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DOWNTOWN SALEM RETAIL MARKET STUDY - MAY 2007Downtown Salem Retail Market Study: Strategy and Action Plan Prepared for Salem Redevelopment Authority Downtown Retail Market Study Working Group By Karl F. Seidman Consulting Services with ConsultEcon, Inc. May 2007 Table of Contents Introduction page 3 Market Analysis Findings page 4 Downtown Goals, Strategies and Action Plan page 8 Retail Development Strategy page 8 Market Development Strategy page 15 Experience Enhancement Strategy page 21 Action Plan Implementation page 25 Appendix: Acton Plan Summary Charts page 27 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 2 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Introduction Under the leadership of Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, private and public sector stakeholders have been working to implement a vision to revitalize downtown Salem as a vibrant year- round retail destination. To advance this vision, the team of Karl Seidman Consulting Services, ConsultEcon, Inc. and the Institute of Regional Development were hired by the Salem Redevelopment Authority to complete a Downtown Retail Plan for Salem. This study builds on significant other downtown initiatives including redevelopment and reuse of several downtown buildings for housing and retail space, introduction of seasonal exhibit and work space for artists, a new summer ferry service to downtown Boston, a storefront improvement program, renewal of the Main Street Program and holding a public forum to develop a shared vision for downtown Salem. This report presents the recommended strategies and action plan to strengthen downtown Salem’s retail base, expand its customers and improve the customer experience while visiting and shopping downtown. It is the second phase of the study and builds upon the earlier market analysis phase that is documented in a separate report. To prepare this action plan, the consulting team (1) conducted focus groups with key downtown stakeholders 1 to share market analysis findings and gain their ideas and priorities for improvement efforts; (2) reviewed a draft action plan with the study working group; and (3) presented it for public comment at a public meeting held by the Salem Redevelopment Authority on May 9th. The final action plan represented in this report reflects the creativity and input received during these many meetings. The report is divided into five sections: ¾ Section 1 summarizes findings from the market analysis phase of the study ¾ Section 2 presents the Retail Development Strategy and Action Plan. ¾ Section 3 presents the Market Development Strategy and Action Plan ¾ Section 4 presents the Experience Enhancement Strategy and Action Plan ¾ Section 5 provides an overall implementation timeline for all three strategies A separate appendix provides three tables that summarize the action plan for each strategy with a list of each major action step, the timeframe for the step, responsible parties, required resources and key implementation tasks. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 3 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 1 Six focus groups were held with city agency staff, property owners, retail business owners, restaurant owners, tourist attractions and Salem State College students. Market Analysis Findings This section summarizes findings from the first phase of the study which was designed to provide current and comprehensive information on downtown Salem’s retail environment from both the demand side and supply side. The demand side analysis included defining the downtown trade area, collecting and analyzing demographic data on the size, characteristics and spending across different customer segments, and conducting a telephone survey of trade area residents. For the supply side analysis, an inventory of all ground floor businesses and spaces was conducted and analyzed to evaluate downtown’s retail base, key business clusters, vacancies and competitive advantages. Customer Base (Demand Side) Analysis Downtown Salem has four customer segments whose combined size, income and spending patterns define the downtown’s market potential. • Trade area 2 residents are the largest market segment with $1.3 billion in restaurant and retail spending—88% of total spending by all four segments. • Visitors are the second largest market spending $124 million annually or 9% of total spending and 12% of restaurants spending. • Salem State College students spend an estimated $37 million annually with food the largest component. • Downtown workers account for an estimated $8 million in annual spending. Downtown Salem’s trade area includes Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem, and Swampscott with the following characteristics: • 2006 estimated population of 193,711 and 78,955 households. • Older and higher income than Essex County and the Boston MSA with a median age of 40.5 and median income of $63,459. • Over 40% of households have an income above $75,000. • Small households are prevalent with 63% of households having one or two people. • Trade area households spend $2.2 billion annually on non-shelter and transportation items, with the largest demand for groceries ($323 million), eating out ($264 million), entertainment ($191 million), and clothing and accessories ($157 million). An estimated 6,171 workers are located downtown—about one third of Salem employment. Assuming the average worker spends $25 per week downtown ($1,300 per year), the total annual spending potential is just over $8 million with the bulk of this spending probably for food and beverages at downtown restaurants. For fall 2005, 10,073 students enrolled in Salem State College during the regular, 9- month academic year and another 6,659 students enrolled in summer sessions. Annual spending by these students is projected at $36.5 million with food (grocery store and restaurants ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 4 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 2 The trade area includes Salem and its five neighboring towns of Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody and Swampscott purchases) constituting 71% of the total. Students living in Salem account for 20% of total Salem State student spending. Salem’s diverse visitor attractions draw 700,000 tourists (and 1 million total visitors) each year. Salem visitors spend $124 million annually as follows: • $35.6 at restaurants • $18 million shopping, • $22.7 million in attraction admissions, and • $41.9 million for lodging. Visitor spending on restaurants, groceries, shopping and attractions ($76.3 million) is 1.7 times the combined spending by downtown workers and Salem State College students. The trends in annual visitors to the National Maritime Site and its seasonality indicate that Salem has the potential to increase its tourism base and the retail market supported by visitors. Annual visitation was consistently close to 800,000 from 1998 to 2002 but dropped to 600,000 to 650,000 visitors in 2003 and 2005. Over 40% of visits occur in October and July but visitation drops considerably in May, June and September; each of these months has less than half the visitation in July. Customer Survey Results A telephone survey of 360 trade area households was conducted in February to better understand residents’ current use and perceptions of downtown Salem and to identify promising ways to expand downtown shopping by area residents. Key survey findings include: • Residents shop and dine downtown regularly—59% of survey respondents go downtown at least several times per month to purchase goods or services. • Downtown is most competitive for restaurants and gifts and craft stores. It is the primary destination among 59% of respondent for dining and among 35% to shop for gifts and crafts. • North Shore/Liberty Tree Malls are, by far, the primary shopping destination for all other goods and services. For 76% of respondents, these malls are the primary place to buy clothing. • Salem is cited second most often as the primary shopping destination albeit for a small share of shoppers. • 60% of respondents rated downtown good or excellent for 9 of 15 characteristics with the quality and selection of restaurants receiving the highest ratings followed by the attractiveness of public spaces, storefronts and store interiors. • Parking availability and traffic received the worst ratings with 30% to 32% of respondents viewing these features as poor. • Residents cited more diverse shopping options, improved traffic and parking, and expanded arts and cultural offerings as mostly likely to increase their downtown patronage. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 5 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Business Mix and Vacancy (Supply Side) Analysis There are 348 establishments occupying approximately 822,000 square feet of ground floor space in downtown Salem: • Retailers are the largest economic sector with 107 stores (31% of all establishments) and 206,000 square feet (25% of total space). • Accommodation and Food Services (primarily restaurants) is the second largest sector with 62 establishments and 16% of ground floor space • Arts, Entertainment and Recreation uses occupy 105,000 square feet, or 13% of downtown ground floor space. Downtown Salem has a large number of restaurants (56) and attractions (15), reflecting the large tourism market. The largest retailer cluster is gift and souvenir stores (45). Eighteen sell primarily “witch-related” merchandise with the other 27 catering to a more diverse market. Other retail categories with many stores are food and beverage stores (14), clothing and accessory stores (14), and sporting good, hobby and book stores (10). Three types of businesses exhibit geographic clustering: • Most visitor attractions and souvenir stores are located either at Pickering Wharf or along Essex Street • Almost half of downtown clothing stores are located in the Museum Place Mall and nearby on Essex Street • Three knitting, quilting, and needlework stores are in adjacent spaces on Front Street Downtown Salem contains stores in most retail categories and with a strong orientation toward comparison goods as opposed to convenience retail. However, the absence of a large cluster of stores (and large stores) in most categories (other than restaurants and gift and craft stores) limits downtown’s ability to be a major shopping destination for most products. Salem does have a diverse range of stores and this overall retail mix can create a destination through its unique experience and one-of-a-kind shops. There are 28 vacant ground floor spaces in downtown Salem with approximately 63,000 square feet or 8% of the total ground floor space. Sixteen of these vacant spaces with 38,000 square feet are currently available for lease to new businesses. Vacant space is dispersed throughout the downtown, but there are several vacancies along Essex Street. Other vacant spaces exist on Derby Street and the adjacent block on Washington Street. Their