“Placer helps decision makers who are risk-averse acquire the data they need to confidently make their decisions. Its concrete, objective, and granular data gives insights that eyeball estimates and surveys simply cannot offer.”
~ Kristen Fish-Peterson, CEO, Redevelopment Resources
The Challenge
As a result of a COVID-19 recovery grant received from the Illinois Department of Commerce (DCEO), the City of Danville (Danville, IL), issued an RFP for a revitalization plan targeting their downtown area. Intrigued by visitation insights available from Placer, the city chose the Studio GWA/RR consultant team. What insights could RR glean for the city to leverage existing momentum?
Together, they identified three project goals for the city:
1. Identify potential uses for vacant buildings,
2. Increase leverage of existing events, like the popular "First Fridays" that drew thousands of visitors downtown, and
3. Provide actionable recommendations for the city to attract businesses and stimulate economic growth.
The Solution
Placer Void Analysis Data Reveals the Relative Fit of Potential Tenants for Nine “Catalytic” Sites
After geofencing the downtown Danville area in Placer, the RR team analyzed how foot traffic had changed since the pandemic and how residents engaged with the downtown core. Two findings were especially encouraging:
1. Foot traffic had already returned to and beat pre-pandemic visit levels. In other words, downtown Danville had strong post COVID-19 recovery.
2. Visits spiked on the first Friday of each month, a phenomenon they attributed to “First Fridays,” a free monthly event with a variety of themes that attract families and visitors downtown.
Together, these points indicated a strong foundation and positive momentum for Downtown Danville to achieve even greater visitation.
Learn more about Visits Trend
The RR team used GIS data, Placer.ai consumer data, and stakeholder input to study the best options for revitalization, ultimately identifying nine ‘Catalytic Sites’ — buildings with a high suitability for redevelopment that, if redeveloped, could be a major catalyst in the city’s revitalization efforts. The next step: finding the right tenants for these empty buildings.
Using Placer Void Analysis, the team identified potential tenants with a high relative fit score for the catalytic sites, including a bank, coffee shop, home improvement store, steakhouse, Greek and American restaurants, bowling alley, bookstore, and sporting goods shop.
Learn more about Void Analysis
Placer’s Audience Profile Report added more detail, showing that two population segments contribute significantly to downtown visitation: “Autumn Years” and “Families in Motion”. Both segments aligned with the First Fridays event focus, indicating family-friendly tenants in the dining, sports, and home categories would perform well in the catalyst sites.
Learn more about Audience Profile
The Outcome
SUCCESS: City Of Danville Approves and Moves Forward with Downtown Revitalization
Redevelopment Resources published their findings and successfully presented the revitalization plan to the City of Danville. The city approved the plan and is moving forward with the revitalization efforts.
