Downtown Suffolk Revitalization Plan through Arts - College of ...

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• Potential Consumer Spending - The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts a consumer
expenditure survey, calculating household spending by category type of spending, including such
categories as food, housing, apparel and entertainment. Income levels are broken out with each
having a different level of spending. Spending is further broken down by percent of income spent
on each category.
• Supportable Square Feet – An Urban Land Institute (ULI) publication, the Dollars and Sense of
Shopping Centers, reports types of retail and service businesses. This analysis uses the
descriptions for neighborhood shopping centers, however, community shopping center numbers
are used when neighborhood sub-category numbers are not available. Included in this report is the
median gross leaseable area for each business category and median sales per square foot. These
categories are merged with the BLS report to create sub-categories, and at the analyst’s discretion
sub-category spending is taken as a percentage of total spending for that category.
• Site Survey – Using the sub categories, a visual survey of all businesses in the study is conducted,
recording the name of the store, the sub-category, and the square footage of the unit. The square
footage is then confirmed through GIS. The survey list has been included at the back of the report
as Appendix A.
• Sub-Category Divisions – The square footage from the site survey is combined by sub-category.
As a sub category business may contain more then one spending type, such as a Supermarket
containing Food at Home, Alcoholic Beverages, and Housekeeping Supplies, each sub category is
split at the analyst’s discretion by the percentage of the store used for each spending type.
• Estimated Annual Expenditures – The total sub-category square footage is added to the final
combined report, illustrating by square footage how many more units could be added within the
trade area. Any sub-category not found in the trade area is added. As several sub-categories in the
ULI report do not list median sales per square foot, the number used in the report is set at the
amount needed to support one unit. The estimated annual expenditures has been included at the
back of the report as Appendix B.
Results
The potential for retail development is dependent upon the existing and available
shopping choices within the trade area as well as other draws outside. The greatest
challenge to retail development in the Downtown area is the presence of three major
retail establishments to the north, specifically Wal-Mart, Belk, and Lowe’s. With low
prices, ample parking, longer business hours, and multiple selections, it is hard for
smaller businesses to compete. Included in the estimate expenditures (boxed in gray) are
potential supportable square feet for future development including estimations from those
three businesses. As illustrated in Appendix B, many retail businesses are no longer an
option due to their presence, such as the Major Appliances category, where an unmet