Getting redevelopment ready

Posted in: Business on August 31, 2010 at 1:53 am |

By Jerry Lombardo, Chairman, Hackensack Upper Main Alliance

As you may have read in an earlier edition of the Bergen News, The Upper Main Alliance has been holding a series of meetings to discuss future development of Hackensack’s downtown. After months of fact-gathering, analysis and discussion, we have entered the “public participation” phase as part of our ongoing effort to fully revitalize Main Street, Hackensack.

While the Alliance is proud of the efforts it has made in supporting the overall business climate in Hackensack’s downtown, we realize that much more work is needed if Main Street is to once again to enjoy the prominence of its heyday. We fully realize that our existing programs (façade grants, cooperative advertising and special events, to name a few) can only go so far. These efforts, as effective as they may be to support existing business, do not go far enough in maximizing Main Street’s potential. Our location, demographics and infrastructure are all tremendous assets that make our downtown ripe for large-scale investment and development. As compared to other downtowns in Northern New Jersey, we are uniquely situated to large governmental, educational and commercial institutions, major highways, primary and secondary airports and every mode of mass transportation, – all assets that bode well for Main Street’s future.

While we have always known that Main Street is well-situated for growth, we needed to better understand why long-term, sustainable prosperity has been so elusive. We knew that Main Street suffered a setback with the rise of the malls, but also knew that downtowns were still a viable part of the commercial landscape in New Jersey. Why not our Main Street? To help us better understand the forces at work in Hackensack, we hired Street-Works, LLC, a White Plains, N.Y. firm. Street-Works has been involved in the successful development of more than $1 billion in downtown districts throughout the United States. Street-Work’s philosophy centers largely on creating and maintaining a “sense of place” that makes Main Street a destination of choice, not coincidence.

In meetings held on July 6 and August 17 of this year, the Alliance and Street-Works delivered its findings to very receptive and interested audiences. In these “roll-out” meetings, people got a chance to see Main Street through the eyes of those who have seen hundreds of “main streets” throughout the country.  This unique perspective allows people to see for themselves why Hackensack has suffered and how it can prosper. Most importantly, these meetings gave the public an opportunity to express their own ideas and concerns about future development.

We will schedule at least one more meeting in October and will publicize the date in local newspapers once confirmed.  To receive email notifications about this initiative and future meetings, please send an email to hackensackmsba@verizon.net.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting!

Tags: Hackensack