November 2008

Now is the Time to Invest in Your Future

We’ve all seen the bombardment of headlines in the newspaper and on TV about retailers filing for bankruptcy protection and announcing store closings. So what does this mean for a community trying to define their retail recruitment strategy? It means that it is more important than ever to understand the consumers in your trade area and how to promote the facts about these consumers to the retail world.

Retailers and restaurants are still expanding, filling their real estate pipeline for 2009, 2010 and 2011, but are paying closer attention to their real estate decisions. For retailers, it is no longer acceptable to open underperforming stores – they truly have to do their homework before deciding upon a new market to open a door.

To land new retail in your community, you need to be providing the right information.

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National League of Cities
November 11-15, 2008
Orlando, FL
Visit our Booth #815
Come to our session: Structuring a Successful Retail Development Program

California Redevelopment Association Webcast
Featuring Buxton
November 19, 2008
1:30 pm EST/12:30 pm CST/10:30 am PST
Register Here

Retail Economic Development Survey

To gain a better understanding of the programs communities are using for retail economic development, we would appreciate your completion of this questionnaire.

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Cities Scramble to Attract Retail in Tough Economy
Economic Developers get more Hands-On
By Aleshia Howe November 10-16, 2008

In cities such as Fort Worth, Euless and Grapevine, members of the economic development offices are well aware of the growing number of national and regional retailers cutting back expansion plans into 2010 and they are doing what they can to combat higher retail development vacancies by getting more hands-on.

“I’m not above cold-calling retailers nowadays,” said Dan Truex, economic development manager for Grapevine. “There’s no question we’ve gotten more aggressive. You have to because the same number of cities are competing for a much smaller number of retailers looking to open new stores. A fewer number of new stores is a game-changer because we want our retail full.”

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Revitalizing Your Community - Urban Redevelopment

Communities have a lot to consider as gas prices continually increase and residents become more concerned about transportation costs. The Quarterly Magazine (Third Issue, 2008) recently pointed out in one of its articles that “expensive gas is making urban redevelopment and revitalization viable in cities across the nation.” These changes offer cities and communities the opportunity to make large changes in regard to revitalizations of downtown and neighborhood areas.

Many community and downtown revitalizations are aiming to create mixed-use developments and much more compact areas for residents. Family-friendly living spaces are becoming essential in many of these revitalizations, as are shopping areas with a more “village-like” feel to them, rather than big box retailers.

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Since 1994, Buxton has worked with more than 1,700 clients seeking to identify and understand their customers for retail
site selection and target marketing. In less than half a decade, Buxton's community clients have added more than 15 million
square feet of retail, creating new sources of community revenue and meeting the needs of their residents desire to shop
locally. Buxton's more than 500 years of cumulative retail experience, as well as the relationships we have with senior-level
real estate executives has provided communities nationwide with the knowledge they need to speak " retail."