The document discusses the history of commercial investment leaking from urban centers to the suburbs in the 20th century, driven by factors like the rise of automobile use, the evolution of technologies like home refrigeration, and the search for larger homes and "world-class lifestyles" in the suburbs. However, by the late 20th century, the negative impacts of sprawling suburban development like traffic, infrastructure costs, and threats to downtown areas led many places to pursue more sustainable development and revitalization of urban cores. The report examines the tools and case studies used in attracting commercial investment back to downtowns and urban centers.

1. A PUBLICATION CREATED BY MEMBERS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION
Attracting Commercial Development:
Tools & Case Studies
A 2016 TOP ISSUES COUNCIL REPORT

2. ABOUT IDA
IDA
The International Downtown Association is the premier association of urban place managers
who are shaping and activating dynamic downtown districts. Founded in 1954, IDA represents
an industry of more than 2,500 place management organizations that employ 100,000 people
throughout North America. Through its network of diverse practitioners, its rich body of
knowledge, and its unique capacity to nurture community-building partnerships, IDA provides
tools, intelligence and strategies for creating healthy and dynamic centers that anchor the well-
being of towns, cities and regions of the world. IDA members are downtown champions who
bring urban centers to life. For more information on IDA, visit downtown.org.
IDA Board Chair: Michael Smith, President, Charlotte Center City Partners
IDA President & CEO: David T. Downey, CAE
IDA Top Issues Councils
The IDA Top Issues Councils are a strategic research initiative that brings together industry
leaders to produce research briefs on the top urban issues identified by IDA members in the
areas of economy, experience and partnership. Each council is led by a chair, comprised of place
management professionals sharing their expert knowledge, and supported by both IDA staff and
the IDA Research Committee. Those selected to serve on a council contribute their expertise to
the growing, relevant body of knowledge on the place management industry.
IDA Research Committee Chair: Kristopher Larson, CEO, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.
IDA Director of Research: Cole E. Judge
International Downtown Association
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downtown.org
© 2016 International Downtown Association, All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form—print, electronic, or otherwise—without the express
written permission of IDA.

3. Council Members 5
Executive Summary 7
Chapter 1: A Brief History of Commercial Investment in 8
Urban Centers
Why Investment Leaked to the Suburbs
Where Investment Leaked to the Suburbs
Growing Anxiety Towards Suburbanization
From Tension to Action
Chapter 2: Millennials, Technology, and Retail 11
The Global Financial Crisis
The Recession and Online Shopping
Historic Spikes in Oil Prices
Doubts over the Resilience of Suburban Retail
Realigning Investment in Downtowns and Town Centres
Millennial Demographics
Retail and its Effect on Livability
Retail Evolution
Chapter 3: The Built and Natural Environment 16
Clean and Safe
Placemaking
Impact of Infrastructure on Urban Development
Parks and Open Space
CONTENTS

4. Chapter 4: Regulations and Planning 22
The Role of Financial and Economic Incentives
Chapter 5: Case Studies from Urban Districts 26
Downtown Boise’s Renaissance
ADP’s Selection of Downtown Norfolk
Collective Temperance Hospital in London
Public Realm Investment in Colmore
Evolution of Retail on Yonge Street in Downtown Toronto
Chapter 6: The Role of Place Management Districts 31
Business Marketing
Consumer Marketing
Strategy
Provision of Information
Direct Action
Conclusion 34
Bibliography 35
CONTENTS

5. COUNCIL MEMBERS
Maureen Atkinson, Senior Partner- Research Insights,
J.C. Williams Group, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Maureen Atkinson uses research to create the insights that
show clients where the customer is going, how retailers
are responding globally, and how they can increase their
revenues by anticipating these changes. During her career
at J.C. Williams Group, she has managed numerous studies
that have provided data for positioning or repositioning
plans, new store format evaluation, new concept develop-
ment and brand assessment among many other assign-
ments. She has a business degree from the Schulich School
of Business at York University.
Elizabeth Demetriou, National Director of Economic Dev-
lopment, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), New
York, NY, United States
Elizabeth Demetriou oversees LISC’s economic develop-
ment initiatives, delivering a comprehensive package of
grants, technical assistance and capital. This supports job
creation, business expansion and the development of
healthy, desirable communities that attract private invest-
ment, entrepreneurship and economic growth. Elizabeth
has a Masters of Urban Planning and more than a decade’s
experience working on economic development, commer-
cial revitalization and workforce development in the non-
profit and government sectors.
CO-CHAIRS
Mary B. Miller, President & CEO, Downtown Norfolk
Council, Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Mary Miller serves as the President & CEO of the Down-
town Norfolk Council. She previously served as the Vice
President of the organization and in various positions with
the City of Norfolk, Virginia. Mary holds a master’s de-
gree in urban and regional planning from the University of
Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science degree in archi-
tecture from The Catholic University of America. Mary cur-
rently serves on the board of the Hampton Roads Chapter
of the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association
and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.
Kâren Sander, Downtown Specialist/Retail & Office, Cush-
man & Wakefield Commerce, Boise, Idaho, United States
As a downtown specialist and passionate urbanite, Kâren
Sander brings insider knowledge on how downtown works
to inform real estate, development and growth decisions.
The heart and soul of an urban environment has many lay-
ers, and Kâren is known for her collaborative approach to
guiding businesses through the opportunities and ob-
stacles. Prior to her career as a Downtown commercial real
estate specialist with Cushman & Wakefield she spent more
than a decade leading the Downtown Boise Association,
where she was deeply involved in the transformation of the
urban core.
IDA’s Commercial Investment Council
COUNCIL

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6 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
Ojay McDonald, Public Policy Manager, Association of
Town & City Management, London, United Kingdom
Ojay McDonald leads on public policy for ATCM. In this
role he works with Government Ministers, parliamentarians,
economic development professionals, business leaders
and place-makers across the UK and Ireland to support
town and city centres. He works on a range of policy issues
including tax reform, local government finance, the EU
Urban Agenda, devolution, transport, housing, planning,
retail and urban regeneration. He was lead author of the
non-judicial parliamentary inquiry ‘High Street Britain 2015’,
is a former Director of the Institute of Place Management
and has a Master’s Degree in Politics.
Graham Copeland, Principal, Downtown Dynamics, Mer-
ion, PA, United States
Graham Copeland provides industry experience and a
depth of knowledge as a practitioner in downtown district
management and economic development. He collaborates
with municipal leaders and community stakeholders to revi-
talize commercial districts and stimulate economic growth.
Downtown Dynamics provides strategic planning, program
management and project implementation. Graham led the
transformation of a complex big city district and a suburban
downtown Main Street program. He served as the Execu-
tive Director at Old City District, a downtown Business
Improvement District in Center City Philadelphia, and at
Main Street Highland Park, in Central New Jersey.
Pauline Larsen, Senior Economic Development Manager,
Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Building on a background in economic analysis and journal-
ism, Pauline has spent the past two decades working in the
field of urban economic research, based first in Johannes-
burg, South Africa, and then in Toronto, Canada. She holds
a B.Soc.Sc (Hons) in Economics and an M.A. (Geography)
(cum laude) from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
She was appointed to the position of Senior Economic
Development Manager in October 2013 and is responsible
for economic research and development projects – includ-
ing the award-winning retail recruitment and retention
program.
Jim Edwards, Executive Director, Charleston Urban Re-
newal Authority, Charleston, West Virginia, United States
Jim Edwards has over thirty years remaking urban centers
and neighborhoods in both public and private positions,
emphasizing the creation of environments and policies at-
tractive to private investment.
Photos: Colmore Business District.
COUNCIL

