3 - Downtown Mast Plan Discussion

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III. The Assets and Challenges of Downtown In 2003,the businesses in Pequot Lakes had over$16 million in taxable sales and retail and service businesses represented over $7 million of those sales. The majority of the retail and service businesses in Pequot are located in downtown. The location of these businesses has created a unique situation in downtown. Anchored by Government Drive, the east side of downtown has developed to cater more to the tourist and visitor population.Many of the business located in this area are considered destination retailers. They include gift and boutique type retailers, restaurants, and other speciality retailers. The majority of businesses on the west side of downtown cater to the daily needs of Pequot Area residents including banks,a grocery store,and many other services. The natural segregation of businesses creates some interesting challenges and opportunities to developing a cohesive plan for downtown. Strengths and Opportunities With the park as a buffer between the highway and businesses, downtown is laid out in a manner that grants Government Drive a high level of visibility from Highway 371 and Main Street. This visibility equates to increased desirability for business, which is evidenced in the quality of investments and construction along the Drive. Although the businesses along Government Drive continue to thrive there,there are other businesses downtown that struggle to get traffic. Finding ways to get visitors from Government Drive and other popular downtown locations to other, less known, locations downtown would be a benefit. Government Drive should serve as a gateway into the East side of downtown,welcoming foot traffic. Providing infrastructure that invites visitors into downtown along Main, Butler and Oriole Streets from Government Drive should increase foot traffic. Infrastructure improvements could include improved crosswalks, trees, plantings and benches. Signage would help increase the visibility of businesses not on Government Drive. Kiosks with maps of business locations and types could also be used to introduce visitors to what downtown has to offer. Downtown Pequot, especially the east side, has many unique destination type retailers. These businesses share many of the same customers and each customer will typically visit many shops during a visit to Pequot. Destination businesses feed off the traffic generated by each other. An increase in the number of these businesses will only create more traffic and sales for Downtown Pequot. With a grocery store, four banks, a hardware store and a variety of other services, the downtown offers the basic services Pequot area residents and businesses need on a daily or weekly basis. The service-based businesses on the west side coupled with the more destination type business generally located on the east allows the downtown to offer a full spectrum of services. This spectrum of services creates traffic downtown during the slower seasons of the destination retail businesses.While the service based businesses share many of the needs as the more destination or tourist based retailers,their customers expect a higher level of convenience in their shopping experience Challenges to Success Parking Like many downtowns, Downtown Pequot has historically experienced a parking problem. As development continues downtown, the parking problem will increase. Parking demand is Pequot Lakes Downtown Plan—Updated June 2011 9