Students give city a lesson in development

April 25, 2007

Skidmore interns study how to boost business climate for downtown

Reprinted from the Albany Times Union, April 25, 2007

By Dennis Yusko

SARATOGA SPRINGS–Three Skidmore College business students have provided the Downtown Business Association detailed recommendations on how to improve the Spa's treasured downtown.

Operation Vitalization, the work of students Ashley Woodhouse, Billie Taft and Julian Chow, uses data collected from interviews and market research to tell the story of a once-thriving downtown that they say is in the midst of a downturn.

It outlines several reasons why some shops around Broadway are empty, moving or sputtering, and offers recommendations to turn the economic climate around.

The good news is, the sky's not falling. The important news is, decisions, leadership and communication are required soon if the city wants to remain a unique attraction.

"We view Saratoga as now being at a crossroads," said Woodhouse, a senior from Minnesota. "In one direction is national retail—Anytown, U.S.A. Or they can preserve what has been so successful for the last 30 years."

Woodhouse, Taft and Chow are enrolled in the college's Saratoga Skidmore Entrepreneurial Partnership Program, administered by economics professor Roy Rotheim.

The trio surveyed about 100 members of the community, including politicians, bankers, business leaders and shoppers, and studied how similar communities have dealt with negative business cycles.

Their report, delivered to the Downtown Business Association last week, confronts issues facing the city and its businesses.

It concludes that more visitors to downtown are window shopping and not spending; high downtown rents and chain stores are pushing out traditional and independent boutiques; there's very little communication among business districts within the city; and many residents view parking, congestion and the proliferation of condominiums in the immediate downtown area as a disadvantage.

To get more people shopping, the business association should choose a night a week when all stores stay open late. The report also recommends that to attract more independent shops, leaders should offer government tax breaks, work with local banks and seek government subsidies. To limit the number of chain stores, government should enact zoning regulations and limit retail spaces to a certain size. To upgrade the visibility of the Beekman Arts District, the business association should allow art galleries to join it as one entity.

Improving ties between the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Skidmore College, Saratoga Racing & Gameway and other attractions would generate excitement and give people additional reasons to come to Saratoga Springs, the students say. Local businesses should make more of an effort to market and sell to Skidmore students, and the business association, Beekman artists and West Side shop owners should do more cross-promoting and joint marketing to avoid isolation.

"There's a lack of communication," said Tate, a junior from North Adams, Mass. The message should be "everyone is in this together."

Then there's the city's image.

"There's a huge perception Saratoga is an elitist town and unaffordable, so a lot of times people don't come here," Woodhouse explained. "But prices aren't any higher than at the mall."

In the surveys, residents said they wanted to preserve the city's history, culture and small-town atmosphere. They desire another bookstore, a health food store, cinema, additional entertainment and a tack shop.

Jeff Clark, a financial adviser for Ameriprise Financial who serves on the Downtown Business Association's Board of Directors, said the association will discuss and try to integrate parts of the Skidmore plan in the coming weeks.

"Our interns came up with some very good ideas," Clark said.