The Cayuga County chapter of the American Red Cross returned home to downtown Auburn this month, which is exactly what city officials had hoped would happen when it rebeautified the block-long State Street mall strip last year.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
The tenant mix on the newly remodeled State Street Mall in Auburn, shown through a view from the gazebo where musicians played during the summer, has not changed significantly since the project was completed a year ago.
The tenant mix on the newly remodeled State Street Mall in Auburn, shown through a view from the gazebo where musicians played during the summer, has not changed significantly since the project was completed a year ago.
But it is the only new establishment on the street since it was renovated last November, despite the rave reviews it receives from its existing store owners.
“You can be an awful business, but location is everything,” said Kathy Naumann, owner of Yesteryears at 24 State St. (she added that she does not run an awful business). “I can honestly say my business has picked up tremendously since I started. And I'm not going to rule out the fact that the street has helped.”
Business owners along the mall believe reopening the street has reduced safety concerns, drawn increased attention to the area and allowed customers easier access to the storefronts.
“It's the best of both worlds,” said John Stevens, owner of Spirits at 20 State St., noting that the new mall allows traffic to pass through, while still retaining the aesthetically pleasing aspects of a pedestrian mall.
Kim Pearson, owner of Nash's, said her customers appreciate being able to park along the mall to visit her store. Pearson said the change also improved safety in the area. When the strip was a pedestrian mall, she said the area encountered a lot of problems with vandalism and safety issues.
“People stop me to say how much they love the State Street Mall because it's a safer place to be than it was before,” she said. “Now, it's not people just hanging around in a dark street looking for trouble. It's people walking through.”
It was exactly a year ago when the State Street project was completed, but the Kalet's building and several smaller office buildings remain vacant. The city is hoping that someone will soon see potential in the Kalet's building, which has been vacant for years. Steve Lynch, director of the city's Office of Planning and Economic Development, said the city will be putting out a request for development proposals soon for someone to take over the city-owned building.
And some see the Red Cross move as a beginning. The chapter, which moved from its old location along West Genesee Street, relocated to 11 State St. The chapter had previously been located in downtown in 1917.
Stevens said the Red Cross's arrival to the mall was progress for the street.
“That's a start,” he said. “We hope that more people will come and add to this area.”
The question still remains: How do you attract new tenants to State Street?
For the Red Cross, one the biggest draws was that the street is easy for people to find. Executive Director Susan Marteney said the Red Cross looked at 12 spaces across the city and settled on the State Street location because it best fit the chapter's needs and because the mall provided a user-friendly location.
“It helps to have a recognizable place,” she said. “It's convenient for our customers.”
Naumann has likewise benefited from the location.
“I've used it to tell people where I'm at,” she said. “It's like a landmark.”
Yesteryears opened just before the renovations were completed last year. When Naumann first looked at the site, the construction was somewhat daunting, but she realized the potential of the area and felt she could capitalize on the prime location.
“It was just chaos. If you're a person with a vision, you can see things completed,” she said. “It's had to have had an impact on visibility.”
Jody Gula, owner of Gula's Clock Shop, wasn't so optimistic about progress, however. Because of high rents, parking issues and a spread-out downtown area, Gula said downtown wasn't the most attractive area for a potential business owner.
“I don't think you'd ever see another true business person here,” Gula said. “It's hard to run a business in Auburn, New York.”
However, he added that if the downtown area improved the parking situation - including adding more parking along the mall - and if the rents weren't so high, that the area would be more business-friendly. Gula situated along the mall last fall, moving from another location downtown. The space was one of the few he could afford in the area.
Real estate agent David Yaman, whose office is handling three of the vacant office buildings previously occupied by First Niagara Bank, said the offices are generating interest - the issue now is finding the right fit, he said. The Red Cross's building was also handled by Yaman.
“There has been activity,” Yaman said. “It's a matter at this point of finding the right fit. Sometimes, that's not easy.”
Yaman is advertising the offices on his Web site as “located on the new pedestrian mall in downtown Auburn.” Beautification efforts, he said, can help a lot with selling an area to potential buyers.
“It establishes the image of the occupants of the property,” he said.
Auburn's planning department is gearing up for a more extensive project throughout the entire downtown starting this spring, with similar intentions.
The city is also working to complement its redesign efforts to spur development by assisting current businesses with facade improvements, by providing funding to the BID to perform demographic analyses and by continuing to work with individual businesses, Lynch said.
Sandra Craner, executive director of the BID, said the organization has been using demographic information as a tool to assist potential business owners - the report gives information about consumer spending habits in the downtown area for various categories.
The BID also has money available through the New York Main Street grant to assist business owners downtown with facade improvements.
