Keepin’ it Local – Make Local Business the Anchor Tenant at Canal Side: Part Two
Buffalo First intern Hannah Hanover continues the community’s case for local and independent businesses at Canal Side in this two-part article. Part One, published last week, focused on why local business should be considered the “anchor tenant” at Canal Side, rather than a big-box gamble that won’t best meet the needs of the local economy, local history, and most importantly, us locals ourselves. Part Two looks to examples of successful, local economy-focused and character-driven redevelopment to provide useful insights for how best to spend the region’s redevelopment dollars.
By Hannah Hanover, Buffalo First!
The ongoing conversation about redevelopment at Canal Side is only one prominent aspect of a larger issue concerning the region and its approach to economic development. Our present concern is the shape the Canal Side project will take. Will it be filled with small, independent businesses promoting local history and contemporary Buffalo culture, or with big-box retailers whose business goals are solely profit-driven? These concerns reflect larger questions in the region, including how the $1 billion pledged by Governor Cuomo for Buffalo might be utilized and allocated.
Injection or Investment?
Tom Precious’ article on the subject in The Buffalo News points to an oversight in the conversation, namely that the Cuomo administration did not talk about “investing the money in companies already on the ground and growing” which would focus on expansion, “at home instead of beyond New York’s borders.” These local and established companies Precious speaks of may be “under the radar,” but money invested in such businesses is placed in a much more local network, that tends to move economic activity more fluidly through WNY’s economy. Case in point, the local and independent bookstore in a 2003 study by Civic Economics, which kept over three times more money in the local economy than did a national chain bookstore. The more locally-rooted the company, chances are that its economic, and even environmental and social impacts will be better and more sustainable for the community at large.
Reinvigorating Buffalo’s economy requires more than a $1 billion injection; it needs a $1 billion investment in the right place. If the money allocated to Buffalo for job creation and economic stimulus is dedicated to the attraction of big-box retailers or out-of-state companies that lack “stakes” in the Buffalo economy or community already (and are only concerned with the profit possibilities Buffalo represents to the corporation) the funds may well be wasted. Consider this: if Buffalo experiences a severe economic slump, the likes of which these out-of-state businesses might not have accounted for in their business planning, it’s far more likely they’ll just pack up and leave. These businesses tend to make decisions that are less beneficial to the community at large, because they’re not a part of that community.
If, however, a significant portion of this money is allotted to pre-existing local businesses or used for the promotion of new small businesses run by local entrepreneurs, the money will not only stay in the community, it will enrich the community by making resources circulate in a network of other Buffalo businesses. In this way, the funds would be a more direct investment in Buffalo, and would promote a diverse, multilayered foundation.
Wanted: This, with local business as its anchor
Pittsburgh: The Rust Belt Revolution
If the desire of Buffalo residents is economic stability through local business, there are existing examples of how this may work to the advantage of the city. Buffalo State economics professor Bruce Fisher points to the success of Pittsburgh’s efforts since the late nineties to create an infrastructural network of businesses and firms promoting local entrepreneurship in his Artvoice article, “What Pittsburgh Can Teach Us.” Pittsburgh is a city, in many ways, not dissimilar to Buffalo. Through the concerted efforts in Pittsburgh to promote home-grown enterpreneurs, Pittsburgh became, against many odds, an exporter rather than importer of goods.
Pittsburgh has profited from investing locally
Though becoming an exporter required over a decade of development and careful direction, the entrepreneurial culture in Pittsburgh, relying on regional business startup and innovation rather than big-business importation, is a model for other cities intent on increasing population and a stable economic foundation. For Buffalo, this foundation may already be seen in small retail corridors such as Main, Elmwood, and Grant, or even larger manufacturing centers on the East Side. The local businesses in these districts directly benefit, support, and sustain the neighborhoods surrounding them.
Much like in Pittsburgh, the promotion of local entrepreneurship and careful, directed planning to provide an environment conducive to sustainable economies is a very attainable goal for our region. It requires the concerted effort of those making development decisions to look local first. It is for this reason that Buffalo First is demanding that the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) guarantee at least 50% of retail space at Canal Side for local, independent entrepreneurs.
Thusfar, the response from local business owners and the community at large has been overwhelming. We’ve collected over 600 signatures, which we will be handing to thre ECHDC at a rally to be held tomorrow, January 26th, at 1pm outside of 95 Perry Street in downtown Buffalo. Localizing and diversifying the projected tenants at Canal Side just makes sense. It’s not a quick injection of economic growth that will fade in ten years, but a long-term investment in Buffalo culture, its entrepreneurs, history, and its future vitality as a strong urban community. Please invest in Buffalo with us as we rally to demand that local business be the “anchor tenant” at Canal Side!
