Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) Chair Margaret Boyle along with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Chief Development Officer (CDO) Tim Sheehan today announced the hiring of The Retail Coach, a national retail recruitment consulting company to advance efforts to attract quality retail and restaurant tenants to downtown Springfield.
“The SRA reviewed multiple proposals for this work, and The Retail Coach stood out as the most qualified with a strong, action-oriented approach,” said Chair Boyle. “We are excited to partner with their team to attract new businesses and fill vacant storefronts, helping to strengthen the heart of downtown Springfield."
This project will focus on the Main Street corridor, from Harrison Avenue to Union Street in the Court Square Urban Renewal Plan, though it is expected the benefits of the work will extend beyond the focus area. The Retail Coach was founded 25 years ago and has been dedicated to helping municipalities across the country enhance their retail markets as an integral part of city economic development and community growth efforts.
“We are very focused on improving retail offerings and creating jobs for our residents in Springfield,” said Mayor Sarno. “This work will help set the stage to attract retail and restaurant tenants, both local and national, to our downtown to offer new services and experiences to our residents and visitors alike.”
The company utilizes tools including mobile data surveys to analyze consumer demographics and trade areas, fully utilizing the reports and data that drives retail site selection. They have direct contacts with national, regional, and local retailers that align with community needs while supporting commercial development by providing developers with detailed site profiles and valuable insights from retail prospects.
The project will focus on the activation of vacant and underutilized ground floor spaces in the project area, which is surrounded by major visitor attractions including MGM Springfield, the MassMutual Center, and Springfield Symphony Hall.
“We’re thrilled to begin work in Springfield,” said C. Kelly Cofer, Founder & CEO of The Retail Coach. “Our company is committed to improving economic development outcomes in cities across the country and we believe Springfield has a tremendous collection of assets that will benefit from our work.”
The Retail Coach has already begun its initial data review efforts and this week has been on the ground in Springfield visiting the focus area and starting stakeholder engagement. In addition to data compilation and analyzation the team will be developing a retail recruitment strategy, identifying and connecting with potential retailers, designing of recruitment collateral, and will undertake stakeholder engagement.
“This effort is about the curation and activation of our ground floor spaces in our downtown,” said CDO Tim Sheehan. “Springfield has many significant attractions and established businesses, and this project will help build off of these with additional tenants to help deliver an even stronger retail core.”