Retrofit Suburban Strip Shopping Centers
Mar 15, 2012
Once centers of vitality with many locally owned businesses on the corners of key intersections throughout the city, several strip shopping centers in Sugar Land, like in so many suburban communities, are becoming relics of the past and struggling with empty storefronts since the economic recession. Yet with every new development more such centers are installed with huge parking lots that distance them from the street. Rather than assuming the economic recovery will address the issue, we must recognize that the day of the strip shopping center is over. If we think imaginatively and establish the financing structures we can retrofit these properties for other uses or convert them to mixed use centers with walkability from surrounding neighborhoods. For example, those in Sugar Land along Highway 6 can be developed as Transit Oriented Developments (TODs), serviced initially by bus or even intra-city trolleys.Because a more sustainable economy is one supported by locally owned businesses, an important element will be figuring out how to retain the small, locally owned business focus rather than resorting to chain stores that seem to offer greater promise of stability for investors. This will require building collaborative community alliances for the public good and educating residents about the positive implications of retrofitting suburbia for the future (see the accompanying video and article).
http://ideas.ourregion.org/hgac-what-are-the-major-issues-where-you-live/retrofit-suburban-strip-shopping-centers
Mar 15, 2012
Once centers of vitality with many locally owned businesses on the corners of key intersections throughout the city, several strip shopping centers in Sugar Land, like in so many suburban communities, are becoming relics of the past and struggling with empty storefronts since the economic recession. Yet with every new development more such centers are installed with huge parking lots that distance them from the street. Rather than assuming the economic recovery will address the issue, we must recognize that the day of the strip shopping center is over. If we think imaginatively and establish the financing structures we can retrofit these properties for other uses or convert them to mixed use centers with walkability from surrounding neighborhoods. For example, those in Sugar Land along Highway 6 can be developed as Transit Oriented Developments (TODs), serviced initially by bus or even intra-city trolleys.Because a more sustainable economy is one supported by locally owned businesses, an important element will be figuring out how to retain the small, locally owned business focus rather than resorting to chain stores that seem to offer greater promise of stability for investors. This will require building collaborative community alliances for the public good and educating residents about the positive implications of retrofitting suburbia for the future (see the accompanying video and article).
http://ideas.ourregion.org/hgac-what-are-the-major-issues-where-you-live/retrofit-suburban-strip-shopping-centers
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