Feb 10, 2008

Nonprofit wants to revive downtown as shopping hubBy Wendy LeeTennessean.com

Chester Blair, 57, remembers when Nashville’s downtown was a place to be seen. Brightly lit stores selling men’s suits and other merchandise lined Fourth and Fifth avenues.

“Downtown used to be a hub. It was a place to come before there were malls. I kind of miss it,” Blair said, as he watched over customers inside the post office at the Arcade, one of the few remaining downtown shopping outposts, at least during daylight hours.

Now, a nonprofit group that represents downtown landowners and shopkeepers wants to make the city’s center a retail destination again. The group has hired a 29-year-old retail recruiter, who boldly vows she hopes downtown soon matches Green Hills as a place where people with money flock to shop.

Commercial real estate experts say resurrecting downtown won’t be easy, though, because of its small residential population that may not be much of a magnet to attract national chain stores.

“It’s an uphill battle, that’s for sure,” said Steve Rudd of Nashville-based Restaurant Retail Properties, which helps stores find space. “There are not enough people that live in the downtown area to support their own retail.”

The Nashville Downtown Partnership says it’s following in the footsteps of cities such as St. Louis, which employed a retail recruiter and got results within a year. In fact, since 2002 when the recruiter was hired there, about 80 retailers have come to St. Louis’ downtown, according to the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.

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