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Executive Summary
Attracting commercial development to an urban core relies on a multitude of factors to be successful.
Some of the issues that need to work in tandem to create a platform for attracting commercial develop-
ment include: a vibrant downtown, a user-friendly permitting process, available capital and land, infrastruc-
ture and ongoing management and maintenance. This report provides an overarching view of the evolution
of urban retail throughout the past fifty years to the present, including examples from the United States,
Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Every downtown and urban place has a unique set of circumstances and recipes for success. Examples
from across the globe have been included here to show the diversity of economic development tools and
successful attraction of commercial development.
The report includes the following:
• Evolution of Commercial Development in Urban Centers
• Millennials, Technology and Retail
• The Role of the Built and Natural Environment
• Planning, Regulations and Incentives
• Downtown Case Studies
Photos: Joshua Roper Photography.
SUMMARY

8. CHAPTER ONE
A Brief History
of Commercial
Investment in
Urban Centers
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1.1 Understanding Why Investment
Leaked to the Suburbs
Confusion still surrounds the reasons for commercial
investment leaking from urban centres during the 20th
century. Mieszkowski and Mills present two different
theories. One, based on ‘natural evolution’, suggests
that, while locations of employment were centrally
located, housing developed around these, moving from
the inside–out as the population grew, causing natural
suburbanisation. Higher earners have elected to live in
the housing furthest out due to the greater availability of
land, larger house sizes and a better quality of life leading
to income stratified neighborhoods. The exodus of the
affluent to the suburbs began the decline in fortunes for
downtowns and town centres.
The alternative theory (known as the fiscal-social
approach) presents a different story. It suggests that
demographic changes, partly through immigration in
inner-urban locations, introduced tensions in society that
compelled higher earners to relocate to the suburbs,
in other words ‘flight from blight.’ It presents the
idea that downtowns and town centres were already
becoming undesirable before suburbanization became
commonplace. In both scenarios town centre and
downtown locations become increasingly unattractive for
investors and employers. Over time, commercial activity
follows residents and is decentralized, increasingly
relocating out-of-centre.
Neither theory is comprehensive. In the State of World’s
Cities 2010/2011, the United Nations (UN) suggests that
real estate developers are not just following people,
but are a driving force behind suburbanisation, selling
a ‘world-class lifestyle’ to residents and business alike.
There is a strong rationale for developers to push for this.
Undeveloped land is easier, quicker and cheaper to build
on, bringing short-term benefits to investors, but carrying
long-term costs to society.
In truth, any three of these theories, and many others
could play a role to a greater or lesser extent depending
on the dynamics of individual towns. This is merely
scratching the surface of a complex topic.
What is less disputed is the role motorised transport
has played in facilitating the leakage of commercial
investment from urban centres. In the mid-19th century,
when transporting goods and people was both costly
and time consuming, higher income groups lived in
town and city centres near places of employment while
lower income groups lived further away and were forced
to walk to work. The invention of the automobile, the
development of the highway network and the falling cost
of cars in relation to salaries during the post-war period
reversed this, transforming commuting and making
suburbanization feasible. In the UK, for example, the
cost of the family car today is the equivalent of just 20
months’ salary compared to four years’ salary in 1952.
Consequently, the number of vehicles on Britain’s roads
has gone from 2.5 million to 34.5 million during that time.
Suburbanization is not just about the relocation of
people as residents or commuters. During this period,
shopping behaviour has followed a similar pattern for a
number of different reasons. Once again the car played
a pivotal role, but other reasons, such as the evolution
of domestic food storage, came into play. In the 1920s,
around a third of US households owned a refrigerator.
This had become two-thirds in the space of just 20 years.
Its impact on household habits has led to the refrigerator
being labelled by a journalist for the Washington Post
“arguably, one of the most disruptive technologies of the
last century.” Consumers, with the ability to store food
for longer coupled with the ability to travel further by car,
transformed the grocery shopping trip, making weekly
or fortnightly visits to out-of-town retail superstores. The
availability of land, lower development costs and fewer
land use restrictions have been ideal for retailers such as
Wal-Mart and other big box stores, who have favoured
this business model.
1.2 Understanding Where Investment has
Leaked to the Suburbs
Also less disputed is the global, yet uneven, impact of
suburbanization. The trend began in the United States,
where suburbanization has gone further and faster than
anywhere else in the world. Although the proportion of
1

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10 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
people living in an urban environment in the US increased
from 69% in 1970 to 77% by 1990, the proportion of urban
dwellers that actually resided in a central location de-
clined. This was 57% in the 1950s but just 37% by 1990. The
proportion of centrally located employment also dropped
from 70% in 1950 to 45% in 1990.
Other countries have experienced a parallel trend. The UN
points to cities across the world that have seen commercial
and residential activity spread from central areas outwards.
The Mexican city of Guadalajara saw its surface area grow
1.5 times faster than its population between 1970 and 2000.
A similar trend has been observed in cities in China, An-
tananarivo in Madagascar, Johannesburg in South Africa,
Cairo in Egypt and Mexico City. However, it is not the same
story everywhere.
For periods during the latter part of the 20th century, the
UK experienced rates of suburbanization similar to the
U.S. But other wealthy countries have shown more re-
straint, committing to centralizing investment. Based on
cross-country comparisons of population density, cities in
Germany, Canada and Japan have all performed better at
resisting suburbanization. In some cases, this is an out-right
rejection of the ‘world class lifestyle’ offered by suburban-
ization. In others, it is out of necessity. Japan in particular
is a populous country with vast mountainous regions and
where much of its liveable flat land is used for agriculture.
What land remains for habitation is a precious commodity.
1.3 Growing Anxiety Towards
Suburbanization
If the immediate post-war period can be characterised
by the boom of suburbia, the latter part of the 20th
century can be characterised by the anxiety around the
consequences of this boom. This is epitomised by the
introduction of the term ‘urban sprawl’ to the lexicon,
indicating the land consumptive and inefficient nature of
urban encroachment with high amounts of critical land lost
in relation to population growth .
This creates numerous problems and challenges. The loss
of countryside and green space is a concern both from an
agricultural perspective and a sustainability perspective.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource
Conservation Service estimates that over 12 million
hectares of land were converted to developed land in the
U.S. between 1982 and 1997 with over half coming from
farmland and another third from forest land. Brueckner
highlights that excessive urban expansion means longer
commutes generating increased traffic congestion and
air pollution. A study by the Surface Transportation Policy
Project, of the Center for Neighborhood Technology
found that residents in cities like Houston and Atlanta
were paying more for transportation than housing. Burton
identifies the inefficient use of infrastructure and the
undermining of public transport.
Brueckner identifies another consequence of urban
sprawl being the long-term damage to downtowns and
town centres with reduced incentives to invest in these
areas. Furthermore, the fragmentation of the functions of
‘place’ contribute to the fragility of the wider economy by
undermining resilience to change.
1.4 From Tension to Action
Institutional action to promote sustainability, revive
downtowns and strengthen the economy emerged from
this tension. The UN’s Brundtland Commission published
Our Common Future, coining the phrase ‘sustainable
development’ and outlining the need to ensure growth
does not compromise future generations. ‘Sustainable
development’ has consolidated its place at the heart of
a global endeavour to promote the evolution of the city
through the Sustainable Development Goals.
In the U.S., the Clinton administration placed the
preservation of open spaces on the national agenda and
proposed using federal money to support this. In the
UK, the Major administration developed Planning Policy
Guidance 6 which became known as Town Centres First,
prioritising commercial investment in central locations.
This has been complemented by the mobilization of
people, businesses and municipal government keen
to respond to the challenge of suburbanisation at a
local level. Public-private partnerships have emerged
internationally as a vehicle for attracting investment in more
central locations. Town centre/downtown management
plans have become a key function in the revitalization of
the urban core. This report assesses the current context for
investment and how it is being brought forward.
CHAPTER ONE
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:

