In November, The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District announced at their annual meeting that Kacey Campbell would be serving the organization in a new position: Downtown Retail Recruiter. This new position was described as a “matchmaker” for businesses who want to set up shop Downtown, and the landlords of the existing retail spaces.
We recently sat down with Kacey to learn more about her new role, and how this new job will help to shape the retail future of Downtown.
Walker Evans: For starters, can you give us an overview of this position for anyone who missed the announcement back in November?
Kacey Campbell: The retail recruitment program is an effort to rebuild the retail sector Downtown. The program consist of a retail recruiter – me – whose function is to communicate accurate information about the retail demand Downtown, serve as a support person for potential retailers, and connect retailers with available space. It’s more of a matchmaker role and will not take the place of commercial brokers, but rather increase their inquiries about leasing space. Basically, the goal is to increase the number of potential retailers Downtown.
To give you an overview of our timeline right now… we’re taking the first few months to gather information about the consumer markets Downtown, basically doing all of the research and data gathering, taking a look at consumer markets, and digging into some of the demographics of the potential traffic Downtown. We’re working with Chris Boring at Boulevard Strategies to help do that retail analysis for us. Once we have all of that info, which also includes a database of available space, and condition of space, then I’ll be armed with all of the knowledge and expertise to be able to go out and start getting that information to folks that either want to start a business or who are looking to expand or relocate. Our main target is independent business owners and locally owned smaller chains, so we’re going to start there.
WE: You’ve mentioned to me before that there have been organizations in other cities that have done similar things. How well has this program worked in other cities?
KC: We’ve seen the program work well in other cities, particularly in second tier cities similar to Columbus. The program we oversaw most recently was in Nashville. They started their program a couple years ago and within the first year they saw, I believe, a dozen new businesses open. Last year, just two years in this program, they saw 35 new businesses open, in what was considered a tough economic climate. There are also programs in Milwaukee and St. Louis and various other cities. What we found as the common pattern here, is that these programs have one person who can be focused on this type of effort, and acts as a point person for people looking to move a business Downtown. So it’s a resource center, but it’s also a trusted adviser who can give them the information that they are needing and help them navigate the Downtown area, which can be a little overwhelming to some people. The Nashville program was really eye opening for us when we went down there. Part of it confirmed what we thought we already knew – that if you want to rebuild the retail sector, it is important that you have somebody who can really be thinking about this on behalf of commercial brokers and leasing agents who may not have the time or the ability to reach out to potential retailers.
WE: And this type of outreach is nothing new to you personally, correct? You have some experience in working with Pearl Market vendors and helping them move into full time retail spaces nearby. Take Ten Massage, Cook Shack BBQ and Sugardaddys all started as Pearl Market vendors.
KC: Yes, and that’s a very exciting transition for us to see. We do view the Pearl Market as a Downtown retail incubator where people can start a business for relatively low cost and low risk. The vendors there can expose their product to the Downtown market, experiment with their inventory and start to grow their business. Seeing these businesses open permanent shops Downtown is really encouraging for us. I’ve been doing work with the Pearl Market since 2006, and do have quite a good bit of experience with working with these types of vendors who really are looking to expand their business.
WE: It’s been really interesting over the past few years to watch the Downtown market and see certain businesses do extraordinarily well but then also see such a wide variety of vacant space. To the casual observer, it seems like there is a large opportunity for certain types of retailers to move in and take advantage of those empty spaces. What kinds of challenges are you seeing preventing that from happening right now and how are you going to be able to step in and assist with those challenges?
KC: The biggest challenge I see is in that available space. In our Downtown area we do have quite a few vacant spaces, but we have very few that are move-in ready, and the ones that are in a better condition either aren’t priced affordably or aren’t small enough for “starter space”. What we found this winter with the Indoor Pearl Market is that our retailers don’t need 2,000-5,000 sq ft, which is what a lot of the Downtown retail spaces offer. These entrepreneurs that are looking to make that next step are looking for something much smaller, maybe 500 sq ft – the type of spaces you can find in the Short North. If a building owner can provide the smaller starter spaces, the price per sq ft could actually be higher. So I think that the size of these spaces is going to one of bigger challenges that I’ll have to deal with moving forward.
WE: Are building owners and landlords just not too eager to carve up their spaces into smaller units?
KC: In some instances, that’s correct. I think one of the things that I will be trying to encourage property owners and building managers to think about is breaking up some of their available space so that you could have maybe eight or nine smaller retailers in what is currently one large vacant space that is too much for one small business. There’s really a great opportunity Downtown for us to be rebuilding the retail sector with locally owned and independent businesses, which I think is really exciting… but it’s going to have to be a team effort. It’s a team effort with the City of Columbus, and they’ve really stepped up with incentives and some other programs.
WE: When you look at some of the retail counterparts to a Downtown area – shopping centers or strip malls – they always have one larger property owner, and they essentially have people in your type of position that can go out and recruit retailers to fill those spaces. So would it be accurate to say that you’re filling that void on an almost public level for an area like Downtown?
KC: Yeah, that’s one of the roles that Capital Crossroads plays Downtown. Generally speaking, we are a management organization on behalf of all the private property owners, because as you said, in other commercial areas you have one property owner who’s taking care of things like landscaping and retail leasing. So this is another function where we’re serving on behalf of the property owners to provide a service that hasn’t existed before.
