Region
Second Wave - Michigan
Capital Gains - Lansing
Catalyst Midland
Concentrate - Ann Arbor/Ypsi
Epicenter - Mount Pleasant
Route Bay City
Rural Innovation Exchange
Southwest Michigan
UPword - UP
The Keel - Port Huron
The Lakeshore
Metromode - Metro Detroit
Flintside - Flint
Model D - Detroit
Rapid Growth - Grand Rapids
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Building Communities
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Equity
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Safe Communities
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
Place
Battle Creek
Benton Harbor
Calhoun County
Eastside Neighborhood
Edison Neighborhood
Historic Northside
Kalamazoo
Milwood
Northside
Oakwood Neighborhood
Old Lakeview
Portage
Post-Franklin Neighborhood
South Haven
St. Joseph
Stuart Neighborhood
Urbandale
Vine Neighborhood
Washington Heights
West Douglas/Fairmont Neighborhood
Series
Southwest Michigan
A Way Home: Housing Solutions
Block by Block
COVID in Calhoun
Designed in Michigan
Disability Inclusion
En Espanol
Faith in Action
Good Food
MI Mental Health
On The Ground
Sacred Earth
SWMI Journalism Collaborative
Urban-Rural Exchange
Voices of Youth Battle Creek
Voices of Youth Kalamazoo
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
Yours, Mine, & Ours - Public Health
Toggle navigation
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Building Communities
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Equity
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Safe Communities
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
Place
Battle Creek
Benton Harbor
Calhoun County
Eastside Neighborhood
Edison Neighborhood
Historic Northside
Kalamazoo
Milwood
Northside
Oakwood Neighborhood
Old Lakeview
Portage
Post-Franklin Neighborhood
South Haven
St. Joseph
Stuart Neighborhood
Urbandale
Vine Neighborhood
Washington Heights
West Douglas/Fairmont Neighborhood
Series
Southwest Michigan
A Way Home: Housing Solutions
Block by Block
COVID in Calhoun
Designed in Michigan
Disability Inclusion
En Espanol
Faith in Action
Good Food
MI Mental Health
On The Ground
Sacred Earth
SWMI Journalism Collaborative
Urban-Rural Exchange
Voices of Youth Battle Creek
Voices of Youth Kalamazoo
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
Yours, Mine, & Ours - Public Health
About
Support Us
New initiative in place to revitalize downtown Battle Creek
Kathy Jennings
|
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Share
Prospective retailers who want to locate in downtown Battle Creek have a new tool to get them up on their feet.
Battle Creek Unlimited
has launched the Battle Creek Downtown Partnership and asked it to reinvigorate the downtown. The first tool it has been given is a new Retail Acceleration Program, designed to reduce the downtown's 35 percent retail vacancy rate.
The program will help fledgling retailers with assistance paying their rent. In return, they must participate in training and mentoring, and maintaining specific hours. They also must complete a business plan, as businesses that have plans are most likely to succeed.
“The planning process will help them discover what is required to meet their sales goals, and whether those goals are attainable,” says John Schmitt, consultant with the SBDC.
Each participant will work with an existing downtown business owner who will act as a mentor, helping them navigate the early years of operation after they have opened their doors.
Battle Creek Downtown Partnership also is working with the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce to provide ongoing training for the participants.
With the announcement of the program, applications are now being accepted, says Rob Petersen, Downtown Development Director for Battle Creek Unlimited. Meetings are already under way with those who have expressed an interest. There is funding to support three or four businesses over the next 12 months.
The program is designed to encourage retailers who will bring something new to downtown--unique, hard-to-find and one-of-a-kind items. Petersen says that downtown's succeed when they attract businesses that sell unique or unusual items that people like to touch and feel before they purchase them, which they cannot do if they are buying online. "We still like to engage all five senses," Petersen says.
To bring back the downtown will take some redevelopment of spaces that currently is not move-in ready for retailers.
Petersen says the former J.C. Penny property is a good example. The building is about 15,000 square feet and most retailers need only about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet. With an anchor tenant and a number of smaller retailers the property could be brought back into the retail mix.
“Our goal is to see downtown Battle Creek grow,” says Team Active owner Mike Wood, who participated in the planning process for the program.
“Retail is the psychological barometer of a downtown’s health,” says Peterson. “There can be great things happening all around, but if the storefronts are empty, people perceive downtown is not doing well.”
Source: Rob Peterson, Battle Creek Unlimite
Enjoy this story?
Sign up
for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.
Share
Related Tags
Economic Development
,
Entrepreneurship
,
Entrepreneurship
,
Retail
,
Reuse / Rebuild
,
Shopping
Recommended Content
Across Our Network
Is this Detroit's most outrageous fall dessert? Shake bar goes over the top
Source: Model D
Helping out, getting help after Helene, Milton deliver double blow to Tampa Bay
Source: 83Degrees
Medicaid funding could expand and sustain Michigan's produce prescription programs
Source: Rapid Growth
Accessible by design: What it means to design inclusive attractions for all
Source: Input Fort Wayne