Dear Editor, I just couldn
’t help responding to the article titled “Downtown Mall
Retailers Wrestle With Their Future.” I understand completely and
I’m not one of them.
Dear Editor,
I just couldn’t help responding to the article titled “Downtown Mall Retailers Wrestle With Their Future.” I understand completely and I’m not one of them. We moved to Morgan Hill eight years ago with the prospects of visiting downtown at least weekly to enjoy a cup of coffee, browse the shops, have a bite to eat, take in a movie, or buy something we could use for our house or give as a gift for a special occasion. Over the years, we have spent less and less time downtown to walk and shop and more time away to Gilroy and San Jose. I don’t think we’re the only ones either.
The painstaking decision to do so began with the closure of Granada Theater. In the above named article, it was mentioned as the primary venue that brought foot traffic downtown. Once it closed, more businesses have felt the pinch to make a profit due to lack of people coming to the center of the city to spend money.
In addition to the Downtown Mall retailers, my wife and I have seen others move away with vacant buildings left in their wake, or new businesses come in only to leave after a few years. We still walk downtown to buy a book, watch a play or eat dinner once in a while, but it hasn’t been the same.
What struck me when reading the article was Mall owner Manou Mobedshani and Mayor Kennedy AGREED the “key” to downtown businesses being successful was insuring residents LIVE downtown. This is the perfect description of placing the cart before the horse.
In my humble opinion, the “key” is having a better mix of retail businesses that appeal to a broader group of consumers! Why four sports bars (when El Toro Brewery moves), multiple restaurants (too many), and little else to attract customers, when Gilroy has every option of business imaginable to attract them.
We live within easy walking distance of downtown and there are numerous other housing tracts and residential areas within three to four blocks of downtown. Residents don’t need to be downtown to walk and shop there. I believe we would gladly spend our money and time to support downtown businesses, but we are “forced” to spend it elsewhere to get what we need and want.
There was much rhetoric a few years ago when the Granada was closing that it was the foundation and the centerpiece of downtown and had to be renovated and reopened. What happened to the City Council’s focus? Unfortunately, it has become blurred and fuzzy. Now, talk surrounds moving forward with retail/mixed businesses at “The Granary,” filling up “Cochrane Plaza” with more retail, and the latest consideration of occupying prime property east of the freeway for – guess what? More retail/mixed use establishments and entertainment.
The death kneel of downtown Gilroy was the closing of the Strand Theater along with JC Penny’s and Ford department stores. I don’t know if Morgan Hill had department stores downtown before we moved here, but it still has the Granada Theater (albeit currently closed).
I propose the City buy out the owners of the theater, have it renovated, and reopened showing foreign/independent/classical films. The city must commit to bringing businesses downtown that have similar appeal to many of those in the Gilroy outlets. We have little left in our redevelopment fund, but I’m confident if the vision is focused on insuring a viable downtown first and foremost, people will support spending more of their time and money downtown instead of driving elsewhere.
Jim Kirkpatrick,
Morgan Hill