11. :2CHAPTER TWO
The Role of
Millennials,
Technology
and Retail

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CHAPTER TWO
:2
In understanding commercial investment in urban centers,
the question of demand trends is key. Major factors include
the impact of the millennial generation and how it is
shaping urban space, and the allied impacts of technology,
urbanization and globalization on the way that businesses
currently operate. The health of a downtown’s retail sector
and its ability to enhance liveability is a major contributor to
its attractiveness for commercial investment.
2.1 The Global Financial Crisis
The global financial crisis changed everything. A recession,
the emergence of a digital economy and soaring energy
costs combined to create a toxic and turbulent mix of issues
for people and businesses leading to changes in behaviour
that were visible almost overnight. The slow realization of the
importance downtowns play in creating and maintaining a
resilient economy became a stark reality that could no longer
be ignored.
2.2 The Recession and Online Shopping
With recessionary pressures on employment, wage growth
and inflation changed the consumer mindset. Retailers
had to work much harder to get customers to part with
their cash. Unfortunately for brick and mortar stores, this
was compounded by the digital revolution. The substantial
increase in choice, the availability of lower cost online
alternatives and the ability to bargain hunt at the touch
of the button have transformed purchasing patterns in a
way which causes a downward pressure on prices for many
products and services.
2.3. Historic Spikes in Oil Prices
For suburban retail, the perfect storm was complete when
other factors undermined the business model. A key, but
sometimes forgotten, trend in 2007 was the fluctuating oil
prices that transformed the cost base of private transport.
Towards the end of 2007, oil prices breached $100 per barrel,
a record high. This was double the price of just 12 months
before and quadruple the price of five years before. The
commuters and shoppers who travelled long distances in the
countries where investment leakage to the suburbs had been
greatest were heavily affected as prices at the pump became
challenging. The cost advantages offered by the suburbs was
cast into doubt.
2.4. Doubts over the Resilience of
Suburban Retail
Investment decisions that saw the separation of the retail,
residential, employment, public services and leisure functions
began to look short-sighted and unsustainable, especially
for a retail sector that was not flanked by other footfall
generators. This has been epitomised by the millennials
who have shown a clear appetite for mixed use locations,
bringing together these functions to provide access on the
doorstep to a range of employment opportunities, products,
services, leisure pursuits and cultural experiences.
Suburban retail is no longer in vogue and businesses on
both sides of the Atlantic that adopted some of the most
aggressive expansion strategies are suffering as a result.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch calculate that $47.5 billion in
US shopping mall debts are due in the next 18 months and
this could lead to the bankruptcy of hundreds of shopping
centers. General Growth has already defaulted on its $144
million Lakeside Mall mortgage just six years after filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy following the accumulation of $27
billion in debt, the largest in US real estate history.
The UK’s largest grocery retailers have experienced a similar
challenge. The so called ‘big-four’ of Morrison’s, Tesco,
Sainsbury’s and Wal-Mart-owned Asda, have all announced
that they are either curtailing their expansion plans or even
closing existing stores with pressure from online shopping
and new budget retailers. Tesco, historically the most
aggressive in terms of expansion policy, has been hit the
hardest with 43 stores closing.
2.5 Realigning Investment in
Downtowns and Town Centres
The need to reunite the different functions of place in the
heart of communities seems clearer now than ever before.
Through this unification, land can be used more efficiently
while commercial districts can become more resilient to a
rapidly changing society.
Businesses in the UK are responding. The same grocers

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that are struggling with their out-of-town portfolio
are investing in high streets. The big-four were huge
drivers in the 20% growth of smaller convenience
stores in town centres between 2010 and 2015 .
Various government administrations and institutions
have also responded. Across the UK the ‘Living Over
the Shop’ plan has been promoted and supported
through grant awards to assist property conversions,
which have experienced varying degrees of success.
For England, the UK Government has gone a step
further by permitting landlords to convert any office
into a home to support the reuse of old buildings. In
Scotland, following the National Town Centres Review
the Scottish Government announced that it would
commit £2 million to a Town Centre Housing Fund to
deliver more residential space in town centers.
Ultimately, whatever the will of businesses or
government, change will be driven by consumers.
How the next generation adopts to a rapidly
changing, increasingly technology-driven world is
critical to understanding the nature of investment
in commercial centres. Millennials are a key
demographic in the shift back towards downtowns.
2.6 Millennial Demographics
The millennial generation is generally considered to
have been born between 1980 and 2000, with some
sources including those born up to 2004. This makes
millennials the largest generation in the U.S. and one
of the largest in most developed countries. Not only
is this generation large but it is also the best educated
(61% attended college) and the most diverse. This is
also the first generation to have access to personal
computers and the internet in its formative years so
they are more technologically adept than previous
generations.
In the U.S., college-educated young adults (25 to 34
years) are twice as likely to live within three miles of a
city’s downtown core. In general, educated millennials
are more likely to live in urban areas than previous
generations at a similar age. They look for cities that
cater to their preferences and are more tolerant of
differences in others as they have been accustomed
to diversity among their peers.
In urban areas, they look for walkable neighborhoods
and transit options. As well, they are happy to use
sharing alternatives such as Uber and bike share.
They are looking for diversity, creativity, and culture,
with lots of opportunities to socialize with their peers.
Because of their high levels of education and their
digital adeptness, they are a valuable workforce asset
for downtowns. Their attraction to central city areas
makes those areas more attractive to employers.
While Generation X has been known to be less loyal
to employers, Millennials are staying with their early
career employers longer, probably because many
came into the workforce just after the 2008 recession
and found getting a job more difficult.
The tendencies for this generation to both live and
work in central cities can only make downtowns
stronger in the future. The challenge will be for
downtowns to create the kind of environment that
will attract and retain this generation. Even now,
larger “superstar” cities like Boston and San Francisco
are becoming too expensive. This opens up
opportunities for mid-sized cities to provide the kind
of environment in their downtowns that are found in
the large cities without the high cost of living.
2.7 Retail and its Effect on Liveability
Retail is an important element in making a downtown
liveable. The public nature of retailers with their shop
windows and accessibility to everyone creates an
interesting environment on the streets of downtown
that no other use can. Retail also provides “eyes on
the street” that makes an area feel safer. In addition,
retailers perform an important function for office
workers, but more importantly for residents, by
providing needed goods and services.
Downtown housing and retail are intertwined as
retail supports the building of housing because it
makes the area more liveable. Retail also depends
on local residents who are much more likely to spend
more money in downtown than office workers. The

