Downtown Lansing Market Study and Strategies

Change occurring in the downtown Lansing district during the past three years has been significant - even dramatic. Lansing Economic Development Corporation commissioned the Downtown Lansing Market Study and Strategies project because it recognized that the completion of a market study that is rooted in “real time” information and emerging trends would be imperative to efforts focused on building a foundation for the continuing and future success of Lansing downtown revitalization initiatives.

The study process is designed to provide a current, real-time snapshot of downtown Lansing today and to offer a glimpse of the downtown’s potential and opportunities for the future, with special emphasis directed toward:

Business Opportunities

The scope and nature of research activities are tailored to explore the downtown’s current and future mix of office and commercial uses – with a special emphasis on potential retail types that could be “top prospects” for retention, expansion and recruitment. Recent and projected demographic and economic trends are being analyzed to zero in on characteristics of targeted consumer segments, existing and evolving retail niches, and both retail and non-retail traffic generators that provide a solid basis for downtown Lansing business development strategies.

Residential Opportunities

National trends in downtown commercial district housing and consumer segments that choose to live in an urban setting offer exciting opportunities for downtown Lansing. Findings from a downtown intercept survey sample collected as part of the 2008 Old Town Lansing Market Study point to high levels of interest in a variety of housing styles that could be appropriate for downtown Lansing. The findings also provided a baseline for additional research being performed to more fully assess development potential and to profile the future downtown residential market.

New City Market Opportunities

The Downtown Lansing Market Study process is directing special attention to the new City Market facility in an effort to examine potential business uses, consumer segments and related marketing strategies that could be important to the new City Market’s success. The process is designed to tap into the existing network and knowledge base developed throughout the new City Market’s development process, and to assess how identified demographic traits, lifestyle characteristics, economic trends and even local movements like Lansing’s “Go Green” initiative could relate to—and offer exciting opportunities for—the new City Market’s “flavor” and “mix.”

The study’s findings and resulting strategies are being couched in the Main Street Approach to Downtown Revitalization.™ Lansing’s Principal Shopping District (PSD) recently adopted a Main Street organizational structure to benefit the many new retail businesses in the immediate downtown area.

Downtown Lansing’s Main Street initiative has been accepted by Michigan Main Street as a first tier-type Main Street organization – that is, one in the beginning stages. The format of the study’s Implementation Strategy is being designed to serve as a “first steps” guide for actions and projects that align with Main Street’s Four-point Approach – a comprehensive downtown revitalization strategy advancing efforts in the areas of Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring.