Like many U.S. cities, Vancouver, Washington lost downtown retailers when suburban malls became popular. The city is in the midst of trying to turn that situation around.
A recent Vancouver Columbian report addressed the city’s patient campaign to return retail trade to downtown.
The downtown waterfront has attracted some 44 dining and drinking establishments the past five years but retailers have not flocked to follow the development, according to the story. Limited parking and retail vacancies too large to accommodate startup retailers have hindered the retail recruitment effort, the article reports.
At the same time, two downtown farmers markets are beginning to generate the foot traffic retailers need to locate downtown, according to the report.