WE: Do you think that Downtown building owners will be eager to have you helping out in getting those spaces filled?
KC: I do! There was some media buzz when the announcement was made at our annual meeting in November and quite a few property owners have been supportive and very willing to help us with whatever we need. I think everyone wants this program to succeed, and the people that are down here are really invested in Downtown and they care about Downtown. There are a lot of people pulling for the program, which I think is very encouraging.
WE: I know you are still conducting research, but is it too early tell what sort of specific retail sectors would be good fit as early adopters moving Downtown?
KC: Based on the study that we commissioned in 2008, all of the major categories of retail have potential here. That’s everything from goods and services to restaurants and bars to fashion and other specialty shops. I think that we really have opportunities all across the board. We have a pretty strong lunch and restaurant business down here, but there’s also still potential for that to grow. If you also consider the adjacent neighborhoods – the Short North, Olde Towne East, German Village… that also really expands the residential pool in the Downtown area, and there are certain needs that there more residential-specific that could still be met. I still think that a specialty grocery store of some kind would do well Downtown. I will know more about additional opportunities in the next few months.
WE: There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the whole parking meter fiasco over the past few months, and I think that the meter rate hike was announced right around the same time as your new position.
KC: Yeah, I think it was the day before. The parking meter announcement came on a Tuesday and our annual meeting was on a Wednesday.
WE: Well, as you know, the rates have been lowered again but judging from the reports coming out of the working committee meetings, it sounds like the rate hike is still moving forward as originally planned. Do you think it’s going make your job more challenging in trying to convincing retailers that Downtown is the place to be?
KC: Parking is always a top issue Downtown. I think it is always going to be a retailer’s concern, and depending on different retails nodes and where people choose to locate, you can be really dependent on metered parking spots. For example, Third Street between Rich and Main is a major outbound commuter corridor. There are also quite a few retail shops right there along Third Street that could be considered a cluster, and having those parking meters right there in front of their businesses is important for people tobe able to just stop off and grab something on their way out of town.
So yeah, I think it certainly doesn’t help if the parking meter rates jump up quite a bit. I don’t think that it’s a hurdle that can’t be overcome though. Downtown areas are unique because you do have stronger foot traffic. I don’t think it’s going to put a huge weight on the recruitment program, but it certainly doesn’t help. I think that there’s enough reason to be down here that the parking meter issue wont be a huge deterrent. Or at least I’m hoping that’s the case.
WE: While you’ve given us a lot of examples of how you’ll be working to locate new businesses Downtown, can you tell us a bit more about how you’ll be working with existing retailers?
KC: I’ll certainly be helping existing businesses because it’s important that they’re here too. I think initially a lot of my work with them will be sharing the incentives that they might be able to take advantage of through the city, particularly the new Façade Grant Improvement. That’s available for existing businesses as well as new businesses. It’s a one-to-one match that the city’s offering. I think it would be beneficial for some of them to take advantage of that. Additionally I’ll be assisting existing business with visibility, street presence, signage, and other things like that.
WE: We’ve seen Gay Street really reemerge over the past 3-5 years, and part of that is due to the city investing in the two-way traffic conversion and additional streetscaping. I’ve heard from a few of the existing retailers on Main Street that they’d love to see the same sort of thing. Is that sort of development something that you’ll be pushing for?
KC: I think that if we hear from enough businesses or property owners about some sort of issue they are facing or some suggestion they have, we’ll certainly look into it and address their concerns. You know, I think that strip on Main Street has great potential and we’ll certainly respond to the concerns of the business owners. As far as converting a street from one way to two way, that’s something we can recommend and suggest from our office… but um… it’s…
WE: A lot of money?
KC: Yes, yes it’s a lot of money… and there’s certainly more factors to consider in terms of traffic patterns. But yes, we will certainly be responding to what people need and what people want and doing the best we can to meet their needs. I think that’s part of what Capital Crossroads is here for. We’re here to be a conduit to the city, a liaison between the city and the private sector, and to help speak on behalf of the property owners Downtown. That was something that we did recently with the rush hour parking ban lift. That was something that came from business owners in those areas. We made the recommendations to the city and they’ve lifted some of the parking bans. We certainly do what we can to address those concerns.
WE: Good to hear. It sounds like you have your work cut out for you in 2010.
KC: You know, I’m really encouraged by the response and feedback we’ve had so far from people all over the city.
WE: You were probably getting phone calls the day after the announcement, eh?
KC: Yes! The phone started ringing right after the announcement! We probably had a dozen or so retailers and entrepreneurs call within those first few days saying “We want to be Downtown, can you help us?” That sort of response is very encouraging. For so long the health of the Downtown retail sector has been tied so closely to City Center, but it simply doesn’t reflect the demand for what is down here. There were several factors that led to City Center’s downfall and it’ll be my job to make sure that people understand the real opportunities that currently exist Downtown.
WE: Great! And if anyone has questions for you, they can get in touch with you via the contact info on the Capital Crossroads website, correct?
KC: Yes, I’m happy to talk to people about the program and being able to talk to people one on one is really helpful. I’m always open to answering questions and I want people to have the right information because there are so many misperceptions about Downtown. I’m always open to help set the record straight.