Today starts a new series we'd like to call "Vacant Storefront Showcase." We will be featuring vacant storefronts throughout Uptown in the hope that a renter/real estate developer will step in and bring retail and dining back to the neighborhood. Feel free to forward this post to any businesses or real estate developers you see fit. If you have a vacant storefront in your neck of the woods, email it to us and we will feature it in the next showcase. Today we feature vacant storefronts on the "Wilson Avenue Retail Corridor" from Beacon to Broadway, a mere 4 blocks and nearly 15 empty storefronts. We did not include the "Spotted Pig" location, as that appears to be up in the air at the moment. Also, three of the larger buildings have more than one retail spot open, but for the sake of space we are only showing one.
The thing is, Wilson between Racine and Clark is really quite nice and would seem to me to be a very desirable place to put some retail. How in the world did we end up with such a pitiful offering there instead?
ReplyDeletePerhaps someone from Uptown Business Partners or Uptown United could answer that question. Here are their mission statements-
ReplyDeleteUptown Business Partners:
The mission of the Business Partners, the Chamber for Uptown, is to provide comprehensive support services and access to technical assistance programs to businesses and economic investors located in and serving Uptown. The assistance furnished by the Business Partners will insure that Uptown businesses have the opportunity and tools to thrive, and that the needs for goods and services in the community are met.
Uptown United:
The mission of Uptown United is to provide technical assistance to businesses and economic investors located in and serving Uptown, initiate and participate in strategic planning, encourage economic development to strengthen the community's economic base, address broad issues pertaining to the quality of life for Uptown's diverse population, and be a network to encourage partnerships.