Arnold “Buff” Chace Jr. | Cornish Associates LP managing partner
When COVID-19 surfaced, the pandemic cut the ties that bound our communities together. Overnight, businesses were without customers, and many were left to create survival plans alone. In downtown, with our business tenants facing the unimaginable challenges presented by the pandemic, we knew our efforts would be critical to their survival.
Here’s what we learned:
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Build space to foster community connections. We design mixed-use properties with homes above businesses, next to offices, in hopes each of these micro-environments overlap to create new connections. This approach builds strong communities.
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Amplify the voices of your business community to connect to customers. Long before COVID-19, we formed InDowncity, our neighborhood marketing initiative. This tool was vital during COVID to reach tens of thousands of people. Through InDowncity, we utilized social media to promote business offerings, be it delivery, curbside, outside or virtual community activities.
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Be flexible day to day and keep your focus on the long term. We helped preserve our retail partners by working together. Beyond providing the immediate rent relief required for businesses to stay operational, our team informed these businesses about federal and state resources to help keep staff employed and their lights on for the months to come.
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Build a team able to bring creative approaches to each business relationship. A one-size-fits-all approach does not benefit our diverse business partners. Business owners and their staffs all have strengths and areas where they need additional support. Our team was responsive and provided solutions to each tenant’s needs. This takes more focus and energy on our part, but the result is healthy, long-term tenancy.