New construction not always blessing for old merchants
DAN VOELPEL; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Hurry if you want a final Monte Cristo sandwich, Dungeness crab omelet or 1-pound T-bone at Alfred’s Café for a while.
Owners of the Puyallup Avenue eatery say they’ve lost so much business due to reconstruction of East D Street in Tacoma, they’ll likely soon have to close temporarily, lose their remaining 13 employees and cut their losses.
Another construction zone business, Johnny’s Dock Restaurant on the Foss Waterway, has lost so much business the owners sent a letter to city hall suggesting they might sue.
In Tacoma – the formerly Dormant City – no one worried much about whether big street construction projects affected merchants. Tacoma didn’t have big street construction projects.
Today, however, with more months-long construction projects on Tacoma’s civic calendar, someone at City Hall better wake up and smell the best practices to better help merchants survive.
In Richmond, Va., for example, the city and merchants undertook a massive marketing campaign during a downtown makeover that increased merchant sales during construction.
Do you remember any appeals for you to visit Puyallup Avenue during construction?
“Somebody (at the city) has to sit on the contractors,” said Dave Bingham, co-owner of Johnny’s Dock. “The contractors are looking to bring a project in. As far as (dealing with) hurting feelings and businesses, it’s not on their agenda.”
Meanwhile, Richard Bartolatz, co-owner of Alfred’s Café, already has laid off 13 of his 26 employees and plans a last-ditch promotional coupon campaign at University of Washington Tacoma and University of Puget Sound to entice adventurous college kids to brave the construction zone for discount pizzas.
“Last week, one day, there was no one in here for lunch. Not one person. After awhile I went outside, and there was a big truck parked across our entrance,” Bartolatz said.
Bingham and Bartolatz both acknowledge the long-term value to Tacoma of separating East D Street’s car traffic from the rail traffic that will run underneath it.
“I’m all for the project,” Bartolatz said. “I’m all for the city expanding. It’s an exciting time to be in this part of Tacoma. I just wish it would have come with more honest intent to do the things they promised. … When I’ve asked about it, all they say is, ‘It wasn’t in our budget.’”
The sidewalk didn’t remain open so pedestrians attending Tacoma Dome events could reach him. Smallish pedestrian signs near Tacoma Dome Station point folks down a dark, potholed gravel alley. The “Alfred’s is Open During Construction” sign didn’t go up – until two days after Bartolatz told the contractor he’d spoken with a journalist. The construction project began last May.
“The sidewalk being closed was a misstep in our coordination,” said Roxanne Murphy, the city’s public relations liaison to Dome District businesses.
And rather than “play favorites” among businesses, Murphy said the city decided on generic signs alerting passersby that all businesses remained open during construction.
Bartolatz and Bingham didn’t offer much praise for city hall, but what little they had went to Murphy’s efforts.
She eats every Friday at Alfred’s. She convinced construction workers to eat there, which Bartolatz appreciates. She even posted a notice on her personal MySpace page asking her contacts to patronize businesses in the construction zone.
“Roxanne’s been responsive to the degree she could be,” Bingham said. “But she’s not calling the shots. She’s an intermediary. Overall, the city’s approach has been ‘just hold your breath until the project’s finished.’ The problem is the project’s not going to be finished until Dec. 1.”
Bull’s Eye, the shooting range that shares a parking lot with Alfred’s Café, has seen business grow during construction. And owner Brian Borgelt attributes that in large part to his unique niche as a “destination business” and the only shooting range in Tacoma.
Even so, “who knows how much more business we would have done without the construction,” Borgelt said.
At City Hall, Murphy said, planning has started on a workshop for business owners to help them survive construction projects. Part of the survival package involves branding business areas as destinations so customers won’t mind braving torn up streets to get there.
For now, I hope to see you for lunch today at Alfred’s. I don’t know where else to get a Dungeness crab omelet that good.
Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785
dan.voelpel@thenewstribune.com
Surviving Construction
Tacoma has two major street reconstruction projects going today – East D Street overpass and Dock Street along the Thea Foss Waterway. More biggies are coming: repaving Pacific Avenue through downtown, Sound Transit’s rail crossing Pacific Avenue near South 25th Street, a local improvement district that will tear up the St. Helens District between Antique Row and Stadium High School. The National Main Street Center has some survival advice for cities to help businesses survive:
• Establish a calendar of promotional events – and publicize them widely – to keep the customers coming during construction.
• Begin construction on the shortest or easiest block.
• Set aside a reserve of money for unexpected problems.
• Tell business owners early in the process that construction will negatively impact their bottom line during construction so they can start saving money sooner rather than later.
• Require the contractor to inform business owners as soon as possible on schedule changes or when construction will hinder customer access.
• Make sure your retailers have their leases locked in for the next five years. When landlords start to speculate that their property is more valuable due to construction improvements, some may raise lease rates, and you don’t want to lose all the great merchants you are trying to assist.
• Establish an economic restructuring committee to strengthen businesses before construction or work with the Small Business Administration to improve sales. If rents rise after construction, sales must, too.
• After construction, establish a moratorium period on any additional public projects or utility projects in the area to allow businesses to recover.
