What Happened?
The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham recently launched a downtown retail project to open temporary stores in vacant commercial properties to boost local businesses in struggling neighborhoods.
So What?
Birmingham’s Pop-up Project is a city-wide effort to make use of empty storefronts in its downtown districts to support local retailers looking to increase revenue around the Valentine’s Day holiday. The project aims to encourage local residents to walk, bike and take public transit to areas of the city where economic activity has declined for the temporary burst of new store locations with special promotions, products and deals. The city of Birmingham wants to engage residents in a more active lifestyle across the city, while also attracting business to local companies and startups.
The two-day event hopes to revitalize the downtown City Center, energize downtrodden businesses and support the creativity and determination of local small businesses struggling to succeed in the current economic climate. The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham and its partners believe long-term advancements can be achieved if the project can meet specific goals to encourage greater participation in economic recovery from residents:
- Educate the public on pedestrian and cyclist safety
- Promote the creation and maintenance of pedestrian facilities
- Improve visibility and accessibility of transportation alternatives
- Measure efforts of leveraging urbanism to increase demand for public spaces
- Boost economic activity and development through identification of vacancy and repurposing opportunities
British Pop-up Invasion
The concept of pop-up stores is an international movement, with officials in Great Britain also supporting the efforts. The Department for Communities and Local Government has opened pop-up stores in Victoria, London, to demonstrate the value of temporary storefronts in vacant commercial lots. Part of the Pop-up Britain project, the temporary store aims to give local retailers the opportunity to get their products on the British High Street, a rare chance that could boost a brand from startup to industry leader.
According to DCLG housing minister Mark Prisk, the pop-up project has been trialed in pilot towns to see how effective temporary storefronts are at drawing consumers back to local stores while reducing commercial space vacancy. The pilot projects have shown potential for success, but some obstacles remain. For the concept to be fully realized, landlords will have to adjust operations to accommodate shorter term leases smaller companies can afford for brief introductions to the public.
The majority of participating sellers run online businesses but have yet to establish strong brick-and-mortar presence. The pop-up project is an extension of Startup Britain, a coordinated effort to connect burgeoning businesses with national retailers to spur economic growth and opportunities for new companies to hit the market. The projects allow blossoming sellers to experiment with retail space, test products in the market and collect face-to-face feedback with customers to strengthen offerings moving forward.
Other Retail Efforts
Gov1 is following the experiments other municipalities have put in place to revitalize downtown areas and spur retail growth and economic activity in the community.