Characteristics of a Thriving Downtown
The city of Orlando recently adopted a new ordinance restricting where nightclubs can be located downtown.
Commissioners say the goal is to diversify the downtown economy by bringing in more businesses open during the day and by catering more to families.
But, what does a thriving downtown look like from an economic development standpoint?
According to architecture and planning firm Gensler, downtowns that are easy to navigate, have rideshare pickup and drop-off locations, public restrooms, and public gathering spaces are some of the characteristics of a thriving downtown.
Mark Dorosin is a law professor and director of legal clinics at Florida A&M University’s College of Law. He believes those characteristics in addition to a diversity of businesses contribute to people engaging in the downtown economy more frequently.
“Some models suggest what they call the third, the third, the third model, which is a third of businesses should be businesses where you purchase things. Another third should be places to eat and drink, restaurants and bars and coffee shops. And then overall, a third of the businesses should be open in the evenings and the weekends,” said Dorosin.
Since the pandemic, there has been less foot traffic downtown as many employees moved to remote work or a hybrid schedule.
For that reason, Dorosin said the biggest way to get people to spend more time downtown is through housing.
“You need to have more people living downtown, having schools downtown, and having access to childcare,” he said. “Those are the kinds of things that bring families downtown and begin to create the kind of synergies that help the economies of downtown's thrive.”
Memphis is a prime example of a thriving downtown, according to Dorosin.
“One of the things that they focused on in Memphis, and this is something you see in a lot of successful downtowns, is more housing downtown and a greater variety of housing types and of price points,” said Dorosin.
The City of Orlando’s approach
The City of Orlando will hold a second public hearing August 12 on an ordinance meant to restrict where nightclubs can be located.
City commissioners passed the ordinance during a meeting last week. They say the goal is to diversify the businesses downtown, bring in more businesses that are open during the day and cater more to families.
However, Mark Dorosin said that approach undercuts a more holistic model that helps downtowns thrive.
“That's troubling, the idea that the city seems to be reacting to what it has perceived to be an immediate issue, rather than seeing how bars and nightclubs and restaurants really fit into the patchwork of a successful downtown economy,” said Dorosin.
He said ordinances like the one in front of Orlando commissioners often present two major problems.
“One is, it sort of punishes everybody for potentially the bad actions of a few businesses or customers,” said Dorosin. “The other thing is, if this becomes an effective moratorium, because all the existing bars are grandfathered in, what these ordinances do inadvertently is they create a further increased value for those businesses.”
Dorosin said landlords may not be willing to open up a bar under a new concept if they know the existing establishment is already a success.
“You run the risk of putting even more economic pressure on those bars,” he said. “You're artificially limiting the supply, which if the demand stays the same, makes those resources much more valuable.”
Dorosin adds that the reason downtowns often have a higher density of bars and restaurants is because of the price to rent the space in downtown.
He said bars and restaurants are the only businesses that can afford downtown’s high rents as they generate a customer base daily.
“People talk about having a place to buy clothes, shoes or office supplies. The thing is, people don't buy those things every day,” said Dorosin. “So it's a lot harder for a business like that, to thrive in a place where there's a lot of rent pressure. So bars and restaurants become models that can work within those parameters just because of the generalized demand.”
Current Standing
Dorosin said that while Downtown Orlando does have elements that contribute to a thriving downtown, there is still work to be done.
“We have a pretty good park system, but we have very minimal public transit which is a big thing. We have this SunRail system that goes right through downtown, but it stops running at night. It stops running on the weekends,” Dorosin explained.
He said meeting places like Lake Eola and community resources like the Wells Built Museum add to a thriving downtown Orlando.