visibility and interruption of retail continuity make these two areas priorities for re-leasing. All vacant spaces offer less than 5,000 square feet, and half are below 2,000 square feet. These spaces are representative of the size of retail spaces found throughout Salem, which is compatible with the smaller stores that the city currently attracts. Sales Gap Analysis A sales gap analysis was used to identify store types with unmet market demand by comparing consumer spending to store sales for the entire trade area across myriad store types. Sales exceeded spending for almost all store categories, with the exception of eight store types. Six of these stores would benefit downtown by expanding an existing retail cluster, creating ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 6 Karl Seidman Consulting Services shopping linkages or filling gaps in the downtown retail mix: Specialty Food; Shoes; Clothing and Accessories; Jewelry/Luggage/Leather Goods; Sew/Needlework/Piece Goods; and Used Merchandise. Downtown Salem could support a median size store in most of these categories by capturing less than 20% of the estimated sales gap. Key Findings and Implications Major findings from the demand and supply side analysis include: • Trade area residents are the largest market for downtown, but Salem must gain market share from competing retail centers to significantly expand its retail base. • Visitors are the second key downtown market and present a strong growth opportunity through expanding visitation in May, June and September. • Downtown Salem is best positioned to grow its retail and service base in two areas: (1) dining and entertainment that builds on its current strength as a dining destination; and (2) niche comparison goods that emphasize unique stores and expand downtown’s current position in gifts and crafts, clothing, specialty foods, and hobby, books and music. • An expanded variety of stores, more arts and cultural activities and better information on parking options are key improvements to generate expanded downtown shopping among local residents. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 7 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Downtown Goals, Strategies and Action Plan This action plan is driven by an overall community vision for Downtown Salem that encompasses a vibrant and economically successful residential, commercial and cultural center that preserves its unique history and physical character, has a diverse mix of stores that serve North Shore residents and tourists, is a center for nighttime activity with restaurants and entertainment and is pleasurable, attractive and accessible to walk around. Based on this vision and the challenges and opportunities identified by the market analysis, the following strategies and action plan focus on realizing the following goals: ¾ Increase the number and diversity of ground floor retail stores to strengthen Salem as a unique shopping destination with specialty retail that differentiates it from major shopping centers ¾ Establish Salem as the North Shore’s premier dining and entertainment center with increased restaurants, entertainment options and nighttime activities ¾ Improve the environment for businesses to start, locate and succeed in Salem through more accessible permitting processes and on-going training and technical assistance resources ¾ Expand downtown’s market share for retail, dining and entertainment spending among trade area residents, Salem State College students and daytime workers ¾ Increase annual tourist visitation to Salem especially during the off-peak spring and fall shoulder months ¾ Make the experience of visiting and shopping downtown more convenient, pleasurable and interesting Retail Development Strategy Strategy Overview and Action Steps. The Retail Development Strategy seeks to establish downtown Salem as the North Shore’s premier dining and entertainment destination and diversify downtown niche-oriented stores to create a unique shopping experience. It will advance these goals through business recruitment and retention initiatives, expanding downtown entertainment options and improving the permitting processes for small businesses. Key components of this strategy include: 1. Establishing a proactive business recruitment campaign to attract targeted business to downtown Salem with a business recruitment team, recruitment materials and direct outreach to candidate stores. Target business types include restaurants, specialty food stores, clothing stores, specialty gifts, crafts, and house wares and entertainment venues. A key goal is to attract new 2nd, 3rd and 4th branch stores of existing regional businesses with experience in downtown and/or tourism-based communities. 2. Expanding entertainment options and branding through working to create new downtown music venues and creating a large signature dining and entertainment event. 3. Improvements to the city permitting process for small scale projects to help facilitate the location of new stores, restaurants and outdoor cafes. 4. Maintaining a strong downtown business retention effort with regular workshops, a downtown counseling site and continued small business loan program. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 8 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 5. A publicity campaign to create buzz and heighten awareness of downtown Salem’s revitalization. The following action plan is recommended to implement the Retail Development Strategy: ¾ Establish a downtown recruitment team and leader. This recruitment team would be responsible for overseeing a proactive campaign to recruit target businesses to downtown Salem. The team needs to include representatives of the Main Street Program and Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), major downtown property owners, commercial brokers and downtown merchants. A team leader from the Main Street Program should be designated to oversee recruitment efforts. The leader’s role is threefold: (1) coordinating implementation of the recruitment campaign among parties; (2) undertaking direct marketing; and (3) serving as the contact person for follow-up with interested firms. ¾ Create a recruitment information package. Effective collateral materials that make the case for locating in downtown Salem are needed to support recruitment. The following materials should be included in a comprehensive recruitment package: 1. A Market Profile that documents downtown Salem’s market size, customer segments and demographics, spending related to target stores, and position as a shopping, dining and entertainment destination. Data from the Downtown Market and Economic Analysis Report provide the basis for this profile. 2. Downtown Business Profiles. Profiles of typical businesses located downtown, including new businesses that have located downtown in the past year or two. 3. A Downtown Revitalization Brief that summarizes Salem’s overall downtown strategy and improvement initiatives, commitment to improving downtown, key successes and upcoming projects. Positive news articles on the downtown also should be included. 4. A listing, updated regularly, of available spaces to lease or buy downtown. 5. Contact information for the recruitment leader for follow-up. ¾ Maintain downtown space inventory. To ensure current information on vacant space available to lease or purchase downtown, an up-to-date inventory of downtown ground floor space needs to be maintained. The inventory prepared for the Downtown Retail Plan provides a baseline for the inventory and this information should be updated every three to six months to keep it accurate. Although it is not recommended to put the inventory on the web, a web-based property information request form can be added to the Chamber, Main Street and DPCD web sites to allow interested businesses to seek information on locating downtown, including available space. ¾ Establish leasing targets and process with downtown business owners. Downtown recruitment should focus on target businesses that strengthen Salem as a dining and entertainment center and diversify its retail mix with specialty stores that create a one-of- a-kind shopping experience. This include five target businesses types: • Restaurants ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 9 Karl Seidman Consulting Services • Specialty food stores • Clothing stores, including both women’s and men’s clothing, shoe stores and accessory stores • Arts/crafts/gift stores • Specialty home furnishings A second targeting goal is to attract new branch stores of successful regional businesses currently serving other communities in the North Shore or greater Boston. Stores with experience catering to residents, students and tourists and that cater to upper middle income and baby boomer markets are good fits with Salem’s market strengths. Examples of prospective businesses in each category include: • Flatbreads—a wood oven pizza restaurant based in Amesbury with branches in tourist-oriented downtowns such as Portland, Maine. • Firefly’s—a barbeque restaurant in Marlborough, Framingham and Quincy that also features live blues music • Duck Soup—a gourmet food store in Sudbury Massachusetts • French Lessons-a women’s clothing store with branches in Newburyport and Concord, Massachusetts • Native Sun—a contemporary women’s clothing store with locations in Massachusetts (Newburyport, Sudbury) and Florida • John Farley Clothiers—a men’s fashion store in Newburyport • Footstock—a comfort-oriented shoe store with stores in Wellesley and Concord • Monroe Salt Works—a Maine pottery company that operates distinct stores with a variety of crafts, home furnishing, toys and gifts. Store locations outside Maine include Arlington and Boston • The Gatehouse—a gift, house wares and specialty clothing store in West Concord • Ten Thousand Villages—a chain of non-profit gift stores featuring fair-traded crafts from around the world. A local board would have to be established to operate a store in Salem Beyond these targets, a process should be established with downtown property owners to coordinate recruitment with their own leasing efforts and to gain their agreement to prioritize leasing ground floor space to target businesses for a set period of time before considering other tenants. We recommend establishing a 120-day time frame for this targeted leasing period. In addition to filing vacant ground floor space, the recruitment team should work with landlords to move non-retail offices into upper floor space and replace them with target stores and restaurants. ¾ Contact target businesses about locating in downtown Salem. A mix of formal and informal approaches can be used to reach owners of businesses targeted for downtown recruitment. Formal recruitment includes direct outreach to the owners of target businesses including those listed above and other candidates developed by the ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 10 Karl Seidman Consulting Services recruitment committee and other stakeholders. The recruitment leader