DOWNTOWN POTENTIAL

Council hires consultant to attract new businesses

NORRISTOWN >> What is the future of Norristown’s downtown business community?

It’s a question municipal council members hope to answer with the help of a consulting firm. A $45,000 contract with Retail Strategies was authorized during an April 18 work session.

It’s something council Vice President Heather Lewis thinks could put Norristown on a path forward.

“It is definitely something that we’ve been working at the entire eight years that I’ve been on council,” Lewis said.

Sarah Beth Stewart, Retail Strategies’ vice president of business development, told council members how the company aims to offer “commercial retail recruitment services” to attract businesses.

“In a preliminary analysis, Retail Strategies has identified a trade area of 35,000plus consumers and a 1 percent growth rate over the next five years,” Stewart said in her presentation. “In addition to studying the market size, we ran two analys(es) that show the demand for new business in the community.”

Stewart sought to assess potential companies in the grocery store, restaurant, as well as health and personal care spaces. The analysis will survey the commercial market and local real estate availabilities with the goal of producing a marketing guide and retail recruitment plan.

“Even if we don’t have a business in a building, I think the value that they’re going to bring will be valuable for us in the future, something tangible that we can go back to when we are vetting and it’s up to Jayne and now she has a map where things might fit. I was excited,” Lewis said.

Lewis envisioned establishments catering to dining, happy hours and live entertainment options.

“That is what makes Norristown fun, you know what I mean?” She said. And it attracts other and younger folks and … it becomes a ghost town after 5 p.m. You can go to Five Saints, but we need more establishments like Five Saints that provide different types of recreational activities after work.”

Jayne Musonye, Norristown’s director of planning and municipal development, stressed this is something the municipality has previously tried to look into, but “past attempts to use retail recruiters and consumer data tools to attract business have not been successful due to a few key knowledge gaps.”

Musonye stressed the importance of finding “businesses that are primed, financially, to move into the Norristown market,” as well as conducting an inventory of the area’s available commercial properties.

Musonye emphasized the need for Stewart and the Retail Strategies team to consult local realtors, assess consumer spending patterns, seek out community input, and determine where the gaps lie.

MEDIANEWS GROUP The corner of Marshall Street and Astor Street is one of many areas in Norristown where the Latino community is making an economic impact.