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14 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
expression “retail follows rooftops” is absolutely true with
most retail chain stores requiring a minimum number of
households within a particular radius in order to consider a
location. This number is different depending on a retailer’s
product. It can be modified by the number of local workers
or tourists or by the retailer’s use of internet selling, but
fundamentally retailers are dependent on the residential
population.
The challenge for downtown stakeholders and developers is
to understand how much retail can be supported and how
retail is changing. Some important guidelines for those who
are adding retail to developments include the following:
• Each retailer requires a certain number
of nearby consumers in order to survive.
While this is changing as retailers develop
their internet business, retailers that
provide service and convenience goods
e.g., grocery, drug stores, will be mostly
dependent upon local residents. Creating
retail space that ignores this reality is
doomed.
• Downtown retail should first provide the
basics. While it is great to have destination
retail, e.g., fine furniture, in downtown, it is
more important to provide food stores, drug
stores, and convenience goods in order to
ensure that new residents can truly be part
of downtown rather than having to travel for
their most basic needs.
• Once a downtown provides the retail
basics, the next step is to use retail to
create community. Almost any kind of food
and beverage operation can help create
community especially ones that reflect the
community itself. A Dunkin Donuts may
be better than a Starbucks in a certain
community. Allowing these kinds of retailers
to spill out on the streets with patios, for
instance, will enhance the livability as much
as parks and public squares.
• One key role that a downtown organization
can play to encourage new retailers is to
assist new businesses in navigating the local
ordinances and approvals process, which
can be complex and time-consuming.
• While it is desirable to have stores that
provide shopping goods like apparel
and sporting goods, they are difficult for
downtowns to support. The advent of
internet shopping has enabled these kinds
of retailers to flourish despite the lower
traffic in many downtown areas. However,
it is very important that landlords that lease
to these kinds of stores help enable their
businesses through services like enhanced
internet connectivity and the ability of stores
to ship internet orders directly from their
location. The benefit for the retailer is they
have a store that communicates their brand
in a way that an online site cannot. If the
downtown has enhanced its physical realm,
the experience for both the customers and
the employees can be far more unique and
enjoyable than other alternatives.
The retail component of downtown can be critically
important to its quality of life. Getting and keeping a
strong retail base has become riskier for landlords as the
sector goes through changes and once-strong retailers
lose their power. The attractiveness of the public realm is
enhanced by retail and conversely, it is critical to attracting
retailers who may have the option of going anywhere.
The improvement and management of public spaces
will continue to be an important function of downtown
organizations in partnership with city governments.
2.8 Retail Evolution
Retail is an incredibly dynamic industry. It is constantly
changing as consumers’ tastes and behaviors change and
evolve over time.
CHAPTER TWO
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Technology has helped accelerate these changes, so
retailing innovations which may have taken five to ten
years to emerge are now shifting on a yearly basis. This
makes retail real estate investment, which requires a
minimum of a twenty-year time horizon riskier than ever.
Some of the key trends driving retail today include:
• Blending online shopping with in-store
traffic – Online shopping has emerged and
matured in less than 20 years. Early in its
development, it looked like online shopping
was going to replace many brick and mortar
retailers as book and electronics retailers
bled business and closed for lack of sales.
It has now become clear that the most
successful retailers must find a blend of store
and online service. Stores will not disappear
but the internet has become an important
channel for all retailers.
• Online pre-shopping – One outcome of
online shopping is that customers often
come to a store knowing exactly what they
want. This has resulted in less shopper
traffic and more directed shopping trips. It
has also become more difficult to determine
whether a sale has been made in the store
or online as the customer may shop online,
view merchandise in-store, and order the
product in-store but have it delivered. This
omni-channel activity has made it difficult for
retail landlords to determine an appropriate
rent, which in the past has been based solely
on store sales.
• Global retail – While there have always been
retailers that have grown beyond their home
borders in search of opportunities, this trend
has accelerated as investors have sought
higher growth from their retail investments.
This global reach has required these retailers
to be more competitive and stronger than
their local competitors. However, this trend
has also created more opportunity for strong
independent retailers who can address local
needs that a global retailer will ignore.
• International shopping – The internet has
given the consumer the tools to shop at
retailers around the world. Many online
retailers provide local currency prices and
global shipping. This means that retailers,
regardless of where they are located, must
compete not just with local retailers, but with
retailers from around the world. While this
increases competition for local retailers it can
also provide new opportunities for unique
retailers to be less dependent on the local
traffic in their area.
• Price (and source) transparency – Customers
now have full visibility of prices being offered
from around the world. The days of retailers
being able to charge whatever they want are
over. (Customers also want to know where
their product is from and how.)
• Retail Experience – Customers are looking for
an experience, as well as the actual shopping.
In the age of “selfies” and trends towards
owning less, and understanding where their
goods are sourced from.
• Urban units – As more and more residents
in large and mid-sized cities choose to live
downtown or denser urban areas, retailers
have taken notice and followed those
customers. Often these retailers find that
their suburban models that require a lot of
land and suburban road networks will not
work in denser urban settings. This has led
to the development of urban models that
are smaller in size and/or on multiple levels
in order to work in tighter urban sites. Tesco
and Waitrose in the U.K. and Target in the
U.S. several examples of the many retailers
who have developed models designed to fit
into urban spaces.
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16. IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
CHAPTER THREE
The Role of
the Built
& Natural
Environment
:3

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The Role of the Built &
Natural Environment
Like millennials, retail and technology, the built and
natural environment in a downtown can either help
attract commercial investment or act as a deterrent. For
managed commercial districts, ensuring that spaces are
clean and safe is foundational and forms the basis for
all other activities. Investment in key infrastructure such
as sports arenas or convention centres can likewise be
a boon, if the locational decision is made thoughtfully
and aligned with the character – and economy - of its
downtown.
3.1 Clean & Safe
One of the primary functions that many Business
Improvement Districts (BID) focus on is the care and
maintenance of the built environment. The tangible
improvement to a geographic area can be measured
by the services provided, such as the tons of trash
removed; miles of sidewalk cleaned monthly; along with
physical improvements to sidewalks and infrastructure
like bicycle racks; repairs to pavements; and the addition
of flower planters.
The question is: Do these services enhance the
urban environment in a way that attracts commercial
development?
As noted by a report developed by the New York City
Department of Small Business Services :
• One of the many benefits of a BID is that of
a safer, cleaner and more attractive district.
• Business Improvement Districts have been important
partners in the economic development of New York City
for more than 20 years. From the central business districts
to local shopping areas, BIDs make valuable contributions
to the life of our neighborhoods.
One key finding from a Furman Center Policy brief on the
benefits of business improvement districts is that BIDs have
a significant positive impact on commercial property values.
On average, the value of commercial property within a BID
increases by approximately 15 percentage points more than
comparable properties in the same neighborhood but outside
the BID.
Another finding that has been almost an anthem to BIDs in
their effort to gain support for their existence is the broken
window theory. And while this theory is mostly associated
with crime and safety, it also addresses the care of the built
environment. In 1982, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling
first introduced the broken window theory in an article titled
“Broken Windows.” The title is derived from the example of
“a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are
not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more
windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building,
and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light
fires inside.”Another example cited in the article is that of a
sidewalk. If litter begins to accumulate, “eventually people
even start leaving bags of refuse from take-out restaurants
there or even break into cars.
Photos:
Camden
Town
Unlimited.
3

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18
BROKEN WINDOWS
“Broken window” elements may often be viewed as an indicator of
low real estate value, detering investors. Providing a clean and safe
environment is therefore also a component of real estate development,
which may lead, desired or not, to gentrification. By reducing the
amount of broken windows in the community, the area may appear to
be attractive to consumers with more capital. Focusing on decreasing
criminal activity and cleaning the built environment have been useful
tools to attract investment from consumers, increasing the city’s
economic status, providing a safe and pleasant image for both present
and future inhabitants.
In summary, there are
many parts of an ideal
recipe for commercial
development to take
place in an urban center.
Providing a clean and well-
maintained environment
is an important piece of
the puzzle in the decision-
making process. And
certainly community
members are more apt
to visit places that are
clean and safe, making
the attraction to a
development in an urban
area more feasible.

