Fish Story--One That Got Away

A widely accepted proposition in pursuit of environmental responsibility is, "the greenest building is one that's already built." This says, use the earth's resources which have already been expended in a good, solid, or even well-worn structure, before chasing after the tweaks and technological advances of new construction in pursuit of greater efficiencies. After all, even a high-efficiency structure displacing a usable older building, carries with it the sunk environmental costs of the resources, time, money, and effort of the original building. Even if those costs are not reflected monetarily, they are still carried as debits on the earth's ledger.

An economic development corollary to that proposition might be, "the business most worthy of economic assistance is one that's already operating." Assuming the existing business is a positive commercial citizen of the community, one that adds value by delivering necessary and helpful products, services or labor, or one that by its very presence helps to stabilize a neighborhood or lay the groundwork for further improvement in a particular part of town, it may be wiser to focus scarce economic development funds on that business, rather than a different startup asking for assistance. It may be better to water a withering vine than to plant a new one.

I happened upon such a withering vine yesterday in New Albany's Uptown area. It is the Benjamin Moore paint store at the corner of Vincennes and Market streets. I buy a lot of paint, and yet in the two years the store has been in New Albany, yesterday was the first time I'd been in it. So, I, and others like me, are at least part of the reason the store is closing.  The gentleman working at the store and I discussed the sad news reported by the big yellow notes on the front door, and the cash register, posted to inform customers that the store will close on September 11, 2015.

He said the tide of people depending on the big-box stores as their first place to buy paint has weakened the once-dominant hold paint stores had as THE place to buy paint. And, he said, the traffic needed to bring people to his store never materialized in sufficient volume to make the store profitable, or even viable. The general vibe of that part of town is not inviting to people who may need and want to buy paint and related products.

It's not likely that local economic development efforts can do anything to redirect American shoppers out of the big boxers. Easy access to massive stores with a wide variety of low-priced merchandise is nearly a birthright of American citizenship. (A recent trip through part of Canada revealed that even the good-natured folk to our north are focused on low prices and great deals. The Costco we visited was full of Canadian bargain hunters. The store was approximately the size of Manitoba, I think) Granted, big, macro forces are aligned against small-scale neighborhood stores. The future of this mode of commerce does not appear bright.

But, if city government sees these kinds of local entrepreneurial efforts as integral pieces in what is needed to build stronger, safer more livable communities, there are some steps it could take which might improve the situation.

The City must use a lot of paint, at the parks, at the various buildings it owns and maintains, the curbs the street department paints. Each and every gallon of paint, and all related supplies for these civic uses should come from locally owned and operated paint stores and hardware stores--the big boxers will get more than a good slice of the pie from the average shopper. The requirement to buy from the local vendors should not be limited to government workers only, but should be a requirement of companies under contract to the City.

The neighborhood around the Benjamin Moore store has problems. Some of those problems can be addressed through stronger code enforcement and greater police presence. The elimination of those problems might not have staved off the fate the store is facing, but the effort might have helped, and it certainly would have had benefits beyond the possible help to the paint store.       

Market Street is one way. Since the gentleman I spoke with mentioned traffic (and I'll grant that traffic need not refer simply to cars) it is quite possible, if not predictable, that two way traffic would have brought more automobile traffic, but more importantly, it might have done what Jeff Speck and John Gilderbloom say it will do, and that is, make the street a more vibrant, livable, inviting, place to be, to shop, and to rebuild a neighborhood around. 

The fellow working the paint store said, as he talked about the disappointment he faces in closing the store, "when you lose the Mom and Pops you lose a lot more than just a store." Maybe the loss of the Uptown's Benjamin Moore store is simply the cost of doing business in Big Box, warp-speed commercial America, nothing more. But, I think the gentleman is correct, when the Mom and Pops close you do lose a lot. And the thing we're losing here is a chance, a chance to do economic development right here, where the rubber meets the road, not dreaming of pie in the sky dished out in some distant corporate war room.