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The retail we imagine

(4 posts)

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  1. KimJ
    Member

    I want this thread to be an opportunity for someone from the village to state EXACTLY what we are after with the TIF. $20 Million is a lot of dough to throw around. What retail do we want/expect from our CBD exactly?

    Retail, which one? We heard Abercrombie, Restoration Hardware, and Bergdorf's last night. We heard Barbara's Bookstore a week ago (although that was retracted.)
    What shopping goal do we have besides a fourth flower shop?

    On a side note, it has been pointed out that a viable CBD needs a minimum of 10,000 people to survive at all. We have 1,100 people less than we need in town to hit the minimum. How lucky we are to have a CBD at all! How much more can our population sustain?

    Posted Friday Feb 16, 2007 13:51 #

  2. spatny
    Member

    Workshop III, Session 2 will feature this Retail 1-2-3 game. I see the guy from Metro Planning Council is soliciting donations and will get something from the Village - so it is another type of consultant deal. I've been reading the manual and I would say most of it applies to places that are a lot bigger. We have a real problem: What we all value about Olmsted has (fortunately) been our greatest asset - the curvilinear streets and river that "hem us in" and keep the unknowing out. The reason I proposed the rebuild of Burlington and Longcommon was to see how people felt about increasing traffic from OUTSIDE the Village vs. the convenience of having more stores, etc. here. They are unlikely to be successful if they have to rely solely on Riverside patronage, but do we really want "You are Here" and "This Way to..." Wayfinding Signage at the Village gateways? I doubt it. I for one don't. I don't care if anybody from anywhere else ever comes here, but I'm sure that will be judged anti-democratic, or republican, or just plain prejudicial, or something else. One of my biggest objections to the VC was the way it sticks out and breaks that gentle transport from residential to the CBD. I believe the break in retail between Delaplaine and approximately the Post Office is good, and that lining the track side of Burlington or Quincy with stores and condos above would be ruinous. If people want Targets or Home Depots or anything else they don't have to drive far. Just don't bring too many people back with you.

    Posted Friday Feb 16, 2007 15:04 #

  3. Tim
    Member

    Perhaps Diane will allow the game to be "regulated" by members of the various Village Commissions. If 'we the people' are to play the game as if we were the Board of Trustees...perhaps representatives of the Economic Development Commission, Landscape Commission, Historic Commission, Preservation Commission, et al. could be available as "Life Lines" to offer advice along the way as to how our actions within the game would be applicable to modern day Riverside.

    Posted Friday Feb 16, 2007 19:22 #

  4. spatny
    Member

    I want to be Mayor Daley. I'll use the bulldozer as my piece on the board. Then I can take down a building overnight and we deal with reality, not just all this nice-making about our most (in)famous landlord. I can't believe these guys actually want to build him a parking garage. This is pathetic.

    Posted Friday Feb 16, 2007 19:40 #

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