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19
3.2 Placemaking
Downtowns typically offer
an authentic environment
as a strong base from which
to enhance and develop
placemaking elements.
Downtowns, by nature of their
dense development patterns
are walkable. The character of
the architecture, both historic
and new, contributes to a unique
sense of place.
Placemaking and activation
of public spaces are topics
of regular discussion and
writing by a number of industry
organizations including the
International Downtown
Association, Project for Public
Spaces, American Planning
Association, Urban Land Institute
and Smart Growth America.
Today, placemaking is intrinsically connected to economic
development. A report that is most relevant to commercial
reinvestment is “Core Values – Why American Companies
Are Moving Downtown” published by Smart Growth
America in Partnership with Cushman & Wakefield and
Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, The George
Washington University.
The report highlights the common themes regarding what
companies are looking for when choosing a new location:
• Vibrant, walkable neighborhoods
• Places people want to live and work
• Access by a range of transportation options
• Great office space – renovated warehouses or other
unique architecture
• Welcoming community
• Assistance with permitting or financial incentives.
The characteristics identified in the report are driven by
the millennial workforce. Today, millennials make up
approximately 29% of the workforce and that number will
increase to 44% by 2025 . It has been reported widely that
millennials prefer urban environments as places to live, work
and play.
In 2015, the Project for Public Spaces announced a
collaboration with the Brookings Institution to launch the
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Initiative on Innovation and
Placemaking. Downtown practitioners will benefit from
the case studies and lessons learned developed with this
initiative.
Downtown management organizations can play a key
role in creating the type of environment that is attractive
to millennials for job attraction and retention and overall
solidify downtown as a destination. They can advocate for
transportation options, physical improvements and develop
programming to activate spaces.
Financial assistance is another tool organizations
can provide to encourage and support placemaking.
Downtown Long Beach has a “Placemaking Grant Program”
that provides funding for physical enhancements to public
spaces and streetscapes. In 2015 grants were awarded for
projects such as a children’s playground, landscaping and
urban furniture.

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CHAPTER THREE
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The Downtown Norfolk Council (DNC) developed a parklet
grant program and in its NEON Arts District, they provide
funding for murals. For two years DNC put out a call for
parklet designs and the selected recipients were awarded
$2,500 grants towards construction. In the NEON Arts
District, DNC funded three significant murals in 2015 to
help jump start the new and emerging district. Mural grant
funding is now managed as a matching grant program for
property owners up to a value of $2,500.
Turning public spaces into places of enhanced physical
character and vibrancy supports the efforts of urban place
managmeent organizations to bring communities together
and to create engaging and interesting destinations.
3.3 Impact of Infrastructure on Urban
Development
The article titled, “Infrastructure Lesson for Economic
Growth and Business Success”, written by Leslie Wagner
discusses the impact that the quality and availability of
infrastructure has on attracting development to an area.
“Infrastructure is an important vari-
able for judging a county’s, region’s,
or state’s development. Formally
defined, infrastructure is “the basic
physical and organizational struc-
tures needed for the operation of
society or enterprise or the services
and facilities necessary for an econ-
omy to function.” It can generally
be defined as the set of intercon-
nected structural elements that pro-
vide framework supporting an entire
structure of development.”
- Leslie Wagner, Director of Project Management
and Development, Ginovus
3.4 Parks & Open Space
The premise that parks and open spaces add to the
vibrancy of downtowns and increase real estate value is
supported by significant research. Smart Growth America
recently released “Amazing Place: Six Cities Using the
New Recipe for Economic Development,” a report that
addresses support for public parks and gathering spaces as
an economic development tool.
Public spaces provide places for residents, workers and
visitors to gather and engage with one another. Many
cities and downtown organizations actively program their
public spaces, which contributes to their attractiveness as
destinations. Both permanent and temporary spaces are
now creatively being transformed into successful public
spaces. Examples are on the following page.
“The quality of a state’s or
community’s infrastructure
has a profound effect on its
ability to attract develop-
ment and the success of
companies that choose to
locate there.”

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• Bryant Park, New York City
• Campus Martius Park,
Detroit
• Charleston Waterfront
Park, Charleston, South
Carolina
• Discovery Green, Houston
• High Line, New York City
• Klyde Warren Park, Dallas
• Millennium Park, Chicago
• Myriad Botanical Gardens,
Oklahoma City
• Spruce Street Harbor Park,
Philadelphia
Maintenance and management of parks and open
spaces vary in responsibility from park conservancies,
foundations, downtown organizations and local
governments.
Well-known organizations that manage public spaces
include Bryant Park Corporation, and Times Square
Alliance. In 2016, the Downtown Seattle Association
(DSA) was awarded a five-year contract to manage
two parks in downtown.
Photos: Colmore Business District.

22. IDA | Attracting Commercial Development:4CHAPTER FOUR
Regulations &
Planning

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The regulatory and planning environment present in a
community plays a key role in commercial investment.
Cities and downtown organizations that are dedicated
to regularly update their plans to reflect changing
conditions, are well positioned to take advantage of
new commercial investment. This planning can be both
strategic and physical in nature.
In Norfolk, Virginia, A Vision for the Next Decade Norfolk
2020 was an update to previous plans that focused
on physical planning as a primary tool for economic
development. Norfolk experienced significant urban
renewal and as a result, controlled vast amounts of
property in the downtown. Physical plans guided the
redevelopment of parcels beginning with development
on the waterfront and progressing inward. All of the
plans built off strengths, made connections between
neighborhoods and evolved to address downtown not
just as an employment location but to one of ‘live, work
and play.’ Public monies were expended to construct
streetscape improvements and Town Point Park along the
Elizabeth River.
With Norfolk’s progress to construct a new light rail
system, transit oriented development became a focus of
planning. Implementation of the 2020 plan and previous
versions has been supported by zoning amendments.
The 25-year history of planning for Downtown Norfolk
and the surrounding communities became the basis
for a manual Strategies for Revitalizing Downtown and
Adjacent Communities prepared for the City of Norfolk
by Urban Design Associates.
The public sector’s processes for the entitlement of real
estate development and the permitting/approvals of
new businesses can either serve as an enhancement or
a detractor for commercial investment. Cities that have
staff functioning as a concierge to assist existing and new
businesses through zoning and permitting processes will
see benefits.
Incentives are also related to the regulatory environment
since some of the incentives require action by a
governing body. The following is a list of some incentives
supporting commercial development that can be used
independently or layered together:
The Role of Financial and Economic
Incentives
The use of incentives deployed to proactively encourage
commercial investment in downtowns – especially where
market forces alone are not achieving that outcome –
is part of any economic developer’s toolkit. Given the
array of different incentives, choosing the best option to
support commercial investment goals is a skill unto itself.
4.1 Public Incentive Programs to Help
Attract Commercial Investment to Your
Downtown District
When desired investments in targeted areas are slow
to occur based on market forces alone, government
programs at the national/federal, provincial/state and
local levels are often used to stimulate economic activity,
by providing business incentives to private sector parties.
Downtown managers who seek to attract new businesses
and real estate developments to their districts should
become familiar with the incentive programs offered in
their areas.
The broad range of economic development incentives
can be categorized as tax-based and non-tax-based
instruments. Tax-based incentives include property tax
abatements, tax increment financing (TIF), sales tax
• Tax Abatements
• State and National Historic
Tax Credits
• Performance Grants
• Enterprise Zones
• Community Development
Block Grants
• State Tax Incentives
• New Market Tax Credits
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exemptions and credits, and income tax exemptions. Often
tax incentive programs are tied to a project’s level of private
investment or new job creation. Non-tax financial incentives
include business grants, low-income loans and loan
guarantees; and expedited plan approval and permitting
processes. Property tax abatements represent the most
impactful incentive to attract new real estate development
projects, since property taxes are typically the largest
amount of taxes paid on a project.
The rationale for governments’ financially supporting
private projects with public subsidies in targeted locations
is that:
1) Economic benefits are created by these projects that
support public objectives - such as new jobs, increased tax
revenues and/or physical improvements in a community;
2) The investments would not have occurred, “but for” the
incentives; or
3) Larger, better or otherwise more desirable projects can
be undertaken by real estate developers and investors
based on the incentives provided.
TIF is a well-established public financing tool for
redevelopment projects that has been applied for more
than 50 years. TIFs have been applied in many cities in
the United States, and similar methods exist in numerous
other countries. This value-capture strategy enables a local
municipality to apply future tax revenues from a specific
geographic area towards public improvement projects that
benefit the investors and the greater community.
TIFs borrow against the future increase in property values
within a defined district to finance the debt issued for an
improvement project. Typical applications for TIF projects
include financing for planning, land acquisition or public
infrastructure, including utilities, bridges, roadways, traffic
signals, sidewalks or parking structures. In the U.S., typically,
municipal governments are authorized by state legislation
to designate and administer TIF districts locally .
Other tax incentive programs include abatements on
property taxes for a specific property, which reduce the
owner’s obligation for municipal, county and/or school
district taxes. For example, in 2000, the City of Philadelphia
enacted a generous 10-year tax abatement program for
new or rehab construction of residential, commercial
and industrial properties. Single-family homes, duplexes,
apartments and condominiums are all eligible. These
abatements provide property owners with a tax exemption
for 10 years on any increase in assessed value based upon
the property improvements
The results of this program are impressive. Philadelphia has
experienced a housing boom, with the near-tripling of new
home construction in the years that immediately followed
the new program. As of January 2014, more than 16,000
properties had been tax-abated. However, a debate has
ensued as to this program’s equity, as some elected officials
see the program as too generous, and contributing to the
financial crisis of the heavily under-funded Philadelphia
School District, which must forego its portion of the abated
property taxes.
In support of this municipal program, Philadelphia’s Center
City District conducted the initial research study in 1996,
“Turning on the Lights Upstairs” and was part of the
team that drafted the municipal ordinance in 1997. Grant
programs can be targeted to specific industry sectors or
geographic areas. Local district management organizations
can serve their existing businesses and attract new ones
by proactively communicating information about these
programs.
In the U.S., commercial investment for revitalizing historic
properties is incentivized by tax credit programs at the
federal and state levels.
The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives
program was established in 1976, to become
one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective
community revitalization programs. A tax credit
of 20% against federal income taxes is offered for
the renovation of certified, historic income-producing
buildings. A 10% income tax credit is offered for the
rehab of certain older, non-historic commercial
buildings. This program requires compliance with
federal standards for rehabilitation. Since the
program’s inception, it has been used to leverage
$78 billion in private investment, preserving 41,250
historic properties.

