Let's Get Together (yeah, yeah, yeah)

This lovely Saturday morning, I woke up to a great blog entry @ www.realhartford.org. The entry contained a lot of "neighborhood pride." See, the author just purchased a home in Frog Hollow, a neighborhood right outside of downtown. She described her neighborhood in a tone that made me want to pack my bags and move, highlighting all of the vibrances of the community. This is something I often do with my own neighborhood. When asked about living downtown, and what downtown Hartford has to offer, I highlight the perks of living downtown and the changes that are well on their way. Anyway, this blog post got me thinking about collaboration. I've been thinking about how important it is for downtown Hartford business owners, residents, and employees to come together in a joint effort to revive our city. If retailers are going to be successful, they need the support of residents, employees, and visitors and to make downtown a desirable location, consumers, residents, and employees need to feel the presence of retailers and industry. I'm happy to have found a core group of "Hartford Activists" who blog, twitter, and advocate for change in our city (I have to admit, I didn't realize this group existed). Now, we have to continue to collaborate, come together, and push for the change that so many people are only talking about.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that city officials and certain (major) property owners are not joining in this collaborative effort. I recently read an article arguing that with more support from the city and state, the new CT Science Center in downtown Hartford could make our capital city a "hot spot" for potential residents, employees, and visitors from as far as western MA. If the state does not up their support now, while the facility is new, they could miss the chance to revive the city. We have to jump on things while they're hot, as we're doing with the grocery store issue. If Northland had filled all of those retails spaces in Hartford 21 for a way reduced rate back when it first opened, they would have built up the area and would now have retailers itching to get in there for a more desirable rent. Seriously, what kind of business person is handling the leasing??

Hartford, the Event Capital

Tonight I left work at around 5:30pm and was not so shocked to find the streets hustling and bustling with activity. Lately there have been a lot of UCONN games at the XL center, which is half a block from my office and only a 3 minute walk from my apartment. These games and other events at the XL Center always draw huge crowds. This weekend the city was alive with activity thanks, in part, to the Disney Princesses on Ice at the XL Center. Tonight, every restaurant I passed was packed with a wait at the door. This is not typical for a Wednesday night in downtown Hartford. So my question is, how do we continue to develop the city of Hartford as the event capital of Connecticut and of the region? In addition, once we get these patrons downtown for events at the XL Center, how do we keep them here? Sure, there are great restaurants and bars to stop at for a bite/drink before the game or show, but what else do we have? Two major downtown coffee shops, Starbucks and JoJo's, close at 5pm, closing themselves off from potential pre-game/show business and making it very difficult for patrons to get that much needed caffeine jolt (it's also nearly impossible to find a convenience store where would could grab a red bull and some candy/snacks). There's no bookstore where downtown guests could stop to read a magazine or browse while waiting for friends and there's no clothing store where one might pick up a much needed sweatshirt or some UCONN gear. What else can/do people do before these types of events. Once we get patrons downtown, how can we continue to attract them to the city. What other events would draw such large audiences. We know UCONN games have a huge draw, so we should definitely capitalize on that while it's hot. Why not put the team in permanent residency here and build a satellite campus downtown. It would be great if we could get a professional team with a home stadium in Hartford. Also, continuing to develop the music industry in Hartford would be a great plan. Why don't more major acts put Hartford on their tour schedule. Madonna played here in 2005 during her Confessions Tour. The Spice Girls played their reunion tour at the XL Center and drew a full house despite a blizzard. Lady GaGa and Kanye were scheduled to play the XL Center together but that tour got cancelled and now Lady GaGa is scheduled to play at Mohegan and The Oakdale. The XL Center and the city should put a little more effort into bringing these major acts to our capital city, thus fueling industry in area. Also, a grocery store and visibly open retail (including starbucks) would help display Hartford as a lively and livable city.

On a slightly different note, what if retailers, venues, and the city offered a tax break or a discount on tickets with a bus ticket receipt. That might be an incentive to use public transit rather than driving, which would clear the roads a bit, save the environment, and reduce drunk driving a bit....in this case, the buses would certainly need to run later to accommodate event goers...and the system would have to be more understandable.

Let the Consumers.....Consume!

Today I had to run to CVS after work to grab some cleaning supplies. I really didn't want to go to CVS as it is a bit out of the way (by out of the way I mean like 3 blocks out of the way, so I really can't complain) but I went regardless. I found that many downtown Hartford residents employees and residents were in a similar situation to mine and needed to stop at the convenience store on the way home from work. The store was packed. Also, the store closes at 6pm on weekdays (is it open at all on the weekends??) so those who get out of work at 5 have to rush to the store and those who work until 6 are forced to go home empty handed or support towns and cities other than Hartford.

Anyway, my main point here is that there clearly are consumers in Hartford. I was out and about all night on New Years Eve and was so happy to see our city alive and vibrant with arts and culture patrons and consumers (the Courant reports a great turnout for this years First Night Hartford). This Saturday I was out walking my dog at about 4pm and I noticed lots of people walking around downtown and very few stores or restaurants open. On big event night at the XL center, retailers and restaurants miss out on huge opportunity by closing their doors at 5pm (coughstarbuckscough). Shouldn't we do a bit of catering to these event goers and show them that downtown Hartford is a city worth coming to? If cheap/quick restaurants, a market, coffee shops, and retail outlets were available, maybe more event goers would extend their stay in the city and, in turn, support downtown industry.

If an amenity such as CVS can fill up from 5-6pm, couldn't a grocery store as well? Hartford employees could stop off and pick up a box of pasta, or some yummy prepared food for dinner before heading home to homes in the suburbs. Downtown residents could finally live as real city residents and walk to the market instead of waiting until the weekend and driving to the suburbs to get groceries. This also means commuters would be supporting industry in Hartford, would not have to stop at a market on the commute, and would get home sooner.

...I've heard argument that there is not enough parking at The Hollander for a market. Well, CVS seems to do quite well with even less parking.