or another committee member would contact a business owner about the advantages of locating in downtown Salem, send her/him a recruitment package and follow-up with an individual meeting. Businesses that express interest in locating in Salem would receive assistance from the Main Street program and small business ombudsperson at DPCD. Informal recruitment activities can include encouraging downtown businesses, property owners, cultural organizations and city staff to identify potential recruitment prospects and talk up downtown Salem with friends and colleagues to generate “word-of-mouth” interest in and excitement about the downtown. In addition, a flier on locating a business in downtown Salem can be prepared to encourage visitors to consider moving to or expanding their business in the downtown. The brochure should include information on the advantages of locating in Salem and contact information for the Main Street recruitment leader. The brochure would be available at key visitor destinations, the Chamber of Commerce office, City offices, and Main Street program displays at major events. ¾ Conduct downtown publicity campaign. On-going publicity efforts will build awareness of downtown Salem’s successes to help generate interest and buzz within the business community and residents. The campaign should include efforts to cultivate on- going press coverage, keep stakeholders up-to-date on downtown improvements and foster awareness among the general public. Key elements of the publicity campaign include: • Hold a press event with the Mayor to announce the hiring of the new Main Street program manager and full scale launch of the downtown retail action plan • Issue press releases and cultivate coverage for important accomplishments • Hold store opening events with a mayoral visit when new stores open downtown • Develop an email list and provide regular updates to all parties interested in downtown Salem, such as downtown businesses, city officials and staff, property owners, cultural organizations, and other Main Street program volunteers. ¾ Facilitate permitting process for small scale projects. Salem has established an effective multi-departmental community development team to facilitate permitting for new development projects. This approach should be extended to help new businesses seeking to locate downtown and existing businesses that need additional permits to navigate the approval process for smaller scale projects such as opening a new store or restaurant in an existing downtown space. This process would have three components: • Designating a permitting “ombudsperson” most likely within DPCD to inform small businesses about the permitting process and help resolve permit problems • Organizing a city small project permitting team to track and coordinate actions. and resolve problems on these projects. This team would meet regularly to review the status of projects and resolve any problems or questions that arise. • Use the Main Street Program to provide “business-to-business” guidance and support on obtaining city permits. This process should enhance Salem’s reputation as welcoming and good place to do business and accelerate the time required to open a new business. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 11 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ¾ Establish a process to increase the number and strategic location of liquor licenses for downtown restaurants. Since additional liquor licenses are critical to attracting new restaurants to Salem and the process for securing new licenses is difficult, the city would benefit from creating a more proactive and strategic process to plan for and secure licenses. This process needs to both identify key locations where licenses are needed to attract new restaurants and new or expanding businesses that desire a new license (and are consistent with local plans and policies). This process would: (1) work with the Main Street Program, Chamber of Commerce, and city officials to identify the potential number and location of new licenses needed over a three- to five-year period; (2) review these options with different stakeholders and city officials; (3) decide on a package of proposed new licenses; and (4) secure city and state approval for the proposed licenses. ¾ Create “One Stop” process for café licenses. Since outdoor cafés add street life and vibrancy to downtowns, Salem should work to simplify the permitting process for businesses that want to provide outdoor seating and dining. The current process requires permits from four separate offices and may discourage some business from seeking a license or completing the full process. To simplify this process, Salem should create a “one-stop” café application process in which a single application with all the required materials for the four licensing boards could be filed with one office and then forwarded to each board. The ombudsperson would then inform the applicant business of the sequence of hearing dates and help resolve any questions or issues that arise during the process. ¾ Expand downtown music and entertainment venues. The customer survey and focus groups revealed that entertainment is one of the strongest draws to bring residents and students downtown. Several entertainment options already exist at downtown bars, cafés, restaurants and stores. The goal in increasing these options is to make Salem the leading entertainment center on the North Shore. A combination of outdoor and indoor entertainment venues should be created to enliven downtown during day and night and add to the array of visitor amenities. Several approaches can be used to expand downtown music and entertainment offerings: • Approach existing downtown business about adding a range of entertainment activities. Good candidates include cafés, bars, restaurants and book stores. Entertainment can include live music, open mikes, comedy, storytelling, book readings and poetry slams. Opportunities for Salem State students to perform should also be fostered to help bring students downtown. • Create temporary outdoor stages in two to three downtown locations and rent them for weekend and evening performances during warm weather months. Over time, these stages can provide the basis for regular outdoor lunchtime and evening concert series. The Main Street program could work with the city licensing board to establish the fees and process for licensing use of these stages and help to market and administer them. • Allow and encourage informal outdoor street performers at high profile locations where small crowds can gather, e.g., the area outside the Peabody Essex Museum. ¾ Create a signature food and entertainment event. Salem has successfully used a high-profile event and festival to build its strong visitation and recognition as a “must- ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 12 Karl Seidman Consulting Services see” destination during the Halloween season. In a similar manner, a major food and entertainment event, such as a music festival, can help brand Salem as a regional entertainment center. The Lowell Folk Festival provides a good example of such an event. Although the specific event details need to be developed by a special committee established to organize the event, a mid-to late June date would be a good time for such an event, both helping to expand Salem’s June tourism and foster return visits during the summer and fall. ¾ Continue and expand business growth and retention efforts. In addition to recruiting new downtown businesses, services to retain and grow existing business should be maintained and expanded. A strong network of business assistance programs currently serves Salem that includes financing assistance through the city’s Small Business Loan and Storefront Improvement Programs, business counseling from the SBA Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and SCORE program, incubator space and training workshops at the Enterprise Center and networking, health insurance, group advertising and discounts through the Salem Chamber of Commerce. The following actions are recommended to improve the accessibility, relevance and impact of these programs for downtown businesses: • Conduct regular marketing and outreach to business owners to inform them of these services • Establish regular downtown office hours for SBDC counselors at the Chamber of Commerce office • Create a workshop series geared to the special needs of retailers and restaurants • Host an annual one-on-one “business check-up” program that brings a leading retail expert to Salem for several days to advise store owners on steps to improve their merchandising, store layout and displays, marketing and other matters. Implementation Entities and Priorities. Implementation of the retail development strategy, and the entire downtown retail plan, requires collaboration among the many organizations and stakeholders responsible for the downtown’s success. These parties include the re-established Main Street Program, city departments, the Chamber of Commerce, business and property owners and downtown cultural institutions and attractions. However, implementation depends on having a clear lead organization for each action item and two organizations are in the best position to lead and coordinate most initiatives in the Retail Development Action Plan. The Main Street Program is recommended to lead the following components of the action plan: • Business recruitment activities (recruitment team formation, creation of recruitment package, coordination with property owners, outreach, marketing and follow-up with prospects) • Downtown publicity campaign • Expansion of downtown entertainment venues • Design and organizing of signature food and entertainment event • Business growth and retention efforts • Maintenance of the downtown space inventory ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 13 Karl Seidman Consulting Services The Salem Department of Planning and Community Development is the appropriate organization to lead the following action plan items: • Small project permitting coordination • One-stop café license process The Mayor’s Office and DPCD are recommended to jointly lead the liquor licensing process given the political issues and relationships involved in managing this issue. Putting the business recruitment system in place is the first priority under this strategy. This entails forming the recruitment team and designating a leader, creating the recruitment package, and confirming the leasing targets and process with property owners. Other actions steps that can be initiated this year include: beginning the publicity campaign; establishing the small project ombudsperson and permitting team; expanded marketing of business retention and growth services; and establishing downtown SBDC office hours. Required Resources. The key resource for this strategy is the time and effort by the new Main Street manager, DPCD and volunteers on the business recruitment team. Some funding will be needed to: (1) design and print the recruitment package; (2) hold store opening events; (3) plan and organize the initial signature entertainment event; and (4) hold business workshops and the “business check-up” counseling. The costs of recruitment materials can be shared between the Main Street Program, DPCD and building owners; these costs can be reduced through pro bono design and printing services from local businesses. The store owners and the Main Street program should cover the costs of store opening events. In the long run, the entertainment event should be self-funded through fees, sponsorships and merchandise sales, but funds must be raised to plan and organize it during the initial years before it is self-sustaining. A combination of grants from foundations and the Mass Cultural Council and corporate underwriting can fund this start-up phase. Finally, the workshop and expert counseling should be self-funded through business attendance fees and sponsorships from area financial institutions. A detailed chart summarizing all the action items, timeframe, implementing parties, required resources and key tasks for the Retail Development Strategy is provided in the report appendix. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 14 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Market Development Strategy Strategy Overview and Action Plan. The Market Development Strategy focuses on increasing downtown Salem’s market share among trade area residents, students and downtown workers and coordinating efforts to increase Salem’s tourist visitation, especially in May, June and September when visits are well below levels in peak months. This strategy has six key components: • A unified and comprehensive marketing campaign with group advertising, a single downtown guide, downtown web site and business blog initiative. • Expanding the downtown resident retail market by continuing city zoning and development policies that foster downtown mixed use and housing development. • Target marketing to Salem State College students and workers at large Salem employers (i.e., North Shore Medical Center, Salem State College, City of Salem, State offices) • Expanded promotions to increase shopping, dining and entertainment spending among trade area residents and to encourage more nighttime activity downtown. • A year round events program to increase local shopping and attract more visitors in the off-peak spring and fall months • Better coordination between downtown and tourism marketing initiatives The following action plan is recommended to implement the Retail Development Strategy: ¾ Unified downtown cooperative ad campaign and themes. Although cooperative advertising programs exist for some downtown properties and areas, there is no overall downtown Salem advertising program to attract shoppers. A unified advertising campaign is a critical way to draw more shoppers downtown while also advertising and building awareness of individual stores. A centerpiece of the campaign would be a cooperative advertising program incorporating ads with two components: (1) a branding theme for downtown Salem; and (2) a rotating listing of individual stores. The branding theme should emphasize Salem’s unique character along with its one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants and attractions. By varying the stores listed in ads and featuring a larger space to profile one or two stores on a rotating basis, the program will build recognition of downtown Salem’s diverse shopping and dining options. A second type of newspaper ad can feature sets of stores by category (e.g., restaurants) or location (e.g., the Museum Place Mall) along with the downtown theme. Businesses can support the ads at three levels—purchasing a featured store ad, purchasing a regular store name listing, and making a contribution to fund the overall advertising program. To be effective, the advertisements must run regularly on a sustained basis—which also will help negotiate discounted ad rates. Both newspaper and radio advertisements should be included in the campaign. From the customer survey, the Salem Evening News and Boston Globe are the best newspapers to reach trade area residents, read by 42% and 44% of respondents, respectively. ¾ Single downtown map and guide. This map and guide should provide a comprehensive list of downtown stores, restaurants, and attractions rather than listing businesses based on paid advertisements. The guide would also list important facilities and services such as parking locations, public restrooms, the MBTA station and ferry terminal. Stores ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 15 Karl Seidman Consulting Services should be organized by and emphasize key retail categories. The primary audience for the guide is visitors and tourists who are not familiar with Salem, but it also will increase trade area residents’ recognition of the range of downtown stores, restaurants and cultural offerings. These guides should be distributed at key visitor destinations, downtown stores and restaurants, new downtown kiosks (see Experience Enhancement Strategy), lodging locations, major employers and Salem State College. To remain current, the map and guide will need to be updated at least annually. ¾ Create a single downtown web site with store listings, links, and events calendar. Downtown Salem lacks a central web presence to provide comprehensive information of interest to residents, students and visitors. The Salem Chamber and Salem tourism Web sites provide considerable information but there is both overlap and gaps. The event calendar on Destination Salem’s site has few events and neither site has a complete listing of downtown stores with links to store web sites. This difficulty in getting web information on downtown stores was cited by Salem State students in their focus group. A single site should be established and marketed (including in the new downtown guide) as the internet location to get information on downtown Salem, including events, a shopping and dining guide (with links to individual business web sites), movie times, and links to related sources of information. Links to the downtown web site also need to be established at other key web sites, e.g., the City of Salem, regional tourism sites, hotels and key attractions. ¾ Downtown blog initiative. This action taps into the growing interest in internet blogs to create a low-cost marking tool for businesses and the entire downtown. The Hawthorne Hotel has successfully used a blog to market its business and has found that the blog increased its prominence in web search results. If many stores establish a blog and regularly post new information about their businesses and interesting downtown events and activities, these blogs will create a new advertising and information channel. By linking the blogs, a new way to discover and explore the downtown is also created. To implement this initiative, businesses will need training on how to create a blog and follow-up to ensure their creation. Businesses should also be encouraged to share information on the different ways in which they have successively used their blogs. ¾ Establish two night promotions with extended store hours. These promotions are intended to encourage more evening shopping and dining by trade area residents and link several evening downtown activities. One promotion would be on a Friday or Saturday night to encourage people who dine downtown to also shop downtown. Downtown retailers would have later nighttime hours on this night, perhaps to 9 or 9:30 PM. To motivate consumers to shop and dine, the promotion should offer a discount for combining downtown evening activities, such as a meal discount with proof of downtown shopping or a shopping discount linked to eating at downtown restaurant. A second promotion would promote mid-week downtown dining and entertainment attendance by offering a discount for eating out and attending an entertainment event on a Wednesday night. These promotions would begin on a monthly basis to test their impact and could be held more frequently if successful. To effectively test and build these promotions, they will need to continue consistently for several months. The ideal time to launch the promotions is late spring or early summer when the days are longer and the weather is warmer; they would then be continued through at least the fall to provide an ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 16 Karl Seidman Consulting Services extended 5 or 6 month trial. Multiple marketing channels should be used to advertise the promotions, including the cooperative advertisements, downtown web site and blogs. Stores, restaurants, cultural and entertainment attractions can also distribute fliers and discount coupons at their businesses and use their regular contact with customers to build awareness of and interest in visiting downtown that night. ¾ Implement the year-round events program underway with the Chamber. Festivals and events are a great ways to attract local residents and visitors to downtown and differentiate Salem from the prosaic experience of shopping at a mall. Expanding event offerings is especially important to increase tourism and shopping during off-peak months. The Salem Chamber has taken the lead to create a year round events calendar with plans for new large events in the critical months of May, June and September. Successful implementation of this calendar is central to expanding the retail market for downtown and a priority under the action plan. As detailed planning for these events unfolds, it important to include activities and programming that will appeal to both local residents and visitors. ¾ Establish sales promotions linked to events. A second area for promotions is sales and advertising built around downtown festivals and events. Stores would hold a special sale around and during the event both to attract more people downtown for the event and to encourage shopping by people who come to the event. In addition to these special sales, businesses can use window displays and painting to promote major festivals and events. ¾ Downtown loyalty shopping program. The concept of encouraging regular shopping by rewarding customer loyalty is used by many stores and it can be extended to the overall downtown through a downtown loyalty shopping program. This program would provide a discount to shoppers for making purchases at multiple downtown stores. The goal is to encourage residents to not only shop downtown more often but to become familiar with and shop at many downtown stores. One option would be to provide customers with a ticket that when stamped by ten different participating downtown stores would entail the person to 10% or $10 off a purchase from any one of those merchants. To be most effective, a critical mass of downtown stores would have to participate, in the range of 20 to 25. To build on the momentum from other marketing initiatives, allow time to recruit participating stores and work out the logistics of this promotion, it is anticipated that this promotion would be implemented in late 2008 or 2009. ¾ Continue policies to encourage downtown residential and mixed use development. New housing has made an important contribution to expanding the market for downtown stores and adding 24 hour activity to reinforce nighttime dining, entertainment and shopping. In the past several years, 391 new housing units have been built—a 24% increase in the number of housing units in the primary downtown census tract during 2000. To keep building this downtown resident market, the City of Salem should continue zoning and development policies that foster downtown mixed use and housing development. Key policies include allowing higher density in the downtown than in other zoning districts, Salem Redevelopment Authority requirements for active ground floor uses such as shops and restaurants in new developments, conducting studies to resolve planning, market and development issues for key properties, and maintaining the current parking requirements that encourage redevelopment and reflect reduced reliance on auto transportation among downtown residents. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 17 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ¾ Downtown-Tourism marketing linkages. Since increased tourist visitation is an important goal for the downtown Salem and expanded investment in marketing will be made under this plan, it is critical to ensure strong linkages between Salem’s tourism marketing and marketing under the Downtown Retail Action Plan. These efforts should be informed by the recognition that downtown’s restaurants, shopping and entertainment offerings are an important part of the package of attractions and amenities for tourists. Pedestrian-oriented historic downtowns are a proven New England tourist attraction. Moreover, downtown amenities are central to fulfilling all the stages of a visit to a destination. These include the arrival, parking and way finding, experiencing the primary attraction, experiencing a secondary activity such as shopping, taking an enjoyable repast (often at a café or restaurant), relaxing in a pleasant environment, and finally easily and safely leaving for home. A visitor expects that a “complete” experience is offered that includes activities, food, shopping, and a pleasant environment for downtime from the more active aspects of the visit. Consequently, the integration of downtown amenities into the marketing of Salem to tourists and “management” of their visit will increase Salem’s appeal and add to the quality of any visit. Four steps are recommended to strengthen these marketing linkages: • Incorporate downtown retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings into Salem’s tourism marketing • Include the single downtown map and guide as part of tourism guides and promotion materials, • Include Salem Main Street events in tourism event calendars • Develop an advertising campaign to attract more day trip visitors from the Boston metro area ¾ Student marketing initiative. Salem State College students are an important nearby market for downtown stores and restaurants that has not been cultivated. A special marketing initiative directed at Salem State students is needed for downtown Salem to gain a significant share of this $36.5 million market. A multi-prong student marketing program is needed to address three key obstacles to getting students to visit and spend downtown: (1) information on what stores and restaurants are downtown; (2) students feeling welcome downtown; and (3) the convenience of coming and shopping downtown. This marketing initiative should incorporate the following action steps: • Work with Salem State College and local merchants to expand acceptance of the Clipper Card at downtown stores and restaurants, as this card is the primary way students pay for goods and services. • Hold a large welcome event for students and parents at the beginning of the school year in September. This would expand on the event initiated by Salem State College last year to include downtown signs, an evening event to bring students downtown and an extended week-long shopping and dining promotion. • On-campus advertising for downtown and special events in the college newspaper and through posters. • Working with the college administration to expand shuttle transportation from the campus to downtown since the current service is infrequent and irregular. • Hold an event to cultivate resident advisors and commuter council members as ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 18 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ambassadors for downtown. This event would ensure that these key advisors to students are familiar with downtown shopping, dining and entertainment offerings and understand that students are desired and welcome downtown. • Hire a Salem State student intern to work for the Main Street program. In addition to adding part-time staff capacity, the intern will provide an on-going student perspective to inform the program’s work and create another downtown connection to student networks. ¾ Employer promotions. Salem has over 12,000 workers that provide a sizable daytime market for downtown. Moreover, with almost 9,000 of these workers concentrated in four large employers (North Shore Medical Center, Salem State College, the City of Salem, and State offices), these employers provide an ready avenue to reach this large market and encourage them to shop and eat out downtown. The Main Street Program can contact these major employers to identify the best channels and ways to reach their workers and then work with these employers to distribute the downtown guide and other marketing materials to employees. Implementation Entities and Priorities. Since the market development strategy focuses on expanding and coordinating marketing initiatives, its implementation will be driven by downtown businesses, attractions and cultural organizations under the leadership of the Main Streets Program. The Chamber of Commerce and the new tourism organization will be important collaborators for this strategy, especially around expanding linkages between tourism and downtown marketing and implementing the new annual events calendar. Salem’s Department of Planning and Community Development is critical to continuing city policies and programs to expand downtown residential development. Salem State College will be an important partner for the student marketing initiative. Downtown attractions and cultural organizations, including the Peabody Essex Museum, are also vital partners for the success of the proposed evening dining and entertainment promotion and implementation of new events. Finally, the Hawthorne Hotel, Enterprise Center and Small Business Development Center are needed to train and assist businesses to execute the business blog marketing effort. The first priority under this strategy is to implement the unified downtown marketing campaign with cooperative advertising, a single map and guide, full service web site and blog initiative. Strong support for continued downtown housing development is also a high priority. A second set of priorities includes establishing more events and promotions (the new evening promotions and new events under the annual calendar) and implementing the Salem State College and large employer marketing initiatives. Required Resources. Strong business participation and Main Street staff and volunteer time are the critical resources to implement this strategy. However, funding will be needed to design, develop and print multiple marketing materials (map & guide, posters, advertisements), to buy advertisements and to design, host and maintain a downtown web site. Funding will also be needed to for event programming and activities. Marketing materials and advertising costs, including cooperative advertising, can be self-funded by businesses at no additional cost by using their existing ad budgets in this more strategic manner and by sharing costs with other businesses. Funding for the guides and events can come from several grant sources, including state tourism promotion funds, Massachusetts Cultural Council grants and foundation grants ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 19 Karl Seidman Consulting Services (from foundations that support either arts and cultural activities and/or community economic development). Sponsorships and contributions from utilities, financial institutions and other large corporations also can help underwrite these costs. For example, Verizon and other telecommunications companies fund web-site development for non-profit community organizations. Finally, in-kind contributions from design, web-site development and printing firms can lower some of these costs, as can internships or service learning projects by high school and college students. A detailed chart summarizing all the action items, timeframe, implementing parties, required resources and key tasks for the Market Development Strategy is provided in the report appendix. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 20 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Experience Enhancement Strategy Strategy Overview and Action Steps. The Experience Enhancement Strategy seeks to improve downtown’s attractiveness and appeal to pedestrians, and help visitors better navigate downtown Salem and locate convenient parking. Key components of this strategy include: • Creating better signage and information to navigate downtown and identify key attractions and downtowns sub-districts. • Making the Essex Street pedestrian mall more vibrant, interesting, clean and safe for pedestrians. • Institutionalizing staffing for downtown cleanliness and beautification efforts. • Establishing informed ambassadors and employees to better advise and guide visitors on downtown activities, stores, restaurants, parking and directions. The following action plan is recommended to implement the Experience Enhancement Strategy: ¾ Create downtown kiosk/map installations at key visitor entry points and destinations. Information kiosks with maps will help to orient visitors and direct them to restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and attractions. Current information kiosks focus on visitor attractions, but restaurant, entertainment, and shopping uses need to be highlighted. These kiosks also might incorporate space for newspapers to reduce the need for some stand alone newspaper boxes. Potential locations include parking garages and lots, the ferry landing, and the rail station. The Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) would be responsible for designing the kiosks and determining suitable locations with input from the Main Street Program, Chamber of Commerce, Salem tourism organization, MBTA, and Salem Ferry. ¾ Implement full downtown way finding and signage systems. Clear and well placed signs are essential to help visitors easily arrive in downtown Salem and, once there, find their way to important attractions, shopping areas and dining centers. A consistent and integrated way-finding system achieves this purpose and adds to the ease and enjoyment of the visitor’s experience in downtown Salem. The system can also strengthen visual and physical connections between entry points and dining and shopping areas to aid vehicle and pedestrian navigation of the downtown. Therefore, signs need to include and direct visitors to “downtown restaurants” and “downtown shopping district” along with directions to parking and major attractions. To ease traffic congestion on downtown streets, signs (and parking policies) should promote long-term parking in large lots. Linking the information kiosks at entry points with downtown signage and pedestrian way finding also helps develop downtown Salem’s image and identify as a commercial district. DPCD would be responsible for designing signage and determining suitable locations with input from the Main Street Program, Chamber of Commerce, and Salem tourism organization. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 21 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ¾ Activate Essex Street Mall with an outdoor plaza and more interesting window displays. The Essex Street Mall is an important downtown asset as a dedicated pedestrian space lined with attractive historic buildings and storefronts. However, the current pedestrian experience on the mall is weak with many inactive and uninteresting storefronts and infrastructure that does not promote shopping and socializing. Several steps can be taken in the short-term to activate the mall and make it a better public place. These include making it more pedestrian-friendly by filling non-active storefronts with artwork or other interesting window displays and by developing a pedestrian plaza that can function as a formal and informal gathering and performance space. Stores fronting the Mall are prime candidates for the storefront improvement program. In the long-term, a redesign of the space should be undertaken (see below). The Main Street Program would work with Mall property owners, businesses, and the local arts community to develop and implement specific ideas for new window displays and work with property owners and city agencies to locate an appropriate site for a public plaza. ¾ Build downtown clean up / beautification squad. Existing downtown beatification and clean-up efforts need to be bolstered and sustained by instituting a paid, summer maintenance program using high school students. This regular summer squad would maintain the flower plantings undertaken by the Garden Club and others that contribute to an attractive environment downtown. A larger and predictable maintenance team also can help extend flower plantings to additional walkways and storefronts throughout the downtown. A second function of the clean-up beautification squad is to help keep downtown clean by sweeping and picking up litter in areas that accumulate trash, including the Essex Street Mall. Beyond summer maintenance work, this squad could be used as part of special fall and early spring clean-up efforts to keep the Essex Street mall and other challenging downtown area clean. The Main Street Program would organize and direct the student squad. The Beatification Committee, Public Works Department and Garden Club would provide input on program goals and priorities. ¾ Improve enforcement of deliveries on the mall. Delivery access for trucks to park on the Essex Street Mall is necessary but they detract from the pedestrian nature of the area. In recent years, deliveries outside of the allowed times have become more frequent. Broader acceptance and enforcement of delivery limits is needed to avoid conflict between users and to create a more inviting Essex Street Mall. The Main Street Program should coordinate an initial meeting with the police department, merchants, and property owners to review delivery schedules, discuss business and police roles in enforcement and determine appropriate enforcement actions. ¾ Establish a Board of Health policy on open storefront windows for restaurants. A mid-point between open-air sidewalk café and indoor restaurant is open storefront windows, which create more active storefronts, inviting dining environments, and flexible restaurant space. Many downtowns allow open storefronts because it blurs the line between indoor and outdoor space and enlivens the streetscape. The Main Street Program should take the lead on meeting with the Board of Health to review existing policies and concerns, to draft new policies for review, if needed, and to disseminate information among restaurants on how to obtain a permit for an open storefront window. ¾ Continue downtown design guidelines and storefront improvement program. Existing design guidelines and incentives for investment in attractive storefronts are important tools to preserve and improve downtown Salem’s historic character and attractiveness. The SRA and DPCD should continue these programs and link them to other experience enhancement initiatives. The Main Street Program can provide more information to businesses and help guide them through the SRA and DCPD processes. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 22 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ¾ Create “Downtown Ambassador” program. When visitation is high in Salem during the summer months and in October, on-the-street downtown ambassadors would be deployed to provide visitors with information and a safe downtown environment. This would be linked with and expand upon existing orientation efforts at information kiosks, in maps and brochures, and at the National Park Service Visitor Center. The ambassadors would be temporary staff positions hired by the Main Street Program during the summer and funded with fees paid by downtown businesses and attractions. They would also work closely with the National Park Service and the police department. These formal ambassadors can train informal ambassadors, which include resident volunteers and employees at downtown businesses. This network of ambassadors will help to create a friendly and welcoming network of Salem community members to create a positive experience for visitors to Salem. ¾ Continue to implement recommendations from the 2005 Traffic Study. As traffic was perceived to be an important issue among trade area shoppers, implementing the recommendations of the 2005 traffic study should be continued. These recommendations focused on improving traffic circulation via signalization and timing at key vehicle and pedestrian intersections as well as several pedestrian and traffic safety changes. The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Planning and Community Development can work with the Police Department and Department of Public Works to ensure timely implementation of these recommendations. ¾ Undertake an urban redesign plan for the Essex Street Mall. The current design of the Essex Street Mall poses several obstacles to a strong pedestrian experience, outdoor use of the Mall for dining, events and socializing and encouraging shopping and enjoyment of window displays. To address these obstacles and make maximum use of this attractive public space, an urban redesign plan for the Essex Street Mall should be undertaken. This plan would address the type, location and positioning of benches, trees, cobblestone paths, and other Mall street furniture and identify desirable locations for outdoor dining, public plazas or other seasonal entertainment or socializing spaces. The goal of the plan would be to improve the quality of the pedestrian experience on the Mall, ensure good access to all storefronts, promote active public uses of the mall, and facilitate safe, well-maintained and clean public areas. DPCD would be responsible for developing the design plan with broad community input. Implementation Entities and Priorities. Implementation of the experience enhancement strategy, as with the entire downtown retail plan, will require collaboration among the many organizations and stakeholders responsible for the downtown’s success. These parties include the re-established Main Street Program, city departments, the Chamber of Commerce, business and property owners and downtown cultural institutions and attractions. Two organizations are most appropriate to lead implementation of most activities under Experience Enhancement Action Plan. The Main Street Program is recommended to lead the following components of the action plan: • Activation of the Essex Street Mall • Beatification / clean-up squad • Downtown ambassador program and informal ambassador training • Delivery enforcement on the Essex Street Mall ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 23 Karl Seidman Consulting Services • Creating a policy for open restaurant windows The Salem Department of Planning and Community Development is the appropriate organization to lead the following action plan items: • Designing and installing information kiosks • Implementing the signage and way finding system • Managing downtown design guidelines and the storefront improvement program • Undertaking an urban redesign plan for the Essex Street Mall • Continued implementation of traffic study recommendations (with the Mayor’s Office) Enhancing the Essex Street Mall through window displays and creating the beatification / clean up squad are the first priorities under this strategy. This entails extensive coordination of and outreach to businesses, property owners, and high school students on the part of the Main Street Program. Other action steps that can be initiated this year include: developing the informal ambassador training program, which will help with the medium-term goal of creating formal ambassadors, and developing revised policies for Essex Street Mall delivery enforcement and open storefront restaurant windows. Required Resources. Several actions under this strategy can be implemented without any cost through policy changes and continued use of existing programs. However, substantial funds will have to be raised to implement the kiosk, way-finding system and physical improvements to the Essex Street Mall. A combination of grant funds and contributions from major institutions, corporations and businesses will be needed to fund these improvements. The Main Street Program will need to raise the funds for staff and materials costs for the Beautification/Clean-up Squad and Ambassador Program from downtown businesses, property owners and institutions. State or foundation grants may be available if these activities are part of a larger youth education and development program. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 24 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Action Plan Implementation Successful implementation of the Downtown Retail Strategy Action Plan requires active participation and collaboration by many organizations in Salem. Each strategy outlined the role of different organizations in leading and supporting implementation of the Action Plan. It is important to note that the newly revived Salem Main Street Program is the most critical organization for implementation. It is best positioned to coordinate overall implementation of the Action Plan and has leadership responsibility for many action steps. Therefore, the hiring of a skilled manager for this program is of critical importance to implementation of the Action Plan. In addition to the Main Street Program, the City of Salem is an important implementation partner. Its roles include providing continued leadership, staff and fund-raising assistance for key portions of the plan and leading initiatives related to physical improvement projects, downtown housing and enhancements to city permitting processes. The Chamber of Commerce has a critical role in supporting implementation of the downtown marketing campaign, expanded events calendar and new promotions. The new tourism organization also will be an important partner for marketing and expanding downtown events. Business and property owners, who control the vital downtown businesses and buildings, have the most important role—they must use the plan to guide and coordinate their actions to advance the vision for downtown Salem and continue to fund and be active participants in the Main Street program. To help coordinate and oversee implementation of the Action Plan, the City and Main Street Program are encouraged to use the Working Group that oversaw work on this plan as a vehicle to track overall strategy implementation across the responsible parties. The Working Group could be expanded to include the new Main Streets Program manager, a representative of the Salem Partnership and the director of the new tourism organization and would meet quarterly to review progress and make appropriate adjustments for each strategy. An annual report could also be prepared to document overall accomplishments in advancing the downtown vision, goals and strategies. A two-year implementation schedule is presented in Figure 1. This is not intended to be definitive but rather to suggest how to phase implementation based on the designated priorities. The Oversight Committee should regularly review and update this schedule. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 25 Karl Seidman Consulting Services ____ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 26 Karl Seidman Consulting Services __________________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 1. Implementation Timeline TASK 3rd Qtr 2007 4th Qtr 2007 1st Qtr 2008 2nd Qtr 2008 3rd Qtr 2008 4th Qtr 2008 1st Qtr 2009 2nd Qtr 2009 Half 2009 2010 Hire New Main Street Manager Retail Development Strategy Establish Downtown Recruitment Team and Leader Create Recruitment Information Package Maintain Active Downtown Space Inventory Establish Leasing Targets & Process with Building Owners Proactive Marketing to Recruit Target Businesses Publicity Campaign Improvements to Small Scale Project Permitting Process to Increase Liquor License One-Stop Process for Café Licenses Expand Downtown Music/Entertainment Venues Signature Entertainment Event Continue & Expand Business Retention Efforts Market Development Strategy Unified Downtown Advertising Campaign Single Downtown Map & Guide Downtown Blog Initiative Single Downtown Web Site Nightime Promotions with Extended Store Hours Implement Year Round Events Calendar Sales Promotions Linked to Events Downtown Loyalty Shopping Program Continue Policies to Encourage Downtown Housing Strengthen Linkages Between Downtown & Tourist Marketing Student Marketing Initiative Large Employer Marketing Experience Enhancement Strategy Downtown Kiosk/Map Installations Full Downtown Wayfinding Signage System Activate Essex Street Mall Downtown Clean-Up & Beautification Squad Improve Enforement of Essex Street Mall Deliveries Board of Health Policy on Restaurant Open Front Windows Information and Training for Visitor Center & Business Staff Continue Downtown Design Guidelines & Storefront Program Downtown Ambassador Program Continue Implementation of Traffic Study Recommendations Essex Street Mall Urban Redesign Plan Appendix: Summary Implementation Chart for Each Strategy Retail Development Strategy Matrix Strategy Component Timeframe Implementing Parties (Bold Type Indicates Lead Organization) Resources/ Funding Required Key Tasks 1 Establish downtown recruitment team and leader Short term (2007) • Main Street Program • Property owners • DPCD • Chamber of Commerce • No funding-existing staff & volunteers • Convene meeting, form team. designate team leader & contact 2 Create recruitment information package Short term (2007) • Main Street Program • Recruitment Team Funds to design and print materials: • Main Street Budget • Property Owners • Finalize package content • Review existing materials • Design overall look • Prepare & design new materials • Print materials • Distribute to city agencies, brokers, chamber, building owners, etc. 3 Maintain active downtown space inventory Short-term (2007), on-going • Main Street Program • Property owners • Commercial brokers • Existing Staff • Set-up baseline inventory • Create system for updating • Property information request form 4 Establish leasing targets and process/timeline with downtown building owners • Restaurants • Specialty food • Clothing • Specialty gifts, crafts, house wares • Entertainment venues • Priority locations for business types Short-term (2007), on-going • Main Street Program • Recruitment Team • DPCD • SRA • No funding-existing staff & volunteers • Gain agreement with building owners on recruitment & leasing process • Inform key city staff & officials on leasing priorities & process 5 Contact target businesses about locating downtown; follow-up with information and meeting. Focus on Essex Street, Museum Place & Washington Street Medium-term (2008), on-going • Main Street Program • Recruitment team • No funding-existing staff & volunteers • Identify & contact target businesses • Hold follow-up meetings • Refer to recruitment contact & property owners 6 Publicity campaign Short term (2007), on-going • Main Street Program • DPCD • Mayor’s Office Food and materials for store openings: • Store owners & Main Street Program • Press conference for plan release with mayor • Cultivate on-going press coverage of accomplishments • Develop mailing/email list for all interested parties, and update on key actions, initiatives, events • Hold events for new store openings with mayor • Talk up revitalization efforts 7 Facilitate permitting process for small scale projects via city “ombudsperson,” city business permitting team and guidance from Main Street Program Short-term (2007), on-going • DPCD • Main Street Program • Mayor’s Office • City departments that issue permits No funding-existing staff • Designate permitting “ombudsmen” ( e.g., economic development staff) • Organize city business permitting team • Hold regular meeting to review permitting status and resolve issues • Market Main Street Program as source of private assistance 8 Process for increasing number of liquor licenses for downtown restaurants Medium Term (2008) • DPCD/ Mayor’s Office • Licensing Board • Mayor ‘s Office • City Council • State legislative delegation No funding required • Identify priority sites & plans for new restaurants • Establish process to gain support for new licenses at targeted sites • Gain city council approval • Secure state /legislation for multiple licenses ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 28 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 9 Establish “One-Stop” process for café licenses Medium Term (2008) • DPCD • SRA • Licensing Board • Board of Health No funding-existing staff • Convene meeting of board chairs and staff to discuss change in application process • Develop single application form and checklist • Designate intake office/staff person • Train staff on new forms and process 10 Expand downtown music/ entertainment venues • Open mikes, acoustic music at cafés • Set-up seasonal outdoor performance stages in one or two downtown locations Medium Term (2008 to 2009) • Main Street Program • DPCD • Permitting “ombudsperson” • Licensing Board No funding required-existing staff • Meeting with business owners to discuss options • Provide assistance in gaining entertainment licenses • Identify sites for outdoor stages • Establish licensing fees and process for outdoor stages • Market performance opportunities to area schools and performers • Include in downtown events calendar 11 Create signature dining & entertainment event • Example: Lowell Folk Festival • June date to lead into peak season • Combine food, music and other entertainment • Include street performers Medium to Long-Term • Main Street Program • City of Salem • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization Seed funds to plan & establish event. Will generate funds in long-term from corporate sponsors, fees, merchandising • Create committee • Research other successful events and existing events in region • Develop theme and event plan • Gain business and city buy-in • Establish event committee • Hire event organizer • Recruit key performers and vendors • Secure sponsors ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 29 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 12 Continue and expand business growth and retention efforts • Business workshops • Counseling • Expert advice from retailing consultants • Loan program Short-term, ongoing • Main Street Program/DPCD • Chamber of Commerce • Enterprise Center • SBDC • SCORE Existing staff resources Workshop fees Sponsors • Marketing & outreach of programs • Conduct workshops • Downtown office hours for SBDC counselors & others • Identify and hire expert consultants for annual “business check-up” sessions DPCD=Salem Department of Planning and Community Development SBDC=Salem State College Small Business Development Center SCORE=Service Corps of Retired Executives SRA=Salem Redevelopment Authority ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 30 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Market Development Strategy Matrix Strategy Component Timeframe Implementing Parties (Bold Type Indicates Lead Organization) Resources/ Funding Required Key Tasks 1 Unified downtown cooperative ad campaign and themes Short tem (2007), ongoing • Main Street Program • New tourism organization • Self-funded through merchants’ existing ad spending • Develop ad concept, design and media placements • Coordinate with new tourism organization and marketing • Recruit businesses to participate on sustained basis • Negotiate placement and pricing with media outlets • On going outreach to sustain & expand participation 2 Single downtown map and guide Short term (2007), on-going • Main Street Program • DPCD • New tourism organization • Main Street budget • Merchant contributions • Hire/recruit graphic designer and printer • Create brochure design and content • Print brochure & distribute via visitor center, attractions, MBTA, Salem ferry and stores • Link to tourism marketing efforts • Maintain/update business database • Update map and guide annually 3 Downtown blog initiative • Business create and use internet blogs • Low cost