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The U.S. federal New Market Tax Credit (NMTC)
program provides incentives to attract private
sector investment to economically-distressed
communities. Administered by the Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund,
within U.S. Dept. of Treasury, NMTC enable
investors to receive tax credits against their federal
income tax for investing in community
development entities, which serve as specialized
financial intermediaries. Through the end of 2015,
the NMTC program: Generated $8 of private
investment for every $1 of federal funding;
Created 164 million square feet of manufacturing,
office and retail space; and Financed over 4,800
businesses” nationwide. Based on these results,
in December 2015, US Congress extended
authorization for the NMTC program for an
additional five years, with $3.5 billion in annual
allocation authority.
Downtown district managers who seek to attract new
investment with the help of these various economic
development mechanisms should also be aware that a
number of financial incentive programs have come under
broad criticism. In a number of
cases, the effectiveness of specific
tax credit and grant programs in
delivering the promised benefits
has been challenged, causing
tightened guidelines and reporting
requirements. Additionally, concerns
for social equity have been raised,
in terms of how broadly the financial
benefits of these publicly-funded
programs are distributed across the
targeted communities.
Nevertheless, the knowledge of
these potentially-impactful incentives
as additional tools in the commercial
investment attraction toolkit may
help downtowns to land the next big
project or new business.

26. IDA | Attracting Commercial Development:5CHAPTER FIVE
BEST
PRACTICES:
Downtown
Case Studies

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How to attract commercial investment in downtowns
is likely best learned from cities and downtown
where it has already been successful. The following
section highlights a variety of approaches and
outcomes at downtowns in the U.S., U.K. and
Canada.
5.1 The story of downtown Boise’s
renaissance
Boise, Idaho has a population of 218,281 as
estimated by the US Census in 2015.
It started years ago with a conflict of where to build
a regional mall. One faction wanted it in downtown
Boise, the other in the suburbs. Downtown was full
of huge gravel parking lots and deserted buildings.
The Boise Redevelopment Agency (now called
the Capital City Development Corporation, or
CCDC), in preparation for this mall had cleared
many downtown blocks in anticipation of this new
development. Downtown had even been written
about in a 1974 article in Harper’s Magazine called
“Tearing Down Boise” by Lawrence J. Davis.
Mayor of Boise, Dirk Kempthorne (1986 – 1993)
decided to put an end to the conflict and build
Boise through cooperation and trust. He appointed
two co-chairs of the redevelopment agency who
held opposing viewpoints towards the downtown
mall. Following a study commissioned by the
CCDC, a number of recommendations were made
that built the mall 4.5 miles from downtown and
provided downtown with a public gathering space,
a convention center, the redesign of 8th Street
as a pedestrian-friendly corridor, the creation
of a business improvement district and the
redevelopment of sidewalks.
In the years since the decision to let the mall go
to the suburbs, downtown Boise saw a resurgence
in redevelopment. Not all attempts had been
successful, including a 21-year stall in development
of the corner of Main and 8th Street. However, this
failed attempt at development turned around in
2014 when the Gardner Company acquired the site
and developed the tallest building in Idaho and is
now home to the Idaho headquarters of Zions Bank.
Another critical event that helped the development
process tremendously was the City of Boise’s
decision to streamline its permitting process. Boise
initiated a project management team approach with
direct staff support for major projects. This approach
has taken weeks and sometimes months off the
permitting process allowing developers to save time
and money.
As of 2016, downtown Boise had over $500 million
under construction and $100 million in planned/
approved investment under development, with
another $600 million in conceptualized investment
in the pipeline. These projects include the JUMP
(Jack’s Urban Meeting Place) - a $70 million
downtown community gathering and arts place
developed by the Simplot Foundation; the new
Simplot Company headquarters - due to open in
late 2016, housing over 900 employees; three new
hotels with one more planned; six urban housing
developments; the City Center Plaza - a mixed use
development adjacent to the Grove Plaza; and the
expansion of the Boise Centre convention space .
While there are many contributors to the
renaissance of downtown Boise, this success can be
summarized as the result of community cooperation,
public and private leadership, thoughtful planning
and a regulatory climate that is conducive to
development. Today, downtown Boise is a vibrant
community and has often been named as a “livable”
downtown.
5.2 ADP’s Selection of Downtown
Norfolk for a Regional Customer
Service Center
Norfolk, Virginia is a city with a population of
246,394 and is located in the Hampton Roads
Region of Virginia with a population of 1.7 million.
The City of Norfolk is home to five institutions of
higher learning: Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk
State University, Old Dominion University, Eastern
Virginia Medical School and Tidewater Community
College. Regionally, there are another four private
colleges & universities and four community colleges,
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plus numerous educational centers. Norfolk is also home
to the world’s largest naval installation with thousands of
naval personnel transitioning to civilian life annually. All of
these institutions provide access to a talented workforce for
employers.
The downtown, located on the Elizabeth River, has benefited
from long-term planning and strategic investments.
MacArthur Center, a regional shopping destination, opened
in 1999 - the same year the City of Norfolk established the
Downtown Improvement District. Significant investment has
been made along the waterfront, the region’s 7-mile starter
line for a light rail system opened in 2011, and the award-
winning Slover Library opened in 2015. The downtown has
added an additional 1,000 residents in the past 18 months
as a result of the conversion of historic office building
renovations to apartments.
ADP LLC (ADP) is a global Fortune 300 company providing
human resource services to 570,000 clients in 125 countries.
Why Norfolk? They were attracted to Norfolk with its walkable
downtown and transportation options including the new
light rail system. Access to talent and a thriving business
climate were two key factors in the decision. The vibrancy
of the downtown area with a flourishing arts district, bustling
Granby Street - home to dozens of independently operated
restaurants, Town Point Park and the downtown waterfront
provided the environment they were seeking.
ADP will locate in a renovated office structure on Main Street
that formerly housed the Bank of America Card Center,
bringing 1,800 new jobs to downtown. The building, along
with the Bank of America tower next door, was purchased by
a local developer with the intent to renovate one structure
for office use and convert the tower into approximately 270
luxury apartments. The entire project is called City Walk.
The City of Norfolk provided ADP a $5 million performance
grant which leveraged additional funding from the State of
Virginia; $5 million from the Commonwealth Opportunity
Fund and $1.8 million from the Virginia Job Investment
program. ADP’s private capital investment in the project is
approximately $32.5 million.
5.3 Collective Temperance Hospital
London, UK
London’s population is growing from 8.2 million in 2011 to
an estimated 10 million by the 2030s. This projected growth
is expected to be the highest population in the city’s history.
This increase in population growth will require a rapid
expansion to the number of households in the city. In 2011,
the city held 3.28 million households. It is estimated that
London will grow to having 4.26 million households by 2036,
an uplift of a third, resulting in an increased pressure on land
use.
Businesses have suffered from the rapid loss of office space
over the last few years, with reduced availability and the
associated increase in rents. Between May 2013 and April
2015, at least 834,000 square metres of office floor space was
lost. Nearly 40% of converted offices are estimated to be fully
occupied at the time of businesses’ eviction.
Camden Town Unlimited (CTU), one of the UK’s most forward
thinking Business Improvement Districts, is bucking the
trend by bringing commercial investment back into one of
London’s most creative town centres. Through its charitable
arm, the Collective, CTU brought the Insull Wing of the old
National Temperance Hospital, a beautiful art deco building
that was derelict for over a decade, back into use. Collective
Temperance Hospital is now three floors of workspace for
creative start-ups, combining hot-desking, meeting rooms,
event space, rehearsal space, workshop space, classroom
space, as well as subsidised individual lockable offices for
companies looking to expand their business.
It aims to support young and dynamic individuals in the
creative industries who are recent graduates with start-up
businesses or that have an entrepreneurial idea.
The Collective Temperance Hospital has been formed with
the support of grants and revenue raised from:
• The Mayor of London’s High Street Fund
• The Mayor of London’s Regeneration Fund
• The London Enterprise Panel and Mayor of London’s
Growing Places Fund
• Camden Council
• Camden Town Unlimited

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5.4 Public Realm Investment, Colmore
Business District, Birmingham, UK
Birmingham is a city of 1,101,360 population as of 2014.
Following the onset of the global financial crisis in 2007,
the UK entered an age of austerity in order to control
public spending. Towns and cities with the greatest
social need faced the biggest percentage cuts in their
budgets, and Birmingham, the UK’s second city, was no
exception.
Despite a growing population putting pressure on
services and a need to increase investment in child
protection, Birmingham City Council is facing cuts in
its annual budget of nearly £1 billion between 2010
and 2020. Undertaking the type of public investment in
its city centre and surrounding district centres needed
to support sustainable economic growth has been
challenging.
Colmore Business District, one of Birmingham city
centre’s five BIDs - which covers the business quarter of
the city centre including: 500 companies; some 35,000
employees and approximately 5.6 million square feet of
office space - has stepped up to this challenge. Working
with the Council and other partners, it is creating the
conditions to bring essential private investment back
into the city.
In the summer of 2012, Colmore BID completed its
first major public realm project, the regeneration of
Church Street Square. The BID co-funded the plan with
Birmingham City Council, investing £250,000, a third
of its total value. Serving as a member of the project
board, it worked with the City Council on the delivery
of the plan. The plan was highly commended by the
Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation and
won the Association of Town and City Management
(ATCM) Award ‘An Attractive Location’ in 2013.
Following the success of Church Street Square, Colmore
BID went on to deliver a £350,000 enhancement strategy
in Colmore Square. This award-winning plan was the
first public realm plan to be delivered solely by a BID in
Birmingham and one of the first in the UK.
Colmore BID invested in a study entitled Snowhill
Interchange Plan with Birmingham City Council and
regional transport body, Centro, leading to a successful
application to the Local Enterprise Partnership for local
growth fund monies to deliver further public realm works
in the district. Colmore BID’s investment of £1.4 million
has enabled it to leverage £4.66 million from the Local
Enterprise Partnership, and just under £4 million from
private sector investment, Birmingham City Council and
Centro.
5.5 The evolution of retail on Yonge Street
in Downtown Yonge, Toronto, Canada
Toronto is home to 2.79 million people, having 5.5
million within the Greater Toronto Area is Canada’s most
prosperous city. Downtown Yonge has a population of
175,000 residents living within a ten-minute walk of the
district.
Yonge Street is arguably Canada’s most iconic street,
running from Lake Ontario in the south to the far reaches
of the province to the north. It bisects the east and west
sides of the city and represents the midpoint of the
major east-west arterials. Some urbanists have referred
to Yonge Street as the “hair-part” of the city – an apt
description.
Yonge Street also bisects Downtown Yonge Business
Improvement Area (DYBIA), most notably at Dundas
Street, pinpointing an area with some 2,000 businesses
and property owners at the heart of Canada’s largest city.
Downtown Yonge is already a key retail hub, with more
than 3.5 million square feet of space within the DYBIA
boundary. More than half is made up of institutionally-
held shopping centre space including the CF Toronto
Eaton Centre, one of the city’s top tourist destinations.
From a commercial and retail investment perspective,
another notable trend worth layering onto the existing
retail concentration is population growth.
Some 175,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of the
DYBIA, and that number is expected to grow by more
than 40% between 2009 and 2024 as the downtown
experiences significant re-urbanization.
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The majority of this growth is expected to be seen in
residents ages 25-45 that are university-educated and
earn double the city average household income. In fact,
the total spent by residents living in the DYBIA’s primary
trade area of 2km amounts to Cdn$9.4 billion annually.
Add to that the fact that over half a million people come
into Downtown Yonge daily to work, along with some
110,000 students and faculty at Ryerson University and
the locational advantages of the neighbourhood for
retail become clear.
In the past two years alone, more than 30 local and
global retailers have opened their doors – including Saks
5th Avenue and, in fall 2017, Nordstrom’s.
The role of the DYBIA in attracting retail is multi-
pronged.
In the past two years, DYBIA has facilitated or
supported: the 888 Market, a pop-up market that
became a year-long tenant; the securing of a lease with
international cosmetics brand Inglot; #locaTOmrkt, a six-
week holiday market; found a home for Hillel, a student
association that sought to be located close to Ryerson
University; and housed a month-long art gallery pop-up
by Courier Arts, a nomadic art collective.
From a public realm perspective, the DYBIA supports
healthy, integrated neighbourhoods – and believes
that activated, safe and busy public spaces are a key
competitive advantage for retail uses. In 2015, for
instance, DYBIA members painted murals on vacant
properties; participated in a street art program that saw
neighbourhood utility boxes painted by local artists;
presented free bike clinics for cyclists and redeveloped
local parkettes.
The outcome? Downtown Yonge currently displays a 6%
retail vacancy rate, down from 9% in 2008. And perhaps
most important for the DYBIA’s property owners, the
values of commercial properties in Downtown Yonge
have more than doubled in the past decade.
Photos: Michael McCullough Photographer.
From an economic development
perspective, the DYBIA provides
accurate and up-to-date real
estate indicators on retail
vacancies, pedestrian and vehicle
traffic counts, sector-specific
maps and geo-demographic data
to support leasing and location
decisions. Investing in strong and
long-term relationships with both
brokers and landlords is likewise
critical, as is working with different
forms of retail spaces – pop-up,
short-term or a traditional lease.

