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CRA staff to track downtown openings; occupancy-rate metric proposed
Summary
CRA staff said a business-opening database (BSNA) can track new downtown businesses; members asked for monthly opening counts and an occupancy rate to monitor downtown vitality.
CRA staff told the board on Feb. 11 they can track new downtown business openings through the BSNA database and that staff walk-throughs and GIS updates support occupancy tracking, but closures remain harder to detect without on-site verification.
The executive director said openings can be obtained from business tax receipts and the BSNA system, though BSNA was not fully operational the day of the meeting. Staff described a twice-yearly walking audit to update directory maps and identify changes on Washington Avenue and other downtown blocks.
Member Stockel said tracking openings month to month and calculating an occupancy rate for properties in the CRA would help the board monitor trends and make policy decisions. “If we know we’re at, like, 75% and then if we start to trend upward or downward I think that would be helpful for us to make decisions,” Stockel said.
Staff noted recent retail changes: a new retail opening called Sunflower Moon on Washington, the former Badcock furniture store rebranded as Royal’s Furniture and Daily Trail has announced plans to move out. Staff said they will continue outreach to property owners and use business tax receipt addresses to update records.
No formal vote was recorded. Staff described the proposed approach as: use BSNA for openings, perform twice-yearly street audits for map/directory accuracy, and report occupancy-rate metrics to the board on a recurring basis.
