November 29, 2018 — South Orange, NJ, had a business-recruitment problem. There was no shortage of tenants interested in setting up shop downtown — but the village’s rules didn’t allow for many of the types of experience-based tenants that are taking space in downtowns nationwide. The municipality’s rules were "very, very restrictive," says Bob Zuckerman,…To read more — login/sign up

 

November 15, 2018 — A building boom has brought thousands of new residents to apartments in downtown Raleigh, NC. That trend toward greater density is colliding with another reality of urban life — downtown residents love their dogs, even if they don’t have backyards that give their pooches plenty of space to play. The obvious…To read more — login/sign up

 

November 1, 2018 — Recruiting retailers is a delicate balancing act. Chain stores are reliable profit makers, and they’re coveted by landlords. Yet too many cookie-cutter establishments can make a downtown feel less than unique. A handful of cities are passing rules to limit the number of national retailers that can set up shop downtown.…To read more — login/sign up

 

October 18, 2018 — The first Main Street Food Truck Festival, hosted on a Saturday in 2011, started off modestly. About 2,500 people came out to sample fare from 15 food trucks. Despite the small numbers for the inaugural event, organizers knew they had a winner. "By mid-afternoon, all the trucks had sold out of…To read more — login/sign up

 

October 4, 2018 — Chapel Hill, NC, deals with the usual parking hassles that plague a bustling downtown. But the college town has taken an unusual approach to addressing parking. With a $400,000 investment in new parking meters, a parking program for restaurant staff, a slick new website and app, and a social media campaign…To read more — login/sign up

 

September 20, 2018 — Cities large and small are using public light displays to spark interest in downtowns. In one of the splashiest and most expensive new displays, Memphis, TN, is in the midst of a $14 million project to re-light the Hernando DeSoto Bridge across the Mississippi River. At the more affordable end of…To read more — login/sign up