Downtown Idea Exchange

Each month downtown leaders turn to Downtown Idea Exchange for practical news reports, how-to information, and hundreds of real-world examples of how downtowns are growing and prospering.

 


Remote work accelerates office-to-apartment conversions

February 1, 2023
Even before the pandemic, owners of aging office buildings were struggling to lure tenants and bolster rental rates. When the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a glut of office space and a shortage of housing, that trend accelerated. Now, downtowns across the country are seeing older office buildings convert to residential space — a welcome trend for…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Downtowns continue to waive parking requirements

February 1, 2023
The nationwide housing shortage has spurred many downtowns to remove parking minimums. It’s a shift that encourages development by reducing the costs of new housing while also promising to make communities more pedestrian-friendly. California recently abolished minimum parking requirements for new real estate development projects near public transit. La Mesa, CA (est. pop. 61,040), is…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Downtown Idea Exchange, February 2023

February 1, 2023
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Using incubator spaces to create a pipeline of start-up merchants

January 1, 2023
Kiosks in Santa Cruz, CA (top), and Denver, CO (bottom). Downtowns big and small grapple with the challenge of building a roster of successful merchants. Many have taken a proactive approach by offering pop-up spaces and kiosks for start-ups seeking a place to do business without a prohibitive upfront investment. Executed properly, pop-ups and kiosks…To read more — login/subscribe

 

To clean up public mess, more bathrooms needed downtown

January 1, 2023
It’s no secret that Downtown Pittsburgh has a poop problem. The mayor has publicly lamented the issue, and downtown visitors and workers would be hard-pressed to miss the reality. Pittsburgh’s public defecation and urination have grown so extreme that the Building Owners & Managers Association of Pittsburgh hired a local college, Point Park University, to…To read more — login/subscribe