31. downtown.org | © 2016 International Downtown Association, All Rights Reserved
:6CHAPTER SIX
The Role of Place
Management
Districts

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32 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
CHAPTER SIX
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Most place management organizations, regardless of size,
have programs that support the attraction of commercial
investment. Large organizations with larger budgets have
more extensive programs; but regardless of size, most
partner with other organizations to:
• Increase the available resources for a program,
• Reduce the potential for program overlap,
• Access more potential businesses/developments,
and
• Provide more options for the new business/
development.
Examples of the partner organizations that
can be included are:
• City staffs,
• Local Chambers of Commerce,
• Regional economic development groups, and
• Local redevelopment authorities
The commercial attraction programs
undertaken by downtown organizations can
be classified as:
• Marketing and Branding,
• Strategy,
• Provision of Information, and
• Direct Action.
Marketing downtown organizations commonly provide
marketing programs for two separate but related purposes:
the recruitment of new businesses, and consumer attraction
- to support the existing businesses in their districts.
6.1 Business Marketing
These outreach programs can be focused on attracting
new office or retail tenants. Business marketing programs
often are conducted in partnership with regional economic
development groups and use print and digital tools to
deliver their promotional messages. General marketing
program results can be difficult to measure, so program
re-evaluation is important, to ensure that the marketing is
creating impact.
Business Marketing Examples
6.2 Consumer Marketing, Branding, and
Events
Many place mangement organizations, regardless of size,
conduct consumer marketing. These programs can take the
form of direct advertising or events that attract visitors to
experience their downtown areas. These marketing events
are designed to provide new customers for retail businesses
and enhance the downtown experience for the worker
populations.
Consumer Marketing Example
Downtown Boise, ID: Downtown Boise
Association worked with the Boise Valley
Economic Partnership and the City to develop a
branding program for business attraction.
Downtown Windsor, Ontario: the Downtown
Windsor BIA partnered with the City of Windsor,
the Windsor-Essex Development Corporation,
Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, the
University of Windsor and St. Clair College to
conduct a business marketing program. The
group gathered market data that catered to the
interests of retail and commercial prospects,
developed a retail specific website and targeted
regional businesses for attraction.
In Toronto Canada, the Downtown Yonge
BIA created a seven-month community
engagement process called Yonge Love to
gain input from local residents, workers and
visitors to help identify the changes to the
district that these consumers would most
like to see. This engagement is expected to
inform new programs, as contributors see the
suggested changes such as pop-up markets,
community spaces and restaurants become a
reality.

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33downtown.org | © 2016 International Downtown Association, All Rights Reserved
:6
6.3 Strategy
Many place management organizations have recognized
that their downtowns cannot compete in certain areas,
but that they do have unique strengths that appeal to
specific kinds of businesses. These downtown groups
work with local stakeholders to define these strengths,
identify key target groups and create customized
packages of information that make the case for locating
targeted businesses there.
New tools are available to downtown groups as
they review and refresh their strategies. The 2015
publication, Core Values: Why American Companies are
Moving Downtown, produced by Cushman Wakefield
and George Washington University makes the case for
why downtown locations are being selected by many
employers.
Strategy Example
The catalyst program resulted in three new businesses
and vibrancy grants to four existing businesses as of
June 2016. The program continues to match businesses
to spaces and award grants.
6.4 Provision of Information
Many downtown organizations provide market data,
both for current stakeholders and new business
prospects. For current stakeholders, this information
can support their ongoing business operations
including attracting new talent. For prospects, this
information can support their site selection decision-
making as they consider options. Many downtown
organizations now produce a State of Downtown annual
report, which provides a year in review of the group’s
accomplishments.
Useful information for business recruiting include:
• Demographics and psychographics of the local
residential and daytime populations
• Parking supply and demand statistics
• Hotel room inventory and occupancy statistics
• Pedestrian counts
• Description of recent, current and planned
commercial real estate development
• Surveys – consumer demand and perceptions of
residents and downtown workers
• Studies of vibrancy and quality of life measures
• Listings of available commercial properties– office
and retail
• Commercial property vacancy rates.
• List of various transit options
Provision of Information Example
In Boise ID, the Downtown Boise Association provides
an information package for business attraction, which is
included in its annual State of Downtown report. While
the group previously maintained an online inventory
of all available properties, they now provide a link to
Loopnet online and a list of local real estate brokers.
This solution has reduced the time dedicated to data
gathering, and ensures that prospects get the most
up- to-date information through their annual report and
supplemental report.
Norfolk VA, Downtown Norfolk Council created
a Downtown Norfolk Retail Strategy in 2009,
updated in 2014, to guide the creation of more
street level vibrancy and attract new retail
businesses. The work included:
• Development of a database of all
downtown street-level properties. The
information gathered includes data on owners,
agents, tenants, property square footage,
lease rates and building conditions,
• Identification of obstacles to leasing,
• Creation of a vision that included
stakeholder input - residents, workers and
property owners, and
• Catalyst of the vision.

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34 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
CHAPTER SIX
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6.5 Direct Action
Many smaller downtown organizations’ limited budgets
preclude them from conducting programs such as infrastructure
investments, and the provision of loans and grants. Larger
downtown organizations initiate pilot projects to help
demonstrate the market demand and potential revenue
generation in order to reduce the perception of risk of a new
venture and to interest investors. In K
Direct Action Example
ing of Prussia PA, King of Prussia BID launched theconnector,
a commuter shuttle bus service linking SEPTA’s Regional Rail
stations in Norristown, PA and in Wayne, PA to King of Prussia’s
employment core in the KOP business park. This transit initiative
linking the office center with the regional rail system has several
goals: to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, to provide
office tenants access to a larger pool of employees, and ultimately
to demonstrate the demand for a massive public infrastructure
project. In a partnership with local property owners and with grant
support from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
the KOPBID will provide the service for three years with a plan
to demonstrate the need for a four-to five mile extension of the
regional rail train line, estimated to cost $1.1 billion. KOPBID is
actively seeking this major project as a means to keep its office
location competitive in the region. King of Prussia Retail Shuttle
Service
:
Conclusion
A tremendous amount of research and commentary
has been done on the topics addressed in this report.
Where possible those resources have been noted
for further exploration into specific areas. This topic
is broad, and cannot be summarized in a neat set of
conclusions as every city and every circumstance is so
different.
What can be concluded is that cities are successful
where there is a collaborative approach to attracting
commercial development. Leadership in all sectors,
working together to create an environment that is
conducive is critical to attracting new commercial
investment. There is not just one factor, but many that
contribute to the attraction of successful downtown
projects.
Photos: Michael McCullough Photography.

35. downtown.org | © 2016 International Downtown Association, All Rights Reserved
:6 :B
:BIBLIOGRAPHY

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36 IDA | Attracting Commercial Development
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:B

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