marketing tool • Increase exposure on search engines Short term (2007) • Main Street Program • SBDC • Enterprise Center • Hawthorne Hotel • No-funding required • Existing staff and organizations • Plan and organize blog workshop • Follow-up assistance with business • Press event and launch ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 31 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 4 Create single downtown web site with store listings, links, events calendar Medium term (2008), on-going • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization • DPCD • City Web Master • Organization web budgets • Telecom company grants • Gain agreement on site content, name, host/manager • Design site, develop content, collect business urls and other links • Establish event listing and information collection process • Launch site 5 Establish two night promotions with extended hours: • Weekend event to dine and shop • Weekday for dining and arts/entertainment • Begin monthly and expand if successful Medium-term (2008), on-going • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • Downtown businesses • PEM • Cinema Salem • Other arts & entertainment venues • Main Street budget • Business contributions, • Sponsorships • MCC grant • Outreach/meet with shops, restaurants, PEM, entertainment venues to gain support & participation • Decide on nights and link with arts/cultural events • Develop promotion elements, ads, media components • Launch , sustain promotion and evening store hours 6 Implement year-round events program underway with Chamber/MS program • Include events & programming that appeal to tourists Medium-term (2008), on-going • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization • Business contributions & sponsorships • Vendor fees • Main Street budget • Complete event concept and plans • Recruit additional volunteers to plan/organize events • Develop event sponsorships & other funding options • Work with city to address permits and other issues • Prepare marketing plan and materials • Market via downtown ad campaign web sites, visitor center, attractions, MBTA, Salem ferry and stores • Implement events ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 32 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 7 Establish sales promotions linked to events Medium term (2008), on-going • Main Street Program • Downtown businesses • New tourism organization • Business ad funds • Event advertising • Outreach/meet with businesses to gain participation • Develop sales promotion elements and media components • Incorporate sales promotions in event advertising & publicity • Promote events in stores with signs, fliers, displays, window painting 8 Downtown loyalty shopping program Long-term (2009), on-going • Main Street Program • Downtown businesses • Business advertising funds • Discuss program concept and options with businesses • Determine type of loyalty discount(s) and system to track local buying • Recruit businesses to participate • Create program advertising and materials (cards, coupons, etc.) • Launch program • Track impact and revise 9 Continue policies to encourage downtown residential & mixed use development Short-term (2007), ongoing • Mayor’s Office • City Council • DPCD • SRA • City boards • No funding required Continue and expand existing city policies: • Allow higher density for projects in downtown • SRA requirement for active ground floor uses (e.g., shops and restaurants) • Studies to resolve planning, market and development issues for key properties • Continue parking requirements that reflect reduced reliance on auto transportation by downtown residents ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 33 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 10 Downtown-Tourism marketing linkages Short-term (2007), ongoing • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization • No funding required • Incorporate downtown retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings into Salem tourism marketing • Include single downtown map and guide as part of tourism guides and promotion materials • Include downtown MS events in tourism event calendars • Develop campaign to attract day trip visitors from metro area 11 Student marketing initiative: • Clipper Card use by merchants • Welcome event, signage, promotion • On-campus advertising • Event for Resident Advisors and Commuter Council members to cultivate them as ambassadors to downtown • MS student intern Short-term (2007), ongoing • Main Street Program • Salem State College • Businesses • Museums & attractions • Main Street Program student intern • Salem State College • Main Street budget • Businesses and attractions ad budgets and contributions • Work-study funds • Organize student marketing sub-committee • Outreach to business owners to join Clipper Card program • Plan and help organize fall welcome event, downtown signs and store promotions • Plan and organize 2nd event for Resident Advisors and Commuter Council Members • Create student intern position and hire Salem State student • Work with college administration to expand frequency and reliability of transportation to downtown 12 Large employer marketing Short-term (2007), ongoing • Main Street Program • No funding required • Identify promotional channels at large employers in Salem (Salem State College, Medical , NSMC, State & City offices) • Distribute map/guide and other materials through promotional channels ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 34 Karl Seidman Consulting Services DPCD=Salem Department of Planning and Community Development MS=Main Streets PEM=Peabody Essex Museum SBDC-Salem State College Small Business Development Center ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 35 Karl Seidman Consulting Services Experience Enhancement Strategy Matrix Strategy Component Timeframe Implementing Parties (Bold Type Indicates Lead Organization) Resources/ Funding RequiredKey Tasks 1 Create downtown kiosk/map installations at key visitor destination points (Parking Garage, Rail Station, Ferry Landing, PEM, Witch Museum) Medium term (2007 & 2008) • DPCD • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization • MBTA • Salem Ferry Design and installation of kiosks: • Grants/funding • Contributions • Sponsorships • National Park Service • Identify key locations in conjunction with current sign program • Design installations beyond current sign program (e.g. kiosk at train station) • Secure funding via grants, city appropriations, advertising, sponsors • Bid and select contractor • Construct and install kiosks 2 Implement full downtown way-finding and signage systems Long-term (2008 to 2010) • DPCD • Main Street Program • Chamber of Commerce • New tourism organization • MBTA • Salem Ferry Design and installation of signs: • Grants/funding • National Park Service • Contributions • Sponsorships • Finalize key locations • Finalize designs • Incorporate signs for downtown shopping district • Incorporate signs encouraging visitors to park and walk • Secure funding via grants, advertising, contributions, sponsors • Bid and select contractor • Construct & install signs 3 Activate Essex Street Mall with outdoor plaza and more interesting window displays Short term (2007 ) • Main Street Program • Museum Place Mall • Property/business owners • SRA • DPCD • Licensing Board • Board of Health Window displays & plaza furniture: • Main Street budget • Property and business owners • Donated art • Grants/funding • Secure cooperation of business and property owners • Develop plaza plan • Recruit artists & designers for window displays • Secure funds • Implement plaza and window displays ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 36 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 4 Downtown clean-up/ beautification squad • Hire high school students to maintain plantings and clean litter during summer and fall Short term (2007 ), on-going • Main Street Program • Public Works Department • Beautification Committee • Garden Club • High school students Maintenance materials & student pay: • Main Street budget • Merchant contributions • Develop maintenance budget and requirements • Hire, train and supervise students 5 Improve enforcement of deliveries on the mall Short term (2007 ), on-going • Main Street Program • Police Department • Merchants • Property owners No funding required • Hold meeting to review, affirm commitment to current delivery time • Merchant and property owners notify vendors of rules • Police increase enforcement 6 Establish Board of Health policy on open storefront windows for restaurants Short-term (2007) • Main Street Program • Board of Health • SRA • Restaurant and property owners • DPCD No funding required • Meet with Health Board to review existing policy and concerns • Draft, review and adopt new policy, if needed • Prepare information on how to gain permit for open windows 7 Information and training for visitor center and business staff on key downtown issues: parking, attractions, stores, events Short term (2007 ), on-going • Main Street Program • National Park Service • Business owners No funding required-existing staff • Develop informational materials for each subject area • Schedule training sessions • Conduct ongoing outreach and follow up 8 Continue downtown design guidelines and storefront improvement program On-going • DPCD • Main Street Program • SRA • City of Salem • Property and business owners • Conduct regular marketing • Identify and contact priority sites for improvements ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 37 Karl Seidman Consulting Services 9 Create “Downtown Ambassador” program • Peak time on-street guides to help visitors Medium term (2007 & 2008) • Main Street Program • DPCD • Salem Police Ambassador stipend: • New tourism organization • Attractions and business owners • Volunteers • Develop training and information program • Identify peak periods for downtown pedestrian traffic (summer, October) • Hire staff/recruit volunteers • Train and supervise ambassadors 10 Continue to implement 2005 Traffic Study recommendations to improve downtown circulation Medium and long-term (2007 to 2010) • Mayor’s Office/DPCD • Public Works Department • Police Department • State PWED Grant for transportation improvements • Meet regularly with city departments to monitor implementation and resolve problems 11 Undertake urban redesign plan for Essex Street Mall Long-term term (2008 to 2010) • DPCD • Main Street Program • Public Works Department • Funds for study or university design course • Secure funding or university course • Establish study committee • Issue RFP and hire consultant team if consultant is used • Complete redesign plan DPCD=Salem Department of Planning and Community Development MBTA=Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority PEM = Peabody Essex Museum PWED- Public Works Economic Development Program SRA=Salem Redevelopment Authority ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Downtown Salem Retail Strategy & Action Plan 38 Karl Seidman Consulting Services