farmington avenue commercial revitalization _tap_final_report.pdf• retail/commercial opportunities...

A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL REPORT

Farmington AvenueCommercial RevitalizationHartford, Connecticut

October 4, 2012

Executive Summary

1. ULI and the TAP Process........................................................... 5· Urban Land Institute (ULI)· Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)· Panel Members· Stakeholders· TAP Process

2. Background and Assignment..................................................... 7· The Farmington Avenue Corridor· City of Hartford’s Objectives for the TAP

3. Observations and Findings....................................................... 8· Characteristics· Opportunities· Transportation· Branding and Streetscape· Obstacles

4. Recommendations.......................................................................10· Retail/Commercial Opportunities· Transportation Infrastructure· Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure· Branding and Streetscape Improvements

5. Next Steps....................................................................................15

Table of Contents

A ULI Technical Assistance Panel 3

Under the direction of the Urban Land Institute’sBoston District Council, the Farmington AvenueCommercial Revitalization Technical AssistancePanel (TAP) convened in Hartford, Connecticut inOctober 2012, bringing together stakeholders, Cityplanners, community leaders, and a panel of realestate, planning, and development professionals fora day-long session focused on identifyingopportunities and strategies for revitalizing thecommercial areas on the Farmington Avenuecorridor. The report that follows, which summarizesthe TAP recommendations, is comprised of fivechapters.

Chapter 1: ULI and the TAP Process gives anoverview of the Urban Land Institute’s BostonDistrict Council and its Technical Assistance Panels(TAPs) and provides a detailed list of participants inthe Farmington Avenue Commercial RevitalizationTAP including City officials, stakeholders, and thepanel of land use and development professionals.

Chapter 2: Background and Assignment givesbackground information about the FarmingtonAvenue corridor, and the City of Hartford’sobjectives for the TAP, as stated in its initialapplication.

Chapter 3: Observations and Findings presents acollection of the Panelists’ insights about thecharacteristics, opportunities, and obstacles to betaken into account in coming up withrecommendations for the commercial revitalizationof the avenue.

Chapter 4: Recommendations presents the Panel’sconcept plan for focusing attention around twocommercial nodes, and discusses theretail/commercial opportunities, transportationinfrastructure improvements, andbranding/streetscape improvements that canjumpstart the revitalization of the avenue.

Finally, Chapter5: Next Steps outlines some initialactions designed to catalyze the revitalization effort,including improving the reality and perceptions ofsafety; improving curb appeal; activating emptystorefront and lots; and pursuing a BusinessImprovement or Special Services District.

Executive Summary


Map of the Farmington Avenue corridor, and images from along the avenue


Urban Land Institute (ULI)

The Urban Land Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofitresearch and education organization supported by itsmembers. Founded in 1936, the institute now hasnearly 30,000 members worldwide representing theentire spectrum of land use and real estatedevelopment disciplines, working in privateenterprise and public service, including developers,architects, planners, lawyers, bankers, economicdevelopment professionals, among others.

As the preeminent, multidisciplinary real estateforum, ULI facilitates the open exchange of ideas,information, and experience among local, national,and international industry leaders and policy makersdedicated to creating better places. The mission ofthe Urban Land Institute is to provide leadership inthe responsible use of land and to help sustain andcreate thriving communities. The Boston DistrictCouncil serves the six New England states and hasover 1,000 members.

Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)

The ULI Boston Real Estate Advisory Committeeconvenes Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) at therequest of public officials and local stakeholders ofcommunities and nonprofit organizations facingcomplex land use challenges who benefit fromplanning and development professionals providingpro bono recommendations. At the TAP, a group ofdiverse professionals specially assembled withexpertise in the issues posed typically spends one totwo days visiting and analyzing existing conditions,identifying specific planning and developmentissues, and formulating realistic and actionablerecommendations to move initiatives forward in away consistent with the applicant’s goals andobjectives.

Panel Members

ULI Boston convened a panel of volunteers whosemembers represent a range of the disciplinesassociated with the challenges of identifying andevaluating best-case scenarios for the revitalizationof the Farmington Avenue corridor.

