Carefree Truth

Issue #353, November 7, 2014

 

 

 

Kevin Kugler from Michael Baker International gave a presentation in the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion addressing the Baker Study: Town of Carefree Village Center Master Plan.  He thanked the staff and Council, and was pleased by the great turnout.  The purpose of this Plan is to help improve and ensure prosperity for the town's core business district.  The slides from the Power Point presentation are included in the video at the end of this Issue. 

 

 

 

Mr. Kugler presented an overview,  which was followed by "Round Table" discussions with residents and business owners.  Each table was hosted by a member of the consultant teams.  Michael Baker International, the Project leader, specializes in Master Planning and Urban Design.  ESI Corporation specializes in Marketing Analysis and Economic Development.  LL Consulting specializes in Downtown Promotion and Organization Strategies.  Stella Polaris specializes in Land Use Planning and Code Analysis.  Mike Sabatini is a Transportation Planner and Engineer who is examining the circulation and access components.

 

 

 

The Study Area reached from Tom Darlington Drive to Cave Creek Road to Bloody Basin Road.  This encompasses approximately 40 acres and currently contains 176 businesses.  1/3 of the businesses are retail/restaurant, and 2/3 are offices.  The ideal mix is 50/50.  Many of the cornerstone pieces for momentum are already in place.  The purpose of the Baker Study is to build the momentum.  People and customers attract more businesses. 

 

 

 

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Study in December of 2013 helped to lay the foundation.  ULI recommended a Master Plan Vision.  Carefree is doing a great job on special events.  The Carefree Desert Garden and the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion are fabulous facilities.  Town enhancements of the Pavilion, the addition of street lighting, signage, and free WiFi collectively define momentum and the sense of place. 

 

 

 

The Baker Study is taking a 4 phase holistic approach.  Phase I is Evaluation and Analysis.  Phase II is Revitalization and Design Strategy Development.  Phase III is Implementation Strategy.  Phase IV is Final Plan Development. The 4 Point Approach includes Organization, Design, Economic Restructuring,  and Promotion.  The Design element is already in place.  An organized plan would be implemented with the cooperation of the stakeholders (landlords and business owners).  Economic restructuring examines the market, the retail tenant mix, anchors, and draws.  How is the town projecting and branding itself?  Promotion involves business retention and new business recruitment, marketing, joint advertising, and special events.  It examines how to best package these to get "bang for the buck".  The objective of the meeting was to provide background on the Master Plan process, explore the economic composition, review the preliminary results of the first consumer survey, and hear the public's thoughts on priorities.

 

 

 

There are 1134 workers employed in Carefree who live elsewhere.  994 workers live in Carefree and commute to work.  18 live and work in Carefree.  

 

 

 

Tracking the sales tax collection trend for the past 3 years found that restaurant tax revenue has fallen off significantly in the past year, demonstrating a need for more restaurants.  Retail has been flat, but there was a recent small up-tick.  Arts and entertainment are doing slightly better too.  I pointed out that the recent dramatic drop in restaurant revenue was two part.  Carefree Station, a very popular restaurant, closed due to a financial disagreement with the landlord.  Saba's Mediterranean closed because the owner is a senior flight attendant with U.S. Air.  When U.S. Air merged with American Airlines, Oscar was transferred to the East Coast.  His family's health insurance is provided by the airline.  However, a great new restaurant, Carefree Bistro, opened in the spring, and has been quite successful. 

 

 

 

The graph showed Carefree sales tax excelled for Lawn & Garden/Supply Stores, and for Beer, Wine, and Liquor sales.  Ace and Lowe's accounted for the former.  An audience member asked if Basha's was included in the latter.  The answer was yes.  But all other categories were "leaking" to neighboring communities.  Carefree is 8.5 square miles, with a potential "trade area" of 147.78 square miles.  There is a lot of opportunity.

 

 

 

 

Baker International sent out an Internet consumer survey recently, and felt they received an excellent number of responses.  The top 3 utilized business types were grocery, dining, and festivals.  17% of respondents said they visited Carefree businesses 1 or more times per week.  23% came 1-2 times per month.  60% rarely or never shopped or dined in downtown Carefree.  53% dine out 2 or more times per week.  20% dine in Carefree 1 or more times per week.  51% shop at the Basha's Center 1 or more times per week; 53% shop at the Scottsdale Summit that often.  28% said they shop in Carefree once every few months; 40% drive to Kierland Commons every few months.  78% wanted to see more variety in the Carefree shops.  60% wanted more restaurants. 57% wanted a better selection of goods.  The most desired community assets were shows in the Pavilion, culinary festivals, and performing arts venues.  Respondents complained about the lack of consistency in store hours but felt that Carefree is ahead of most other towns for desirable design.

 

 

 

The meeting then proceeded to the "Round Table" discussions.  Each table had a discussion topic, and the table hosts asked prompted questions.  Every 15 minutes people were asked to move to a different table, and to vary the occupants, rather than those at each table all moving together, to get a wider range of input.  The 5 topics were Vision Planning, Urban Design, Circulation and Access, Economic Base, and Special Events.  Those discussions will help Baker International move on to the next phase of the study.  Results were not shared at this juncture.        

 

https://vimeo.com/110865383

 

 

 

Lyn Hitchon

 

 

 

 

Prepared by Carefree Truth

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