Beyond Phase II

If merchants believe that their efforts thus far have impacted both the neighborhood and their individual businesses, they will most likely be interested in setting goals beyond those set out for Phase II. The experience of other neighborhood-based commercial revitalization efforts indicates that it will take more than five years for merchants to be ready to set new goals and take on additional challenges. This section is intended to provide some goals that may be appropriate for later stages of the revitalization effort, although the dynamic nature of the process makes it difficult to suggest what types of programs should be implemented to achieve these goals. In West Side Park, merchants will probably need to focus on:

• Further expanding the clientele of their businesses
  
  
• Establishing a business environment in West Side Park that attracts private investments to reduce the number of vacant lots and properties;
  
  
• Improving the streetscape on Springfield and South Orange Avenues so that the neighborhood's commercial corridors can more successfully compete with Broad Street in Downtown Newark and Irvington, just west of West Side Park
  
  
• Establishing the coalition of merchants as a non-profit organization
  
  
• Hiring staff to perform some of the tasks that volunteers performed in Phase II, such as publishing a merchant newsletter, coordinating joint advertising and joint promotional events, and interacting with partners beyond the community.
  
  

One vehicle for addressing these goals is the creation of a SID. Part II of this report describes both what a neighborhood needs to form a SID, in terms of financial resources and technical abilities, and the potential of a SID to accomplish the goals mentioned above. Not all commercial revitalization efforts have the capacity to establish a SID because of their limited financial resources and the lack of a critical mass of businesses in one geographically distinct area. The ability of merchants and community-based partners to implement the strategies recommended in Phases I and II and build the capacity necessary to lead a long-range revitalization planning effort will determine whether forming a SID is the most effective strategy for moving beyond Phase II in West Side Park.