Shenanigans on the Boulevard

by Much to Celebrate, Much to Do

By Dennis Evanosky

I was unable to attend the Envisioning MacArthur conference, but Councilmember Quan invited me to give a walking tour of the district in conjunction with the workshop.

While the tour focused on events that happened in the 19th and early 20th centuries, questions arose about what could really happen to the Laurel in the 21st century. As we walked through the district, empty and closed storefronts shells, I call them became one topic of conversation.

What will happen to the abandoned gas station at Magee Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard? What about the old "Goldean Store" at Midvale Avenue and MacArthur that has remained clad in red plywood all these years? Will retail stores at each end of the Laurel ever attract shoppers to walk through the district and spend their money?

About 10 years ago, members of the MacArthur Coalition and the Laurel Community Action Project (L-CAP) fought to have the district zoned so only retail stores could occupy street-level properties. Some property owners have successfully flouted the zoning ordinances. There's nothing we can do, right? Let's look elsewhere for an example that says we can.

About 1995, Hills Newspapers decided to vacate its prime street-level location at La Salle Avenue and Mountain Boulevard in Montclair Village. When the paper was sold two years later, the new owners tried to move back. The merchants' association informed them that they could not, as the street-level addresses were reserved for retail businesses only. The city got behind the merchants and enforced the zoning.

We can do the same in the Laurel by simply insisting that property owners comply with and the city enforce the zoning we fought so hard to put in place.

I once interviewed the people who were developing Fruitvale Village. They taught me an important lesson. An anchor tenant should draw shoppers to the middle of the district. Attractive shops should be located at each end. As shoppers walk through the district to reach these shops, they would stop and spend their money at the businesses in between.

The Laurel is fortunate enough to have two anchor tenants: Albertsons and Laurel Hardware. Albertsons' manager Greg Ross recently oversaw improvements that make his store more attractive, and Dave Vahlstrom has always maintained an eye-catching store. But what happens after shoppers are finished at Albertsons and Laurel Hardware?

They could stop right next door to Laurel Hardware, but, at the moment, this former site of the Laurel Gift Shop is another empty shell.

Populating the shells with viable businesses is an immediate solution. But "Envisioning MacArthur" presenters told the audience that to be successful, a shopping district needs a critical neighborhood residential density. How that is achieved is the next question facing the Laurel and the entire Boulevard. One person I spoke with who attended the symposium said, "The neighborhood must have input to guarantee that building is along the lines shown at the symposium. A pedestrian-friendly, clean, green living environment with amenities is fundamental to the plan for more profitable business at street level and living spaces above."

As the community comes together to decide future growth for the Laurel, it may be that the old solutions need revisiting. Retail businesses may not be all the community wants at ground level.

"It doesn't make sense to get a good book at Laurel Bookstore, a latte at World Ground, andthen not have a park to sit in and read," another activist said. "We want to support our local merchants and to have places where neighbors can gather, relax, and enjoy our own neighborhood. It is clear to me that there will be development in our neighborhood. The question is what kind of development?"