales. It's something that we didn't really think about even a decade ago. And I read in one article that internet sales have increased by something like 400% over that past few years, although that just means they've gone up from something like 0.2% of our shopping to 0.9%. But even if I want to buy something from let's say Pottery Barn. What kind of difference does it make if I order that item over the internet versus if I just went to the mall and bought it at the retail outlet. GS: For Northeast Ohio, the difference is more signigicant that other places because that big warehousing activity and the infrastructure that really supports those internet sales doesn't exist in Northeast Ohio. And so the jobs associated with them tend to be be spun out outside the region. JH: Gregory Stoup, Research Director at the Center for Regional Economic Issues at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management, thanks for being with us on Making Change. Resources:
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