Two really interesting tackling highstreet vacancy conversations this week…
One for print, the other broadcast.
…and the question.
“Could our ‘audit, engage’ approach work there, specifically in this case for London, Ontario.”
It all reminded me of commission conversations with place leaders and managers in UK locations who wanted to know if we could help them reduce the number of empty units they have and improve the mix of uses.
My answer in each case was, 100% yes.
For a Canadian city I wondered first…
How much difference does the varying terminology make…? Where we have town centres, highstreet, shops, commercial property they’d call downtown, Main Street, storefronts and real estate.
Perhaps more significant there’s different politics, policy and regulations.
Even so my sense, which I shared for both interviews, is “yes”, get a ‘place partnership’ in play rather than treat the challenge as “just an agent-landlord thing”, look beyond retail, hospitality and services to our ‘alternative’ / additional list of go-to options from art & crafts through community to health & wellbeing, and you’ll see those empty storefronts turned positive again.
What do you reckon…?
