West Downtown: Businesses Struggling, Surviving

Tom Clark has run for nearly 30 years in west Dearborn. First on Monroe, his store moved a few years ago to the West Village Commons just off of Michigan Avenue in the heart of west downtown.

But come 2013, he says, Village Framing may be gone–at least from Dearborn.

"My lease is up in December," said Clark, who will likely retire soon, leaving his daughters in charge of the business. "If there’s not some change between now and then, we’ll leave.”

Unfortunately for west downtown, Clark's story is not uncommon.

In October, closed after 18 years in business. In November, Dearborn's abruptly closed its doors, citing a "bad economy" and telling customers to visit their location in Allen Park. In December, the UPS store two doors down moved west to a new location–still in Dearborn, but out of downtown.

The owners of are retiring, but according to DeepsaidWhat.com, that process was sped up by a lack of business in recent years.

That's not to say some businesses aren't surviving–even thriving–and the city is still optimistic about downtown Dearborn's future.

"Downtowns have that special role," said Economic and Community Development Director Barry Murray. "They continue to be the heart and soul of the community–the community meeting place. We have two of them, which doesn’t make it any easier, but that’s just the way Dearborn is."

Dearborn's Problem, or Nationwide Epidemic?

Dearborn isn't alone in its downtown pain–but according to city leaders and business owners, it also has a set of problems all its own.

The Detroit Free Press reported Jan. 29 that overall in Michigan, retail vacancies fell from 10.4 to 10 percent from the beginning to the end of 2011.

According to the Dearborn Economic and Community Development Department's vacancy registry–which records any commercial or industrial property that has been unoccupied for more than six months–there are 286 vacant properties total in city limits. With around 3,000 total businesses in Dearborn, that puts the city's vacancy rate near 10 percent.

The number of vacancies in what would be considered the west downtown district isn't a statistic kept by the city; however, a disproportionate number of those vacant properties–95 out of 286–are located on Michigan Avenue, which encompasses the bulk of both east and west downtown.

However, Murray pointed out that the nature of downtown districts is that businesses are always coming and going.

"Downtowns are always evolving, always reinventing themselves, and often occupied by very independent business people," he said.

And it's clear that the country and state's dismal economy has affected business, from large corporations to mom-and-pop shops. But what's up for debate are the specific factors contributing to west downtown Dearborn's plight.

Landlords, Parking, Economy Blamed

Recent show that paid parking usage dropped by more than 15,000 transactions from 2010 to 2011. To some, it's evidence that the system is keeping business away from the district.

"Our rate change did make some impact," said Scot Mooney of Republic Parking. "People are noticing the changes and they’re changing their behavior."

Dearborn City Councilman Bob Abraham, however, believes that too much emphasis is put on paid parking's role in businesses leaving west downtown.

"There are multiple reasons (downtown is hurting)," he said. "Paid parking is one of them, but it’s not the only problem.”

”If you’re operating your business the same way you were five years ago, you’re probably going to go out of business"

Among them, Abraham named the downsizing of Ford Motor Company in the late 2000s, as well as the fact that both Dearborn downtowns have a major thoroughfare running through them–Michigan Avenue–which affects their walkability.

"We're not in an Ann Arbor or Royal Oak location," he said.

Murray agrees.

"It’s a smokescreen," he said. "We look at other systems … and typically, if you have products and services people want, parking is incidental. People go and spend $50 or $100 to go out for drinks and dinner and whatever–a couple bucks for parking is not an issue."

Moreover, Abraham pointed out that paid parking was supported by business owners and approved by voters some six years ago.

“It was not done covertly," he said. "People knew about it. Merchants and developers wanted it.”

Some business owners–Clark of Village Framing among them–place much of the burden of rebuilding downtown on landlords.

"We need to bring more business in," Clark said. "Landlords have to give some incentives. The city can’t do it–how can they make a landlord lease their properties? A lot will say they’re selective about who comes in, and I understand that. But we need more galleries. We need clothing. Restaurants and bars are good, but we need the mix."

From his work with downtowns, Murray pointed out that "retail is often the first thing you lose and the last thing to come back."

However, he agreed that some of it may rest in the hands of landlords.

"My sense is that the people who own the project are trying to boost rents and they’re causing people to move out where they can get a cheaper rent," said Murray. "It’s a very competitive environment around here and I’m not sure that everybody is addressing their properties with the same level of intensity."

Businesses: 'Do Everything to Survive'

Abraham admits that the economy is tough. The paid parking isn't helping the situation. The closures hurt the survivors.

His advice to existing businesses? "You have to do everything to survive now."

For , it's validating parking for customers. For , agressive marketing is key. For Village Framing, it's their loyal customer base that keeps them afloat through hard times.

"If you’re operating your business the same way you were five years ago," said Abraham, "you’re probably going to go out of business.”

Murray sees it simply: "It’s got to be clean, you’ve got to have merchants in there who know what they’re doing, you’ve got to have tenants that aren’t running crummy businesses, and everybody’s just got to be pulling together for this common goal."

But, Clark pointed out, some things are out of business owners' control–especially closures of surrounding shops.

“The businesses that we have left are holding in there, but we need new business,” he said, adding that every new vacancy hurts those that are left. “With UPS and ColdStone closing, I’ve lost business.”

Part one in this series on west downtown Dearborn explored the financial status of the paid parking system. .

You can find more articles from this ongoing series, “Dispatches: The Changing American Dream” from across the country at The Huffington Post.