The Strategic Edge, Inc. out of Southfield, Michigan was contracted by the Monroe Downtown Development Authority to conduct a Retail Market Analysis.  The following is the Executive Summary of the plan which was completed in July of 2001.  For further information, please contact the Main Street office at mainstreet@ci.monroe.mi.us, or (734)240-2458.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CONCLUSIONS

The City of Monroe  The City of Monroe and Monroe County have exhibited economic stability in recent years.  There have been no large shifts of employment on a sector basis, unemployment rates, in general, have improved since 1991, and per capita personal income has shown continual growth from 1988 to 1998.  Part of the reason Monroe has had a stable economic base is its location between Toledo, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan metropolitan areas.  As a result, Monroe’s working population participates in the Monroe, Toledo, Detroit, and Ann Arbor job markets.

Downtown Area Definition.  The Strategic Edge based our marketing evaluation on businesses that were located within the Central Business District (CBD) of Monroe, Michigan.  For purposes of this study, the downtown area consisted of the following street segments:

• Front Street from Harrison (west) to Scott (east)
• Monroe Street from the River Raisin (north) to just beyond Second Street (south)
• Washington Street from Front Street (north) to Second Street (south)
• First Street from Harrison (west) to Macomb Street (east)

Current Downtown Space Allocation.  The table below shows the estimated square footage by retail category of the existing Monroe downtown area.

 ESTIMATED SQUARE FEET BY CATEGORY

Category	Estimated Square Feet	Percent
Shopping Goods	78,967	43.5%
Food/Liquor/Services/Restaurants	28,010	15.4%
Personal Services	1,932	1.1%
Entertainment	7,950	4.4%
Food/Grocery/Convenience	1,464	0.8%
Building Materials & Supplies Dealers	1,998	1.1%
Drug & HBA	1,932	1.1%
Other	29,299	16.2%
Vacancies	29,844	16.5%
Total	181,396	100.0%

Approximately half of existing Monroe square footage was categorized as shopping goods retailers.  Approximately one-fifth were food services.  Another one-fifth of street level properties were available or vacant.

 

Intercept Survey.  In mid-April, two staff members of The Strategic Edge conducted intercept surveys in Downtown Monroe.  The goal of the intercept survey was to establish the trip purpose and ZIP Code of downtown patrons so that a trade area could be defined for the downtown area.

The intercept survey revealed that approximately 40% of persons interviewed were working and/or shopping.  Dining and Business services were the next most popular reasons for being in Downtown Monroe.

 

Trade Area Definition.  A trade area was defined by utilizing intercept survey zip code origin and trip purpose information.  The trade area was defined as the geography from which roughly 80% of patrons of Downtown Monroe originate.  The trade area for Downtown Monroe is comprised of two ZIP Codes.  The primary trade area includes:

• ZIP Code 48161
• ZIP Code 48162

Population And Demographics.  The following table summarizes the 2000 population and demographic characteristics of the Downtown Monroe trade area.

Monroe	Trade Area
Population	55,407
Households	20,614
Median Household Income	$41,813
Income Per Capita	$21,646

 

Competitive Environment.  Like most downtown shopping districts, Monroe faces many forms of competition such as regional shopping centers, big box retailers, and outlet stores.  Downtown Monroe establishments must strive to compete and coexist with these retail formats.  The following are Downtown Monroe’s key competitors:

• Frenchtown Square Mall, Including Elder-Beerman, JC Penney, and Sears
• Horizon Outlet Center
• Kmart, Meijer, Target, and Wal-Mart
• Various big box retailers like Staples, Rex, Jo Ann, Dunham’s, and Lowe’s

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommended Tenant Types & Sizes.  The Strategic Edge evaluated the supply and demand factors which influence the amount and type of supportable retail space in downtown Monroe.  Specifically, we developed expenditure potential for the entire downtown Monroe trade area, evaluated in detail the competitive framework as well as the retail inventory of downtown Monroe, and estimated what market share could be achieved by downtown Monroe.

The following table summarizes the existing space allocation, the recommended incremental space, and the recommended total space.

RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY

	Existing		Recommended
Category	Sq Ft	%	Incremental Sq Ft	Total Sq Ft	%
Department & Other General Merchandise Stores	1,670	0.9%	0	1,670	0.9%
Clothing & Clothing Accessories Stores	15,827	8.7%	4,000	19,827	10.3%
Furniture & Home Furnishing Stores	14,260	7.9%	2,500	16,760	8.7%
Electronics & Appliance Stores	17,984	9.9%	0	17,984	9.3%
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book & Music Stores	7,956	4.4%	5,000	12,956	6.7%
Miscellaneous Store Retailers	21,270	11.7%	5,000	26,270	13.6%
TOTAL SHOPPING GOODS	78,967	43.5%	16,500	95,467	49.4%
Building Materials & Supplies Dealers	1,998	1.1%	0	1,998	1.0%
Health & Personal Care	1,702	0.9%	10,000	11,702	6.1%
All Food & Liquor	1,464	0.8%	1,500	2,964	1.5%
Personal & Other Services	1,932	1.1%	3,600	5,532	2.9%
Food/Liquor Services & Restaurants	28,010	15.4%	10,000	38,010	19.7%
Entertainment	7,950	4.4%	0	7,950	4.1%
Other Retail Services	29,529	16.3%	0	29,529	15.3%
TOTAL NON-SHOPPING GOODS	72,585	40.0%	25,100	97,685	50.6%
GRAND TOTAL-RETAIL SERVICES & ENTERTAINMENT	151,552	83.5%	41,600	193,152	100.0%
Total Available Space	29,844	16.5%	(29,844)	0	0.0%
GRAND TOTAL-OCCUPIED & AVAILABLE	181,396	100.0%	11,576	193,152	100.0%

Recognizing that there is currently 29,844 square feet of space vacant in Downtown Monroe, the recommended incremental space is nominal.  With recommendations representing 41,600 square feet of retail space, there is only 11,756 incremental retail space recommended.

Other Recommendations.  The Strategic Edge developed other recommendations associated with the downtown business district:

• Consider increasing retail space in existing vacancies and as office leases turn over.
• Relocate the Farmers Market to a downtown location.  There are several parking lots large enough to accommodate a farmers market.
• Cluster Antique Stores.  In order to increase the draw of antique and similar stores, they should be clustered in proximity to each other.
• Promote Cross-Shopping.  Downtown Monroe is often used as a single-destination stop for patrons.  Cross-shopping can be promoted with an increased number of retail store adjacencies.
• Buildings along Front Street with their “backs” to the river should be renovated to encourage use along the river.
• In an effort to bring patrons to downtown Monroe on a somewhat regular basis, downtown events should be increased.
• Businesses located west of Monroe Street would benefit from an effort to reduce the barrier effect of Monroe Street.  Increased time for pedestrian crossing, streetscape “softening”, the building of a median, and other actions might made Monroe Street less of a barrier.
• Businesses located immediately west of Monroe Street would benefit from the addition of parking spaces between Front Street and First Street.

The downtown business environment would benefit from an increased number of residential units in or close to downtown Monroe.

Contact Information:
Email us at mainstreet@ci.monroe.mi.us or call us at (734)240-2458