What does it mean to the effort to lure back small businesses to Haltom City?

HALTOM CITY, TX, September 19, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ — When a farmer wants to know which parts of his farm are most productive, he calculates yield per acre for the sections of the farm and compares. You would think that cities would make similar comparisons to determine which parts of the city are most productive using value per acre. However, even though a company called Urban3 does this type of modelling for cities, most city leaders don’t do the analysis.

If they did, they would discover that the most productive parts of the city are not the big box stores and large distribution centers out by the highway but rather the older areas with a lot of small businesses at the city’s core.

What else does the modeling of cities by Urban 3 show? According to Charles Marohn, Jr of non-profit Strong Towns: “The team at Urban3 has modeled hundreds of cities around North America. This massive data set has revealed a near-universal set of trends, results that are consistently observed in cities of all sizes, in all geographies, using all taxing systems, across the continent.”

• Older neighborhoods financially outperform newer neighborhoods, especially when the old neighborhoods are pre-1930 and the newer neighborhoods are post-1950.
• Blight is not an indicator of a lack of financial productivity. Some of the most blighted neighborhoods are also the most financially productive.
• Poorer neighborhoods tend to financially outperform wealthier neighborhoods with some exceptions for highly gentrified areas.
• For cities with a traditional neighborhood core, the closer to the core, the more financially productive the neighborhood.
• The more floors a building has, the greater its financial productivity tends to be.
• The more auto reliant the development pattern, the less financially productive it tends to be.

Haltom United Business Alliance Founder Ron Sturgeon said, “One move that Haltom City can make to become a stronger town is to lure back the small businesses that have left South and Central Haltom City. Filling the older vacant buildings will require Haltom City to have a better value proposition that surrounding cities to attract startups and to get businesses to come back to the corridors.”

Haltom City Council members have stated repeatedly that business owners who don’t reside in the city have no seat at the table on ordinances affecting them or in the planning process. “This disconnect is why Haltom City has a 30% vacancy rate in a main corridor, and declining south and central parts of the city,” states Joe Palmer, communication director for HUBA.

HUBA has suggested a series of reforms including adopting form-based codes, eliminating parking minimums and changing the city’s use matrix to help make Haltom City the most business friendly city in Haltom County. Thus far, Haltom City Council has not acted on those proposals.

“Haltom City should engage Urban3 or a similar company so that they can get real data or the sections of the city that are the most productive based on value produced per acre,” said Sturgeon. “If they did that, they might find a way to focus efforts on both the newer and the older parts of Haltom City.”

About Haltom United Business Alliance
Haltom United Business Alliance (HUBA) is a group of business owners dedicated to representing existing business interests in Haltom City and promoting the growth of diverse businesses as well. Innovative strategies are needed to create a strong tax base and enhance quality of life for residents, city employees, and business owners. All Haltom City business owners are eligible to join HUBA. For more information, contact Joe Palmer at (682) 310-0591 or by email at [email protected] or visit the group’s Facebook page at Haltom United Business Alliance.

About Make Haltom City Thrive Again
The Make Haltom City Thrive Again website offers information and resources about its purpose and goals. For more on Sturgeon’s personal ideas and background, check out his book Keeping the Lights on Downtown in America’s Small Cities and watch the videos on his Facebook page. Ron is also the founder of the Haltom United Business Alliance (HUBA) which represents existing business interests in Haltom City and promotes growth of diverse businesses as well. HUBA is not a political action committee and does not endorse candidates. If/when Ron endorses candidates, he will do so on his own with the Make Haltom City Thrive Again organization.

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