Ford School professor and director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy Stephanie Leiser and PhD candidate Keion Harris outline ways in which Detroit can lure national retailers to the city.
In a piece for The Conversation, they note, "Detroit's borders encompass 139 square miles, a footprint large enough to fit Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco combined. Yet, unlike these other urban centers, Detroit has a relatively low number of national "big-box" retailers. Outside of the city's downtown and midtown business districts, there exists one Home Depot, two full-sized Meijer locations and a Meijer mini-market within the city."
To attract more chains to the city, they outline several strategies that would address targeted entertainment taxes to lower general business rates, grants for subsidizing up-front improvement costs, and incentives to hire local residents.
They conclude, "Detroit could effectively model an incentive-based program to create a virtuous cycle of attracting national and regional retailers while simultaneously increasing wages for residents."
You can read the article here.
