WELCOME BACK: Retail survey

Whether you’re excited to hit the shops or grumbling about the traffic, the opening of the Mall at University Town Center was a much-ballyhooed event throughout Sarasota.

The impact stretched far from I-75 and University Parkway. Merchants in downtown Sarasota and St. Armands Circle were constantly thinking of how the mall would play into large conversations the groups were having. We begin our annual “Welcome Back” issue with some of the most notable moves city businesses made while you were gone — with the opening of the mall finding a way to cast its shadow on the proceedings.

Mall Madness
WHAT: The opening date of the Mall at University Town Center loomed like a specter for businesses throughout the city. The impending opening wormed its way into a variety of conversations held by area merchants.

WHO’S INVOLVED: Businesses throughout the city of Sarasota, particularly downtown and on St. Armands Circle; retail consultant Robert Gibbs; the Downtown Marketing Co-op; Downtown Economic Development Coordinator Norm Gollub; City Parking Manager Mark Lyons

WHAT’S THE LATEST: The mall opened Oct. 16 and the world has yet to end for businesses throughout the city. Merchants are still awaiting some action on a retail study that outlined ways the city’s shopping districts could improve; city staff is currently working on developing a plan to implement those recommendations.

A visit from retail consultant Robert Gibbs was reassuring for anyone nervous about the health of Sarasota shopping districts. Gibbs projected room for considerable growth over the next five years downtown, on St. Armands Circle, in the Rosemary District and along the Martin Luther King Jr. Way corridor.

During Gibbs’ July visit, he addressed the potential issues the opening of the mall raised. He told merchants and property owners it would have a short-term effect on business, but that the growth he projected exists even after taking the mall into consideration.

A leading recommendation for Gibbs, particularly downtown and on St. Armands Circle, was that storeowners needed to improve the face of their buildings.

Gibbs said a focus on updated awnings and signage was needed, and that the city should update its design standards accordingly. He also recommended a renewed focus on high-quality landscaping.
If those improvements were made on St. Armands, Gibbs suggested Circle retailers could host a “grand reopening” in 2015 to impress residents.

Parking
The city has been working on developing a parking strategic plan to manage parking throughout Sarasota, and a paid system had been floated as a potential option to include.

The city’s Downtown Improvement District board initially reacted strongly after learning of a potential paid parking proposal, voting to recommend against even considering paid parking downtown for at least two years.

That concern was largely tied to the impending opening of the Mall at University Town Center, viewed as a major competitor for shoppers. If paid parking were instituted in the wrong way or at the wrong time, board members feared people would flock to the mall instead.

City Parking Manager Mark Lyons said the failure of previous parking efforts stemmed from the implementation. A close monitoring of best practices in other cities would allow the city to more effectively reintroduce meters.

Ultimately, Lyons stressed that no decisions would be made until the parking plan came forward and the commission had the opportunity to discuss it.

Marketing
Tre Michel, owner of State of the Arts Gallery in downtown Sarasota, thought the area was lacking one thing the mall had in spades: promotion.

She teamed up with downtown leader Paul Thorpe to embark on a marketing campaign to promote the downtown area. Thorpe had led earlier downtown marketing efforts, but said that for more than a decade nobody was willing to step forward and unite the various downtown organizations.

The group started its work in September with help from the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association, distributing 100,000 brochures detailing various offerings downtown. Now known as the Downtown Marketing Co-op, the group is working to raise $140,000 in support of a year-round campaign promoting downtown in print, online, on TV and throughout the city.

Michel said the group has received an outpouring of support. The goal, she said, is to shine a light on the distinguishing characteristics of the district, showing how it stands out not only from the mall but from existing areas such as St. Armands Circle.

AT A GLANCE
A report by consultant Robert Gibbs projected the demand for additional retail in the following areas by 2019:

Gibbs said that demand, if capitalized upon, could lead to significant commercial revenue increases: