Urban Planning gone wrong

[m00n.livejournal.com]

While we are on the topic of community development, does anyone have an explanation for there now being a third convenience store in Teele Square within view of the other two?



Beyond the fact that I don't feel like these stores contribute much (if anything) to the community, I'm kind of wondering how it is that this neighborhood can even support three of them (four if you count the Indian market down the street that sells pretty much all the same stuff).

I don't mean to be such a community troll about these things, but I live in that neighborhood and it is starting to get a little depressing...

Comments

[ron_newman]

This may sound odd coming from me, but if the market won't support all those stores, some of them will fail and close and become something else. Zoning codes don't dictate the exact nature of retail stores, and (due to 'grandfather provisions') I doubt that any of these needed any kind of public hearing to open.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the market, but that said, I'm actually a little skeptical that all of the forces are playing fair here since I find it so hard to believe that so many could survive together in such a small vicinity.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

And now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind them nearly as much if they didn't seem to do the absolute minimum amount of work to make their businesses look nice from the outside.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

this. Also, an unnecessary convenience store is better than an empty shop front, right? and that place has been empty for months. Maybe it'll distinguish itself somehow? dunno.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it saves some number of people from having to cross a street.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

That's debatable. At least with an empty shop front there is some motivation for the landlord to lower the rent until someone decides to move in. I think it would be to everyone's benefit if the commercial development could do something more for the neighborhood than just paying the rent and taking up space.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

And THANK GOD FOR THAT! ;-)

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the landlord has lowered the rent so that this person can afford to open a convenience store. As Ron said, if there really isn't demand to support all the stores, then some will fail.

Or are you suggesting that the city (or someone) give approval to every business before it opens?

[ron_newman]

Have you talked to the proprietors of any of these stores about ways they can improve their facades and differentiate their merchandise mix from their competitors? (e.g. suggest that one of them specialize in fresh fruits and vegetables, like Farmer's Bounty in Davis Square?)

[m00n.livejournal.com]

It's more like I am suspicious that free market forces are really what is at work here since I find it hard to believe that so many of the same kind of business built so close together really could be surviving if they are paying market rate rent and paying their employees minimum wage, etc.

And some businesses definitely are required to get approval before they move in, and given that convenience stores are so unlikely to increase the overall appeal of a neighborhood (and seem to attract more than their fair share of loitering) I do think at least *some* kind of discussion before one is opened up might not be such a bad idea.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I find the "Neighborhood Market" completely useless, but the "Teele Square Market" has a great selection of Indian food and seems to be more of a family enterprise. I didn't realize a new one had gone into that corner space and haven't checked it out yet.

My preference for convenience (and really awesome Indian groceries) is the store a few blocks down Broadway by North St, because they have a bigger selection (and are right by Guru :).

[m00n.livejournal.com]

That might not be a bad idea, although the lack of effort at differentiating the place that they've put in so far does not give me a lot of hope...

[ron_newman]

Usually when a business requires approval to move in to a pre-existing retail space , it's because it requires more parking than its predecessor (e.g. a restaurant replacing a hardware store), or it needs a liquor license, or it's expanding the square footage of retail. But for the most part, the city can't and doesn't control the normal turnover of commercially-zoned space from one tenant or owner to another.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mean, selling curries, rices, and chutneys counts as a specialization of some kind, and they're contributing something to the neighborhood by selling me something that would otherwise be difficult to find. The Neighborhood Market and this new place both appear to be selling basically the same exact things, almost all of which are already available at the two Indian markets (AND Foodmaster, which is like 5 minutes away).

[turil.livejournal.com]

In a depression (social or personal) people resort to the quick and easy fixes fit their emotional highs - junk food, alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets and other legalish drugs.

From what I can tell the economy could continue to survive even in the worst of times if most stores sold nothing but chocolate...

But people also like to have choice! And, as Hrafn points out, there's the convenience factor of not having to put one's life any more at risk than necessary by crossing streets where Massholes are driving. :-)

Up where I am on Spring Hill a second convenience store just opened about 30 feet away from the one that's been there for a while on the corner of Lowell and Highland.

If you want something better, my guess is that you've got to do it yourself. Or at least find someone you can convince to do it for you. (I'd like a raw foods grocery store and deli in Davis, if anyone finds me convincing...)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

But this way, you get the benefit of being able to pay twice the price. Think of the convenience!

Pizza

[wombatbanana.livejournal.com]

On a similar note, I was surprised when the space next to the new Guru opened up and turned out to be another pizza place. Not that I have anything against pizza or its places, and I wish them the best, but either pizzerias must have extremely low operating expenses or there's more demand for pizza in the area than I'd've guessed.

[ron_newman]

I didn't go into the new store at Lowell and Highland yet, but I think the sign says it specializes in Haitian or Caribbean foods.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that new convenience store on Highland in Spring Hill is doors away from one that folded too!

I had similar reactions to the OP's each time a new burrito place opened in Davis Sq, and when the CVS opened in Davis, not far from the Rite Aid.

Re: Pizza

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I had this same thought when that place opened up. I just wish that if they do insist on selling pizza, that they'd at least do something to differentiate themselves from every other pizza place in the entire city. It's almost like it's a bad franchise, except that it's not...or at least it doesn't appear to be.

And yeah, I think there's something special about pizza places and convenience stores wherein the customer base cares so little about what the place looks like or what eclectic items are on the menu that they can pretty much get by on only the bare necessities of doing business.

On the flip side though, no one is *ever* going to make Teele Square a destination because of either of these two places.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they do. Though there selection is about as exciting as the "international" section at Star market.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the two CVS's in Harvard Square.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I mean I'm all for free market capitalism to a point, but one has to keep in mind that if the free market were allowed to decide everything totally on its own, Davis Square would not be the destination that it is today *at all*.

Sometimes the free market has to be bent for the greater good.

[ron_newman]

Me too ... and yet now that CVS is open, I never go to Rite Aid anymore. CVS is a block and a half closer to me and it's open much later.

Re: Pizza

[wombatbanana.livejournal.com]

> I just wish that if they do insist on selling pizza, that they'd at least do something to differentiate themselves from every other pizza place in the entire city.

That would be nice, yeah...

> On the flip side though, no one is *ever* going to make Teele Square a destination because of either of these two places.

And if I can already walk to four pizza places from my house, adding a fifth doesn't make the neighborhood any more walkable.