05-17-2013, 12:39 AM
What would lure businesses downtown? Think about who lives in Waukegan, what would sell or what services are needed?? The mains street vacancies are not a Wkn only problem. When malls were built in the 70s businesses all over the country moved out of main streets and into the malls. How to compete with Gurnee Mills? It's not an easy answer but a good market research group could figure it out. Downtown stores would be mom and pops, so prices would be higher than mall chain stores. Can you accept that? At least until the Street has boomed enough to attract a chain or two. Would you still buy from the mom and pops to keep the downtown alive? We need to be responsible for our own actions, put out money where our mouth is. We could take our own resident surveys to see what they want to see downtown and would actually use/buy. We need to think practically, not dream to be like some other city. What's wrong with a Mexican/southwestern style boot and hat store downtown? Hopefully they'd carry a few low cost fun items one might buy on a trip to Arizona or Colorado- or just anything people would buy and need. A shoe repair store that also hand crafts purses, wallets, sandals. Would those in power accept and work with such businesses (downtown) or do we/they only want what will make us look like Libertyville? We have to think outside the box and work with all the ethnic groups who live here.