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REMINDER: WORLD OF BEERS would like to have a community meeting ON SITE at the former Social Security Building on Wed April 17th at 6:00pm(THAT"S TONIGHT). Will you come be part of the discussion?
I understand the debate going on for the SS space and the currently proposed World of Beer. While I support new businesses and restaurants to open in the square, I am not particularly enthused about another bar or a bar only type of business. If its going to be a restaurant space as they seem to be the only ones able to afford rents in the area I would much rather see something more on the lines of a full service/chef driven type venue. That's my opinion.
This is what got me to thinking, What can I do to get involved and what ideas can I offer. This is what I came up with;
Just throwing this out there for some feedback and ideas so please leave some!
I was thinking about pitching the landlord the idea of leasing the SS building and installing a co-op type of business. As a resident I am disappointed in the amount of real estate space available to small businesses for retail and want to find/look for a solution. Given the amount of help that has been given to developers in Somerville, such as around Assembly Row and the former Ikea site from the city I thought there must be a way to get this done.
The basic idea would be to create a shopping environment inside the SS building. Subdivide the space. Create a small network of stalls that could share the responsibility of the lease and benefit from the strength in diversification. The LL would get his market rents, businesses would get a chance and we would get some small unique shops.
Things I would like to see;
A few farm stands, this is similar to what Plum and Sienna Farms did in the South End
Clothing for men and women, I think a bit of density would be fantastic
Shoes? Not sure how this would work.
Some type of vendors for foods that are ready cooked so as to keep the buildout costs down
Art!
Antiques?
Services like cobbler, watch repair, keys etc…
Ideas of businesses to approach would be greatly appreciated. What places would make you visit them. Please keep in mind that in order for an idea like this to work there has to be a demand for the type of business and we, as community members bear the responsibility to patronize these vendors.
If this thread gets much traction I will begin to pursue this on a more active level. If not, thank you for reading and if you left some, thank you for your input.
I understand the debate going on for the SS space and the currently proposed World of Beer. While I support new businesses and restaurants to open in the square, I am not particularly enthused about another bar or a bar only type of business. If its going to be a restaurant space as they seem to be the only ones able to afford rents in the area I would much rather see something more on the lines of a full service/chef driven type venue. That's my opinion.
This is what got me to thinking, What can I do to get involved and what ideas can I offer. This is what I came up with;
Just throwing this out there for some feedback and ideas so please leave some!
I was thinking about pitching the landlord the idea of leasing the SS building and installing a co-op type of business. As a resident I am disappointed in the amount of real estate space available to small businesses for retail and want to find/look for a solution. Given the amount of help that has been given to developers in Somerville, such as around Assembly Row and the former Ikea site from the city I thought there must be a way to get this done.
The basic idea would be to create a shopping environment inside the SS building. Subdivide the space. Create a small network of stalls that could share the responsibility of the lease and benefit from the strength in diversification. The LL would get his market rents, businesses would get a chance and we would get some small unique shops.
Things I would like to see;
A few farm stands, this is similar to what Plum and Sienna Farms did in the South End
Clothing for men and women, I think a bit of density would be fantastic
Shoes? Not sure how this would work.
Some type of vendors for foods that are ready cooked so as to keep the buildout costs down
Art!
Antiques?
Services like cobbler, watch repair, keys etc…
Ideas of businesses to approach would be greatly appreciated. What places would make you visit them. Please keep in mind that in order for an idea like this to work there has to be a demand for the type of business and we, as community members bear the responsibility to patronize these vendors.
If this thread gets much traction I will begin to pursue this on a more active level. If not, thank you for reading and if you left some, thank you for your input.