Planning for commercial districts is at the mercy of property owners and trends beyond place

The Toronto Globe and Mail has an interesting article, "Picture show is just the sideshow," about how the Cineplex Odeon chain in Canada is repositioning what they do, adding bars, or other entertainment options (bowling, etc.) to provide potential customers with more choices.

One of the things I have been working on lately is a five point orientation to commercial district planning based on:

1. Use categories
2. Mix of retail, services, attractions
3. Customer segments by origin
4. Customer demographic (age, household type)
5. Retail mix by time of day.

But as a commercial district revitalization professional, much of this is controlled by property owners, business practices, and trends in the industry.

One of the things that made Dupont Circle a destination was two theaters, the 5 screens at the south exit of the Dupont Circle subway station, and the Janus at R St. and Connecticut. Now neither exist, providing fewer reasons for people to go to Dupont Circle, and this has impact during other dayparts as well.

Similarly, a movie theater can have special matinees, say for parents and children (and/or nannies) during the day, bringing people to the commercial district and activating the street. Etc.

But activity needs to be constantly replenished, in order to reach new audiences and to replace those customers who for whatever reason aren't coming back.