Craner believes the mall re-design and the entire revitalization project, in general, will greatly help the BID's efforts - the entire re-design, she said, could be especially helpful in attracting smaller “mom and pop” stores.
“Aesthetically, it's 200 percent different than what it was when it was a pedestrian mall. The feeling and the niche of the area are some of the biggest attractants,” Craner said. “It feels like home.”
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
“You can be an awful business, but location is everything,” said Kathy Naumann, owner of Yesteryears at 24 State St. (she added that she does not run an awful business). “I can honestly say my business has picked up tremendously since I started. And I'm not going to rule out the fact that the street has helped.”
Business owners along the mall believe reopening the street has reduced safety concerns, drawn increased attention to the area and allowed customers easier access to the storefronts.
“It's the best of both worlds,” said John Stevens, owner of Spirits at 20 State St., noting that the new mall allows traffic to pass through, while still retaining the aesthetically pleasing aspects of a pedestrian mall.
Kim Pearson, owner of Nash's, said her customers appreciate being able to park along the mall to visit her store. Pearson said the change also improved safety in the area. When the strip was a pedestrian mall, she said the area encountered a lot of problems with vandalism and safety issues.
“People stop me to say how much they love the State Street Mall because it's a safer place to be than it was before,” she said. “Now, it's not people just hanging around in a dark street looking for trouble. It's people walking through.”
It was exactly a year ago when the State Street project was completed, but the Kalet's building and several smaller office buildings remain vacant. The city is hoping that someone will soon see potential in the Kalet's building, which has been vacant for years. Steve Lynch, director of the city's Office of Planning and Economic Development, said the city will be putting out a request for development proposals soon for someone to take over the city-owned building.
And some see the Red Cross move as a beginning. The chapter, which moved from its old location along West Genesee Street, relocated to 11 State St. The chapter had previously been located in downtown in 1917.
Stevens said the Red Cross's arrival to the mall was progress for the street.
“That's a start,” he said. “We hope that more people will come and add to this area.”
The question still remains: How do you attract new tenants to State Street?
For the Red Cross, one the biggest draws was that the street is easy for people to find. Executive Director Susan Marteney said the Red Cross looked at 12 spaces across the city and settled on the State Street location because it best fit the chapter's needs and because the mall provided a user-friendly location.
“It helps to have a recognizable place,” she said. “It's convenient for our customers.”
Naumann has likewise benefited from the location.
“I've used it to tell people where I'm at,” she said. “It's like a landmark.”
Yesteryears opened just before the renovations were completed last year. When Naumann first looked at the site, the construction was somewhat daunting, but she realized the potential of the area and felt she could capitalize on the prime location.
“It was just chaos. If you're a person with a vision, you can see things completed,” she said. “It's had to have had an impact on visibility.”
Jody Gula, owner of Gula's Clock Shop, wasn't so optimistic about progress, however. Because of high rents, parking issues and a spread-out downtown area, Gula said downtown wasn't the most attractive area for a potential business owner.
“I don't think you'd ever see another true business person here,” Gula said. “It's hard to run a business in Auburn, New York.”
However, he added that if the downtown area improved the parking situation - including adding more parking along the mall - and if the rents weren't so high, that the area would be more business-friendly. Gula situated along the mall last fall, moving from another location downtown. The space was one of the few he could afford in the area.
Real estate agent David Yaman, whose office is handling three of the vacant office buildings previously occupied by First Niagara Bank, said the offices are generating interest - the issue now is finding the right fit, he said. The Red Cross's building was also handled by Yaman.
“There has been activity,” Yaman said. “It's a matter at this point of finding the right fit. Sometimes, that's not easy.”
Yaman is advertising the offices on his Web site as “located on the new pedestrian mall in downtown Auburn.” Beautification efforts, he said, can help a lot with selling an area to potential buyers.
“It establishes the image of the occupants of the property,” he said.
Auburn's planning department is gearing up for a more extensive project throughout the entire downtown starting this spring, with similar intentions.
The city is also working to complement its redesign efforts to spur development by assisting current businesses with facade improvements, by providing funding to the BID to perform demographic analyses and by continuing to work with individual businesses, Lynch said.
Sandra Craner, executive director of the BID, said the organization has been using demographic information as a tool to assist potential business owners - the report gives information about consumer spending habits in the downtown area for various categories.
The BID also has money available through the New York Main Street grant to assist business owners downtown with facade improvements.
Craner believes the mall re-design and the entire revitalization project, in general, will greatly help the BID's efforts - the entire re-design, she said, could be especially helpful in attracting smaller “mom and pop” stores.
“Aesthetically, it's 200 percent different than what it was when it was a pedestrian mall. The feeling and the niche of the area are some of the biggest attractants,” Craner said. “It feels like home.”
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
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