The look and feel of a business has the power to magnetize a customer or send them blocks away.
Investing in changes to the exterior of a property can be expensive. To help Tempe business owners revamp their storefronts without breaking the bank, the city’s Community Development Department is proposing the Storefront Improvement Program.
“By filling in landscape, getting rid of all the stuff that’s stuck in front of the windows, updating signage (and) just painting the place, it would do a lot to improve the look of the street,” said Bonnie Richardson, principal planner and architect for Tempe.
Richardson presented the Community Development’s draft guidelines at the Neighborhood Quality of Life and Revitalization Council Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The department hopes to improve business storefronts directly facing the street that are at least 10 years old, Richardson said. Deteriorating properties with visible commercial code violations are the priorities, she said.
“What we hope to do is if we get several small concentrated areas, we think it has a bigger impact and that way it makes a stronger statement to the neighborhood,” she said.
Richardson said the project is intended to breathe life into commercial areas reeling from the housing crisis and economic decline, as well as to reduce crime.
Tempe Police is helping to identify areas with concentrated criminal activity on top of code violations, Richardson said.
In order to provide owners with incentive, the Storefront Improvement Program proposes waiving all project fees and enlisting free services from local architects.
“I think a lot of times what holds people back is that they don’t have any idea what to do, they don’t have any idea what it’s going to cost,” said Lisa Collins, deputy development services manager.
Richardson said the renovation process can be intimidating to business owners.
“What we’re trying to do is make it easier for them to be able to do even the minimal things,” Richardson said.
Desired storefront improvements proposed at the meeting include improving lighting, landscaping, paint and signs while adding canopies, seating and courtyards.
For businesses within the Apache Boulevard redevelopment area, Community Development would match half the funds needed to complete the renovation project.
The redevelopment area lies between University Drive and Broadway Road and stretches from Rural Road to the Tempe Canal, which is slightly east of Loop 101.
“What we’re working with HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) to do is to figure out what they deem to be eligible activities and we’ll allocate those for CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds,” said Larry Schmalz, principal planner for Tempe.
Though clusters of code violations and crime have been identified outside of the Apache Boulevard redevelopment area, Tempe is unable to provide financial assistance to other areas because the CDBG funds are restricted to the redevelopment area. Richardson is looking for outside funding to support the project.
Richardson said if the City Council approves the plan, she hopes to begin a trial phase of the program with a few properties. She said the department would focus on properties with the most code violations to test the program.
She said the owners with whom she has already spoken are awaiting finalization and council approval of the plans before they sign on.
“We want to be sure before we roll this out completely we’ve got the right criteria,” she said.
Reach the reporter at sksmith9@asu.edu
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