Downtown survival and revival
Early in April, as his state was in crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tweeted that COVID-19 was a great equalizer. While Cuomo was correct in the sense that no one is immune from the virus, much evidence now exists that the pandemic’s impact across geography and demographics is anything but equal.
The virus has, for example, hit the elderly and nursing home patients disproportionately hard. Racial and ethnic minorities also are at higher risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There’s also disparity in its geographic impact. Wander through downtown commercial districts in Connecticut and it’s quickly evident that without office workers, summer festivals, bars, music and arts venues and because of severely curtailed leisure and business travel, these downtown hubs have fallen into steep declines. Many downtown businesses such as small, independent restaurants and mom and pop retailers operate on razor-thin financial margins. Combine this with the fact that some business analysts predict work-from-home arrangements are likely to continue into the foreseeable future, and the logical conclusion is that post-pandemic recovery will be more challenging for urban commercial districts than for wealthier, suburban neighborhoods.
New London is a case in point. Already struggling with an overabundance of vacant commercial space and plagued by plenty of stalled building renovations, the Whaling City received another harsh blow from this summer’s pandemic protocols. There have been no summertime crowds who annually venture to the waterfront district to enjoy fireworks, food festivals and live music.
Sailfest, the July festival typically highlighted by fireworks on the Thames River, brought more than 275,000 people downtown in 2018. A study commissioned by Sailfest organizers that year estimated the festival brought $58.2 million in economic value to New London and the region. Sailfest 2020 went virtual and a host of other events followed suit, bringing no visitors and no infusion of cash for local businesses.
The Garde Arts Center has been dark for months and some restaurants that legally could re-open have decided not to because the occupancy limits of COVID19 are not enough to justify staff and overhead costs.
People are attracted to downtowns because they are lively, eclectic and full of character. They defy the Anywhere America homogenization of suburban strip malls, big box shopping centers and chain restaurants. Young people in recent years have been more likely to choose downtown, urban, living to allow them to get along without personal transportation. They prefer walking, biking and using public transportation to get where they want and need to travel.
Many of the urban characteristics considered assets just a few months ago are now considered deficits in the pandemic.
There will be no shortage of needs post-pandemic, and local and state officials and lawmakers will likely face a barrage of requests for financial assistance from many sectors of the economy. As such needs are weighed, we urge officials to keep in mind the important role a vibrant downtown plays for entire regions. For this reason, downtown survival and revival should be made a priority.
In an article in The Atlantic published April 27, Derek Thompson writes about urban centers in the pandemic, and, ultimately, their futures. “If cities become less desirable in the next few years, they will also become cheaper to live in,” he writes. “In time, more affordable rents could attract more interesting people, ideas, and companies. This may be the cyclical legacy of the coronavirus: suffering, tragedy, and then rebirth.”
Struggling urban centers such as those in New London and Norwich already have aimed for rebirth for many years. The success of such efforts has been decidedly mixed. If our leaders keep the right priorities as we emerge from the pandemic, perhaps the suffering wrought by COVID-19 will finally lead to renaissance.
— The Day, Aug. 20