A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF WESTSIDE PARK

Part I of an Exploratory Study to Establish a Special Improvement
District on Springfield and South Orange Avenues, Newark, NJ

Report to the Corinthian Housing Development Corporation and New Community Corporation

May 11, 1998

Project Community Center for Urban Policy Research Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Civic Square 33 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1982

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction to Study
• Methodology
• Description of Study Area
• Boundries
• Demographic and Economic Indicators
• Population Indicators
• Income Indicators
• Physical Description
• Street Conditions
• Building Conditions
• Transit Accessibility
• Land Use Distribution
• Property Tax Analysis
• Study Area
• Property Classification
• Property Size
• Property Assessment
• Current Market Value
• Physical Inventory
• Types of Businesses
• Current Business Conditions, Assistance, and Networking
• Business Needs
  
• Appendices
• APPENDIX 1: STUDY AREA COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL USE
• APPENDIX 2: AUTO OWNERSHIP
• APPENDIX 3: BUSINESS AND POPULATION DENSITY
• APPENDIX 4: CONVENIENCE STORES
• APPENDIX 5: YEAR OF HOUSING STOCK BUILT
• APPENDIX 6: TRAVEL TO WORK PATTERNS
• APPENDIX 7: MEDIAN HOUSING VALUES
• APPENDIX 8: MIXED-USE BUILDINGS
• APPENDIX 9: VACANT LAND/BUILDING INFORMATION
• APPENDIX 10: MERCHANT SURVEY
• APPENDIX 11: TRANSIT ACCESSBILITY
• APPENDIX 12: TYPE OF PROPERTY OWNED

Executive Summary

Corinthian Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) and New Community Corporation (NCC) are two non-profit community development corporations located in the Central Ward of Newark, NJ. Both organizations have dedicated themselves to the economic, social, and physical revitalization of the Central Ward. Last year, CHDC approached Project Community to develop a strategic revitalization plan for the West Side Park community of the Central Ward. As part of this project, students provided an analysis of the Springfield and South Orange Avenue commercial corridors. This analysis included an inventory of physical conditions, an assessment of local business needs, and the creation of a guide to business assistance programs. This year, CHDC and NCC approached Project Community to explore strategies for the commercial revitalization of Springfield and South Orange Avenues. Specifically, Project Community was asked to explore whether the creation of a Special Improvement District (SID) is a viable strategy for assisting businesses along these commercial corridors, based upon the unique conditions of the area and the experiences of other SIDs throughout the region. Project Community was also asked to make recommendations for how a nearby business incubator could support commercial revitalization efforts in West Side Park. NCC is currently in the process of creating a business incubator that will be located at one block from interstate highway I-280 and several blocks from downtown.

In designing the research study, two research groups were formed. The first group dedicated itself to understanding the purpose of a SID, its organizational structure, and the steps typically involved in its formation. This group also concentrated on researching the best practices of successful nearby SIDs (see Volume II). The other group focused on West Side Park and collecting information about the business community from merchants, community actors, and other sources.

This volume reports on the findings of the " West Side Park " group. The research goals were to: update and expand upon last year's inventory of physical conditions; assess the current tax burden of businesses; determine what kind of assistance businesses already are receiving and what additional needs they have in regard to marketing/promotion, accessing information/networking, accessing financial resources, and ensuring security; and understand how merchants prioritize these needs. To collect this information, the "West Side Park" group developed surveys, organized focus groups and interviews, conducted a physical survey, analyzed Census and transit data, and reviewed tax records.

The findings contained in this volume suggest that in terms of its physical characteristics, West Side Park has not undergone any significant change from last year's study. Not surprisingly, we found that the overall number of businesses present along Springfield and South Orange Avenues, the mix of business types and their length of residence, the existence of vacant land or buildings, and the accessibility of transportation all remained relatively stable over the past year.

We also found several important findings about the current practices of merchants along Springfield and South Orange Avenues, and the level of assistance they are currently receiving from each other or from outside providers. These include:

• Few merchants use or are even aware of technical and financial business assistance programs. The overwhelming majority of all merchants have not applied for money from the city or other sources to improve their business, and are not aware of any programs that provide assistance to improve their business.
  
  
• Merchants are surviving with little outside support. The majority of merchants do not belong to any merchant, business, or trade associations. A significant portion also do not talk to anyone, beyond family or friends, about their problems facing their business.
  
  
• There is more than can be done to help merchants promote their businesses. Currently, only about half of all merchants advertise their business, and a significant portion draw the majority of their customers from the neighborhood.
  
  
• There appears to be a degree of complacency about city-provided services, such as police patrols and lighting. This conclusion is drawn from the satisfaction most merchants expressed in regard to city-provided services. Yet, most of these same merchants also identified services such as police patrol, sanitation, and street lighting, as top priorities for the neighborhood and their business.
  
  

Our research also identified the needs of merchants along these commercial corridors, and the gaps that exist with federal, state, and local business assistance programs. As mentioned, we also collected information to better understand how merchants prioritize their needs. Some of the major findings include:

• Merchants are suffering from a lack of financial resources. Over a third of merchants reported that increased access to capital was one of the top priorities for their business.
  
  
• Money for Physical Improvements and Hiring Additional Employees are top priorities for businesses. These were the top two needs identified when merchants were asked how they would use additional financial resources, such as a bank or Small Business Administration loan.
  
  
• Crime and a lack of sanitation continue to be major problems for businesses. Merchants identified increased police/security patrols and sanitation as two of the most important improvements for the neighborhood and therefore, for their business. Merchants also singled out burglary, drug dealing, and loitering as the type of crimes or activities that adversely affect their businesses.
  
  
• Merchants recognize that larger economic issues are impacting their businesses. Merchants reported that creating housing and job opportunities, and attracting new businesses to vacant storefronts are all essential components to the neighborhood's revitalization and the creation of a larger customer base.
  

In addition to the obvious conclusion about the need for additional financial resources, our findings also reflect some of the psychological barriers that need to be overcome in a commercial revitalization effort. For example, the lack of networking, the absence of collective action, and the complacency with city-provided services indicate that merchants may have low expectations and some trust issues among themselves and with outsiders. However, many of the strengths identified by last year's study continue to exist and serve as important reminder that there are assets upon which commercial revitalization can be built. These include the tenure of businesses along the commercial corridors, the high level of property ownership that houses their business, and the desire for expansion.