The old Ben Franklin at Boulder Run
The Ben Franklin stores, a chain of individually owned retail stores found in small towns across the country, are reminiscent of a bygone era. Born out of a catalog business in the late 1800s, the retail stores emerged in the 1920s and became one of the first retail franchises in the country. Named after Benjamin Franklin because of an admiration for thriftiness, honesty, and ingenuity, today’s leaders in business and government will need to summon up that same spirit of entrepreneurship and pragmatism Ben Franklin exercised in both policy and process.
Most towns have master plans for the re-development of their downtown areas that reflect growing trends in planning . As senior citizens continue to live longer, more independent lives, and as baby-boomers near retirement, the appeal of local shopping becomes stronger. Parents, time-constrained by work and children, do not always have the time required by pedestrian malls like Garden State Plaza which require a lot of walking. Adult and teen consumers are both looking for a shopping experience that offers the vibrancy of the urban with the characteristics of the small town.
This new desire for the old is reflected in the growing popularity in what are called “lifestyle centers”. Although the term sounds as if the complex will be housing stores selling New Age music, granola, and wheat germ, it’s really a mall meant to invoke a “downtown street”. It could be argued that some strip-malls in the area aspire to the term, but it would appear the Franklin Lakes mall anchored by The Market Basket actually delivers. The Paramus Park Mall is planning an 89,000 square foot “lifestyle center” mall.
Rear renovations of Wyckoff's Ivy Shop
The majority of towns in Bergen County seeking to plan for the evolution of their business districts are planning for future generations. Without a large influx of capital funded by an already overburdened tax-base, most grand,master plans will remain tucked away in filing cabinets. Financial restrictions are only one obstacle; the courts, as Westwood recently learned, are another. The town there recently lost a lawsuit to prevent a large tract of land from being consumed entirely by a bank rather than developing the property to create more vibrancy by encouraging cross-shopping amongst retailers.
Pedestrian malls were the first threat to a town’s downtown area, and that threat has now been replaced by the all-in-one big-box stores that offer clothing, groceries, furniture, computers and every other imaginable product required for modern day living. The re-invention of down-towns will be relying on the availability of specialty services and the convenience factor, both attractive elements. Immediate efforts by government might return greater results with less reliance on planners, and more engagement with business owners and residents who can offer different perspectives.
The Eden development in Oakland
New Jersey is a very unfriendly place for business. As the state struggles to find sources of revenue to pay off its staggering debt, small business owners often receive the brunt of hidden taxes that continue to cut into tight profit margins. Bigger companies in particular are seeking out greener fields; Oakland’s International Battery recently opened a new factory in Pennsylvania after getting the cold shoulder from Trenton. Offering some of the “green technology” that both political parties declare will be the impetus for a rejuvenated national economy, International Battery took their 25 million dollar investment and created jobs in our neighboring state.
It is the retailers though who provide the face of a town’s character, and as many residents are aware, change can be both welcomed and resented . Oakland’s Eden development started off with dismay at the clear cutting of trees that left some residents in a state of shock, and it appears to lack the mixed-use residential component hoped for in the master plan. While the new developments at Wyckoff’s Boulder Run experienced debate as to size and design, the expansion underway at the Ivy Shop is mostly exempt from criticism due to a design that apparently incorporates itself into the existing retail landscape.
New sod across from the old Callahan Travel
Franklin Lakes will soon see some changes at the critical corner of Franklin Avenue and Colonial Road. The long empty Callahan Travel appears destined for the wrecking ball. Although a quaint building with an historic charm, its empty windows did nothing for the appearance of the small,dated strip-mall it borders. Great anticipation awaits what will happen here and in the other towns.
The words of William Orville Douglas immediately prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court may provide important inspiration for both local and national policies.
“We believe that there is one economic lesson which our twentieth century experience has demonstrated conclusively-that America can no more survive and grow without big business than it can survive and grow without small business…. the two are interdependent.”