| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD Creating niche business areas or districts will be the subjects of an economic development seminar sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on Sept. 6. "Creating Great Downtowns and neighborhoods," will feature David Milder, president of DANTH, Inc. of Kew Garden, NY. The seminar is free, but pre-registration is necessary and will be presented from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the TD Banknorth Conference Center on Main Street. To register, call Samalid Hogan at 781-6045. Hogan explained to Reminder Publications that Milder's approach to reviving a downtown area concentrates on first assessing the market and then building niche areas. Just as a major city such as New York City has retail and wholesale businesses clustered together in districts Milder seeks to do something similar in smaller cities, she said. DANTH, Inc.'s Web site lists client communities in Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California and Vermont. According to a 1996 article in "The Rutland (Vermont) Business Journal," DANTH, Inc. recommended creating niches in downtown Rutland that could have cooperative market in order to continue to draw consumers with the opening of a major shopping mall. A wedding niche proved to be successful and an upscale restaurant niche followed that. Hogan said some of the niche areas Milder will discuss in Springfield include a wedding niche, a "pampering" niche, and an antique niche. She said that part of creating a niche includes improvements to an area such as better signage. Hogan aid the seminar should give more tools to local officials for redeveloping downtown Springfield. |