Disciplines represented included architecture,construction, market analysis, retail development,housing development, commercial development,traffic/parking, and real estate law. Members wereselected with the intent of convening a robust arrayof professional expertise relevant to the City’sobjectives for this TAP. Following is the list ofpanelists:

· Richard Lampman, G. Greene Construction(TAP Co-Chair)

· Larry Spang, Arrowstreet (TAP Co-Chair)· Kwesi Brown, Milone & MacBroom· Jason Denoncourt, The Gutierrez Company· R. Michael Goman, Goman + York Property

Advisors· Anika Lemar, Wiggin & Dana· Rai Mulbauer, BL Companies· James Perrine, The Community Builders· Doug Poutasse, Bentall Kennedy

Virginia Quinn served as a consulting technicalwriter, while Michelle Landers of ULI Bostonprovided organizational and technical support inpreparation for and during the TAP event.

Stakeholders

The TAP benefited from the participation of adiverse group of stakeholders—city planning staffand law enforcement officers, small businessesowners, representative of large corporations andarea institutions, and residents—who met with the

1. ULI and the TAP Process


Panel and shared information, ideas, and opinionson a range of issues affecting the revitalization ofthe Farmington Avenue corridor. The followingindividuals served on stakeholder panels:

City of Hartford Planning Division· Thom Deller, Director, Development Services· Don Chapman· Jon Mullen· Kim Holden· Irena Lazic· Caitlin Fitzgerald· Jillian Hockenberry· Lynda Crespo· Jeff Cormier· Kevin Burnham, DPW Director

Small Employers/Organizations· Jill Barrett, Farmington Avenue Alliance· Don Hamer, Farmington Avenue Business

District· Peter Vouthounes, 240 Farmington Avenue

owner· Kevin Ahlquist, Hartford Police Department

Zone Commander· Chris Chanaca, Hartford Police Department

CSO

Large Employers/Institutions· Mike Knipper, The Hartford· Mike Zaleski, Hartford Business Improvement

District

Asylum Hill Neighborhood· Jennifer Cassidy· Jackie McKinney· Dean Amadon· Michelle McFarland· Brenda McCumber

West End Neighborhood· David Barrett· David Jorgensen· John Gayle· Toni Gold· Kyle Bergquist

TAP Process

The Farmington Avenue Commercial RevitalizationTAP was held on October 4, 2012 at the MarkTwain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.In the morning, Jeffrey Cormier of the City ofHartford Planning Division, Jill Barrett of theFarmington Avenue Alliance, and Jennifer Cassidy,representing the Asylum Avenue neighborhood,welcomed the Panelists and led an hour-long drivingtour of the Farmington Avenue commercial corridorand West End and Asylum Hill residentialneighborhoods.

The tour began at the Mark Twain House, thenproceeded west along Farmington Avenue, turnednorth onto Whitney Street into the West Endresidential neighborhood, past the campuses of theHartford Seminary and the University ofConnecticut Law School, then west on Fern Streetpast Elizabeth Park, turned south onto Quaker Laneto the West Hartford line, back east through theWest End commercial area of Farmington Avenue,then south onto Forest Street past Hartford HighSchool and into the South Marshall Streetneighborhood, turned east onto Farmington Avenueand continued past the St. Francis Hospital area, theAetna and The Hartford corporate campuses,through the Asylum Hill residential neighborhood,then returned on Farmington Avenue to the MarkTwain House.

After the tour, the ULI panel interviewed a diverseseries of stakeholders to gain a better understandingof relevant issues, dynamics, challenges, andopportunities related to the revitalization of theFarmington Avenue corridor. The panelists thenengaged in an intensive charrette to developpotential concepts, strategies, and recommendationsfor the City to pursue. The panel presented thesefindings at a public meeting that evening at theMark Twain House. The PowerPoint presentation isavailable electronically at the ULI Boston websitehttp://boston.uli.org.


The Farmington Avenue Corridor

Farmington Avenue is a principal arterial street andone of the most heavily travelled corridors inHartford, extending from the downtown through theAsylum Hill and West End neighborhoods andcontinuing through adjacent towns. This corridorhas one of the highest commercial vacancy rates ofall principal arterial and commercial streets in thecity.

The Asylum Hill and West End sections ofFarmington Avenue are distinctly different in thetype of commercial retail as well as the populationserved. The Asylum Hill portion is characterized bymulti-story, mixed-use structures having groundfloor retail with residential above, interspersed withfreestanding chain or franchise retail. This area is inclose proximity to two major employers in the city,Aetna and The Hartford, but has struggled toestablish a substantial commercial presence. TheWest End section is largely commercial consistingof one-story strip mall-type structures and homesconverted to commercial uses. Surrounded by twouniversities and the most affluent neighborhood inthe city, this section generally has lower commercialvacancy and is able to draw a night-time/after-workcrowd.

City of Hartford’s Objectives for the TAP

The City of Hartford asked the ULI TAP to evaluateexisting commercial areas on the FarmingtonAvenue corridor, identify specific areas and needs,and recommend strategies or policies that willreduce commercial vacancy rates, strengthen thecorridor, and create the environment that allows thetype of commercial development that willcomplement Farmington Avenue.

� What are the marketing opportunities forcommercial and retail uses along FarmingtonAvenue?� What strategies or policies can the city employ to

strengthen the commercial aspect of the corridor?� How do we look the different sections of

Farmington Avenue and establish connectionsthroughout and with the downtown?� What infrastructure improvements may be

necessary to attract businesses to underutilizedcommercial areas?� What design characteristics should be used to

enhance commercial development?� What public or private financing tools are

available to encourage or fund investments in thearea?� What are the needs of existing retail businesses

on the corridor?� What types of retail are appropriate for each

section of Farmington Avenue?� What is the best first step?

• What are realistic time frames to accomplish the recommended development scenarios?

2. Background and Assignment

Alice Cogswell Memorial at the east end of Farmington Avenue


After reviewing related documents (including the2011 Neighborhood Stabilization study and the2002 New Farmington Avenue study), touring theentire length of Farmington Avenue andsurrounding neighborhoods, and interviewingstakeholders (including officials from the City ofHartford, neighborhoods residents, andrepresentatives of large corporations and smallbusinesses), the Panel identified key characteristics,obstacles, and opportunities relevant to therevitalization of commercial areas on theFarmington Avenue corridor.

Characteristics

· The Farmington Avenue corridor is an area witha rich historical context.

· It is a bridge between downtown Hartford andsuburban West Hartford, two centers ofemployment, entertainment, and retail activity.

· There is a lot of vehicular traffic, althoughpeople tend to drive through without stopping.

· There is strong neighborhood support from thevibrant residential areas on both sides of theAvenue

· The Hartford has 5,000 employees on theirFarmington Avenue campus, with one buildingdirectly on Farmington Avenue and the rest onAsylum Street. Of those employees, only 100live in city, and only 100 use public transit.

· There is an active immigrant/refugee flow,which can create opportunities for economicdevelopment.

· Young people are starting to move in, attractedto the area’s affordable rents; they want to be asclose to the West End as possible.

· There is contrasting quality between theresidential areas and the commercialestablishments on the Avenue itself.

· The West End is diverse; very stable, with asizeable population of renters; the mostdestabilizing influence is Farmington Avenueitself.

· The recent economic downturn had a negativeeffect on some proposed projects: acondominium/luxury project (purchased in2008) planned at Farmington and Girard didn’twork at that site; developers proposed gardenapartments for the vacant lot behind the FedExplaza, which is zoned R7 (single-familyhousing), but the ZBA turned them downdespite neighborhood support. It is currentlybeing used as a staging area for the ongoingMDC project.

Opportunities

· Actual personal and property safety in the areais much better than is generally perceived.

· The police are interested in pursuing crimeprevention through environmental design, andhave attended LISC training programs.

· There is a large number of professionals alongthe corridor, either living in the surroundingneighborhoods or working in nearby businessesand institutions.

3. Observations and Findings

Mark Twain House, part of Farmington Avenue’s historic context


· Apartments near the Farmington Avenuecorridor are considerably more affordable thandowntown rental units.

· People can walk from Ashley Street todowntown in only 20 minutes.

· Some private developers are eager to act if thearea can be improved: for example, the ownersof the FedEx property would like to furtherdevelop that property; the CVS across the streetwould like to expand

· Many opportunities can be derived from thedensity of the existing commercial andresidential neighborhoods.

· There is also a wealth of institutional resourceshere: corporations, hospitals, educationalinstitutions (both Hartford public schools andhigher education), as well as significant faith-based organizations in both Asylum Hill and theWest End.

· South Marshall Street and Sisson Avenue arekey intersections and cross streets to focus on inturning the corridor around.

Transportation

· Farmington Avenue is a major arterial, but theMDC reconstruction project has already causedsome traffic diversion away from the area.

· Transit improvements are needed.· Parking is a problem for commuters who might

want to use local businesses.· Biking along Farmington Avenue is currently

very hazardous.· Pedestrian and vehicular flows are currently in

conflict–cross the street at your own risk

Branding and Streetscape Considerations

· Commuters must be given a reason to stop atbusinesses along Farmington Avenue, anddoing so must be made easier.

· Hartford should be branded as distinct fromWest Hartford at the entrance point.

· Redesigned intersections, and new lighting,street furniture, paving, bus shelters, are needed.

· The avenue would benefit from a moredistinctive look along its length.

· Signage guidelines would help; for example, atthe newly renovated apartment building at theFarmington/Sigourney corner, the biggest signsays “FOR RENT”

· A pedestrian-friendly streetscape, with a morerelevant retail mix, is needed.

· The building setback line, which wasestablished in the late 1800s, is far enough fromthe street to create both challenges andopportunities.

· There are no regulations governing sharedparking.

· Local planning efforts and initiatives should bedrawn upon.

· A possible opportunity: uncover and preservetrolley tracks below the street and make thempart of the street infrastructure.

Obstacles

· Property taxes are high.· There is a high concentration of subsidized

housing and social service uses, particularly inthe Asylum Hill neighborhood.

· Most police and public safety issues involvequality of life (loitering, public drinking).

· There is a pervasive perception that the area isnot safe.

· Haphazard zoning and archaic setbackrequirements characterize the area.

· There is a shortage of parking and an absence ofregulations permitting shared parking.

· MDC reconstruction has already created sometraffic diversion away from the avenue.

· The avenue lacks a cohesive identity.· Many young employees prefer to live in West

Hartford.· Community groups acknowledge that their

activism may contribute to delaying ordiscouraging property development and theimplementation of changes.


As the Panel worked with the information gatheredfrom the various sources, it became evident thateven though the 1½-mile-long Farmington Avenueis considered a single “corridor,” it is not ahomogeneous stretch. Attempting to overlay auniform solution on the whole avenue end-to-endappears to make less sense than looking at the fourdistinct segments that make up Farmington Avenue:

· Union Station to Flower Street (referred to bysome as the “wasteland”)

· Flower Street to Gillett Street· Gillett Street to Sisson Avenue· Sisson Avenue to Prospect Street

Each of these 4-to-5 block areas has its owncharacter, and its own different needs, although allwould benefit from sharing a common streetscape,theme, and branding identity.

Retail/Commercial Opportunities

Restaurants: It is worth giving some attention totrying to attract destination restaurants to the area.Currently, when commuters stop to spend money onFarmington Avenue, it is usually at restaurants.Restaurants can pull in people who then may alsoshop at other area stores. The goal is to havehealthy, prosperous retail to provide goods andservices to area residents and to enliven the corridor.

Medical/Office: Another commercial opportunityworth considering is medical office space. A lot ofvehicular traffic comes up Sisson Avenue on theway to St. Francis Hospital; that, plus the proximityof several senior housing complexes, makes it anatural location for doctor’s offices and associatedmedical uses.

Neighborhood/Destination Retail: Retail on thecorridor should serve as a “destination” for out-of-

towners but also serve the needs of local residents.Given the difficult traffic patterns and wideavailability of convenient retail in surroundingsuburbs, creating commuter-friendly retail isprobably not feasible and should not be a priority.

Retail is different from office or industrial space;retail decisions are based on a location’s ability togenerate sales (productivity). The Trade Area isdefined by population (are there enough peoplethere to come into a store and make a purchase?);income (do those people have disposable income tospend?); and traffic counts (are there enough carsgoing back and forth in front of a store?).Farmington Avenue fits the bill on all three counts,so in that regard it should be able to attract retailersto the area.

Context: But after the productivity test, the nextconsideration is fit: is this commercial node asuitable location for a given store? Fit comes downto curb appeal, and those issues need to beaddressed on Farmington Avenue. Curb appealconsists of a lot of elements, but a clear identity isone of the most important. West Hartford towncenter, for example, is an identifiable area. Newretailers want the appearance of a distinct locale, tobe able to drive down the street and sense a fairamount of commercial activity going on that theycan participate in. Does the street feel good? Willthe neighboring tenants enhance sales volume?

Areas for Differentiation: The Panel concludedthat one approach with a good chance of successwould be to focus on two nodes along the corridorthat seemed ripest for retail development, ratherthan trying to spread it out over the entire avenue.By focusing attention on those two zones in themiddle, both of which have dense residentialneighborhoods feeding into them, then the blocks inbetween can be treated as connective tissue that willfill in over time as they also benefit from the moregeneral boulevard and traffic/parking improvements.

4. Recommendations


The first node is in the vicinity of the former diner atthe intersection of Farmington Avenue and LaurelStreet. Much of the work needed in this areainvolves social concerns, community policing, howto make it look and feel like a safe place to stop andshop. Some areas in this node are alreadyundergoing improvements that can be built upon.The resources provided by a Special ServicesDistrict could be used to help get more eyes on thestreet here.

The second node is by the Sisson/Whitney block inthe West End, anchored by the building where theBraza restaurant was formerly located. This area isalready close to being an active retail node, withseveral thriving establishments and a good flow oftraffic coming up Sisson and turning ontoFarmington.

Transportation Infrastructure

Concept plan showing location of two retail nodes

Concept diagram showing two retail nodes and adjacent connective areas all enhanced by streetscape improvements


Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation infrastructure improvements cancontribute significantly to both the perceptions and thereality of public safety along the corridor. A CompleteStreets approach is needed, taking into account theneeds of all users: drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.The goal is to adopt a “road diet” that calms trafficwithout diminishing capacity.

Farmington Avenue is currently 4 lanes in bothdirections along its entire length. Traffic can becalmed by reducing the number of lanes from 4 to 3 incertain sections with side-by-side or two-way left turnlanes in the middle, with one turning lane in eachdirection at central locations along the corridor. Adedicated turning lane is particularly important in theretail sections of the corridor, in order to facilitatetraffic flow while not diminishing capacity

Bike lanes can be provided along with landscapedor textured brick medians at certain sections of thecorridor to serve as a refuge for pedestrians.

Quick fixes for the impediments caused by theheavy public transit activity along the corridorinclude designated bus shelters at various stops,and locating stops on the far sides of variousintersections, so that stopped buses do not blockright-turning vehicles.

Given the number of impending large-scaletransportation projects (busway, high-speed rail)in Hartford that will affect bus use on FarmingtonAvenue, there needs to be a broader discussionthat includes the Connecticut Department ofTransportation and the institutions along thecorridor to come up with a coherent plan thataddresses related transit issues.


Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure

The whole Farmington Avenue corridor is hostile toboth pedestrians and bicyclists from a trafficperspective, but the current ongoing MDC projectpresents an opportunity for some short-term fixes. Forexample:

· Existing crosswalks are poorly marked, but as theroad is being repaired, more visible crosswalkscould be inserted. Patterned and texturedcrosswalks effectively slow drivers down andforce them to pay attention to pedestrians.

· Creating nodes and peninsulas at majorcrosswalks will help pedestrians navigate busyintersections.

· Despite Farmington Avenue’s wide setbacks, thesidewalks are positioned right along the road line,which is intimidating for pedestrians in a heavytraffic corridor. There are frequent widedriveways between the sidewalk and the retailbuildings. Narrowing those driveways down toone or two necessary lanes would help alleviatethe tension crossing that wide strip creates forpedestrians.

· Creating a shared bike lane as part of the trafficpattern has great potential here. FarmingtonAvenue is a hostile corridor traffic-wise for biketravel, so not many bicyclists use it to getdowntown. But there is a powerful movement inthe area in support of bike lanes. It may makesense to develop a short/mid/long-term plan: inthe short term, make use of the wide setback lineas a resource for bikes. After doing that, negotiatea right-of-way along the sidewalks’ great depththat allows the sidewalks to be expanded into that

setback area to create a bike path separatedfrom the road. The wide expanse of front lawnat the Aetna end of the corridor would allowfor a more meandering, park-like experience.

In the very long term, the Park RiverWatershed offers a great opportunity todevelop a greenway/bikeway along the river.This could help resolve the issue of the lack ofweekend traffic, having the potential to bringriders to Farmington Avenue on the weekend,landing in a spot right between the two retailnodes discussed earlier. Recreational bikerson weekends and bike commuters during theweek are more likely than cars to stop alongthe way and use the retail.

Branding and Streetscape Improvements

Identity is in large part a naming question. Thename “Farmington Avenue” is too long, anddoesn’t conjure up any meaningful geography.“West End” could mean a lot of different places;it’s not a clear indicator of locale. The “Asylum”of “Asylum Hill” has unhappy connotations. ThePanel came up with “Midtown” as working namethat describes the place between downtownHartford and West Hartford, and has positiveassociations (midtown Manhattan, for example).


One way to help establish identity is by creating adefinable entrance that gives a sense of having entereda specific area, such as a well-designed archway,consistent with the historical context of the area, thatannounces “Midtown” in big letters, over each end ofFarmington Avenue.

Once there, people should be able to perceive aconsistent architectural theme running through thearea: a color scheme, banners, street signage,lampposts, all clearly identifiable as and supportingthe overall theme of Midtown.

These small, quick action steps are doable for arelatively low amount of money and without requiringa lengthy approval process. Corporate partners couldbe recruited to help raise the money, and perhapswithin as little as a year, the new identity for the areacould begin to emerge. Some quick victories wouldset the stage for bigger steps, such as creating aSpecial Services District to fund larger improvements.

Boston’s Chinatown Arch


Improving the Reality and Perceptionsof Safety

· Intensive Management by Landlords: Someof the properties in the area require considerablymore intensive management by the landlords.It’s obvious that some of the properties haveproblems, are not well maintained, that some ofthe tenants are not the types of persons whoshould be in their neighborhoods, that landlordsare tolerating unacceptable behavior from theirtenants. A small percentage of disruptiveindividuals allowed free range make it hard onthe rest of the people in those buildings and inthe neighborhood. The landlords need to focuson property management, tenant selection, andlease enforcement.

Getting landlords to do that requires acoordinated effort: the police departmentcontacting landlords whenever one of theirtenants is arrested; building inspectors enforcingcode requirements as a way not only ofprotecting tenants but also of getting a messageacross to landlords; elected officials puttingpressure on landlords, telling them somethingmust be done because they’re hurting theneighborhood, the city.

Keeping the pressure on is the only way to getlandlords to do their part. There is no reason forproperty with some or all affordable housing tobe operated as substandard property; no reasonwhy crime and other disruptions should beallowed. Right now, most of crime is minor:loitering, public disorderliness, drunkenness,some burglaries; but this can easily escalate intomore serious crime if not stopped now.

· Community Policing: Local community lawenforcement personnel seem to be dedicatedand knowledgeable. It is critical to maintain a

program of foot patrols, police outreach, andregular community meetings, trying to engageas many area residents as possible so thatpeople are comfortable reporting situations inproblem areas to the police.

· Job Connections, Training, and Support:There is higher than average unemployment inparts of this corridor. When you have people,particularly young people, who don’t proceeddirectly from school into a job or highereducation, problems often occur. With no job,no way to earn money, it’s easy to end uphanging around and getting into trouble,because there’s nothing else to do.

It is important to emphasize programs that helpbuild the skills that people need to find andmaintain jobs; and not just how to do the job,but basic, everyday skills like showing up forwork on time. There are people here who are assmart and talented as anyone else, but simplyhaven’t had the background, training, ormotivation.

On Forest Street, directly across from HartfordHigh School, the Connecticut Retail MerchantsAssociation runs programs for youths interestedin pursuing retail careers. It would be helpful todevelop other opportunities to connect the highschool students with nearby Farmington Avenuemerchants.

Improving Curb Appeal

Efforts to improve curb appeal communicate topeople that someone cares about that neighborhood.The idea of crime prevention through environmentaldesign has started to take hold throughout thecountry, and members of the Hartford police forcehave recently undergone training about theapproach. As an example, landscaping can be

6. Next Steps


installed in such a way that, in addition tobeautifying an area, it doesn’t provide a hiding placefor wrongdoers.

If landlords and residents of troubled residentialstreets can be encouraged to take better care of theirfront yards, that better care can lead to a differentperception of the area. If potential troublemakersthink people are paying attention, they may thinktwice before vandalizing. If something is damaged,fix it right away. Undertake a program to improvestorefront facades: improve signage, addlandscaping and lighting, and people passingthrough will start to think Farmington Avenue isbecoming a nice place, that positive things arehappening here. Working to change perceptionsthrough curb appeal improvements should be highon the list of goals for the corridor.

Activating Empty Storefront/Lots

Shopping mall managers pay a lot of attention totheir customers’ perceptions. For example, yourarely see an empty storefront in a mall because themanager will put something, anything in thewindow to distract from the fact that there’s notenant within. Attracting quality retailers to theFarmington Avenue corridor is going to require along-term effort; what quick and simple things canbe done in the meantime, temporarily, to activate thespace so that empty stores or empty lots don’t feellike a blight on the stores around it? Food trucks thatwill attract area college students could be parked infront; a weekly farmers’ market or a regularSaturday flea market could be held in an empty lot.Realistically, it’s going to take a while beforethere’s developer interest in new building there, butgenerating activity and getting people excited aboutcoming to the area will help pave the way.

Business Improvement/Special ServicesDistrict

Build partnerships among neighborhood groups,local businesses, and the City, and bring energy tothe area through a Business Improvement District(BID) or Special Services District (SSD).

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