Quality-of-life amenities and retail will have some of the biggest influences on how cities’ downtown districts develop, according to an industry consultant speaking in Wilmington on Thursday.
 
“Retail is the most highly visible of all land uses. As your retail goes, so goes your city,” Margaret McCauley, principal of Downtown Works in Seattle, told an audience of more than 320 people at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside.
 
McCauley was the keynote speaker at Wilmington Downtown Inc.’s Downtown Economic Series event.
 
She gave an overview of how downtown businesses are faring nationwide – from restaurants serving as neighborhood anchors to office spaces reflecting co-working trends.
 
The nature of downtowns is being influenced by residents on opposite ends of the age spectrum – millennials and empty-nest baby boomers – both attracted to similar housing options, McCauley said.
 
“In the last 20 years we’ve seen major changes in cities. What’s fueling this, particularly today, is millennials, and that’s being fueled by apartment living,” she said.
 
Downtown Wilmington also is seeing that trend. Several multifamily developments have gone up in recent years or are underway in the downtown area.
 
McCauley, however, cautioned about the bubble effects being seen in other parts of the country, namely overbuilt apartment markets and lack of affordable housing.
 
McCauley, whose Seattle company is a retail consultant firm, also offered up shopping trends that are affecting the mix of downtown offerings: brick-and-mortar stores with online presences, men’s fashion outposts, ath-leisure retailers – “Yoga pants are outpacing jeans,” she pointed out in terms of consumer habits.
 
She also stressed the importance of local, independently owned businesses but didn’t discount bigger names.
 
“National chain is not a dirty word. You just have to pick and choose which ones belong in your downtown,” she said, adding that it was the sales activity from locally owned businesses that helps bigger brands decide whether to open up in a downtown.
 
Downtown Wilmington has a number of things going for it, but there are things to keep any eye out for, especially as more retail moves in, McCauley said.
 
One thing, she said, is the fact that downtown Wilmington wasn’t affected by the wave of urban renewal seen in other cities that led to tearing down of historic buildings. It also helps, she says, that those remaining buildings are next to each other.
 
With several hotel projects and residential real estate projects in the works, more retail is sure to come, McCauley said.
 
Because of that, she advised, the community should consider the type of retailers to attract – particularly those that will draw from more than just tourist shoppers but also from the greater metro area. Placement will be another key issue, she said.
 
“That is one thing you want to be really cautious and thoughtful about and as you grow, where you keep your retail placed,” McCauley said.
 
Also at WDI’s annual Downtown Economic Series fundraising lunch, group officials summarized activity in the district.
 
Last year, downtown saw a total of 49 new businesses, including 29 startup businesses, the group reported in its 2015 roundup. About 160 new full-time equivalent jobs – that figure includes part-time workers as well – came to the district.
 
There also was $76.4 million in investment last year, WDI reported, including 79 building renovation and construction projects and 125 purchased properties. Another $209.1 million worth of projects are under construction or have been announced, the report stated.
 
WDI president and CEO Ed Wolverton detailed a list of newly opened and soon-to-open projects downtown, such as the Sawmill and Pier 33 apartment developments, the latter of which recently opened its pier with the capacity to hold thousands of concertgoers.
 
He pointed out that according to the 2010 Census, there were 1,709 housing units downtown. Now, he said, there are another 725 units open or in the pipeline.
 
“We’re going 42 percent in our housing right now,” Wolverton said, adding that hotel rooms and commercial square footage also have grown.