Not content to reconstruct its downtown streets and bring fairs to the city to attract local residents and people from across the region, Peabody has unveiled an innovative plan to boost its economy.
The Lease It Local program supported by the Peabody Chamber of Commerce and MassDevelopment is aimed at expanding and diversifying downtown businesses. The initial MassDevelopment grant amount is $30,000. That money could be the primer activating economic growth in the city.
Peabody’s economic strength lies in its restaurants and established service businesses, said Chamber President Deanne Healey. But the city can significantly expand downtown’s attractiveness to businesses and consumers by bringing in different types of businesses.
Healey knows what she is talking about. She views the Chamber not only as a tireless advocate for local businesses but also as an institution devoted to developing and encouraging new generations of entrepreneurs.
Her ability to work with city officials and state economic development experts is a testament to Healey’s and the Chamber’s understanding of Peabody’s economy. Part of Lease It Local’s goal is to help match landlords with vacant or underutilized ground floor space in their buildings with underrepresented local businesses, including clothing boutiques, performance spaces for dance, theater or art galleries, and reused home furnishings.
Peabody can take a tip from Lynn when it comes to bringing these types of businesses downtown. The Downtown Lynn Cultural District has accelerated arts and performances and welcomed to Lynn cafes and exactly the type of furniture business Peabody hopes to attract to its downtown.
The Lynn Museum in May, 2016 hosted a forum to discuss how to make “creative economies” part of local business landscapes and downtown in cities like Lynn and Peabody. The forum brought together innovative thinkers from The Creative Economy Association of the North Shore, the Enterprise Center at Salem State University and Montserrat College of Art to answer the same questions Peabody Chamber and city officials have been asking.
Peabody has spent millions of dollars to reconstruct downtown streets and improve the area’s appearance. It is now ready to commit a relatively small amount of money in public spending terms to bring bigger changes to downtown.
It is time for residents who shop or eat downtown to add their voices to the discussion and offer property owners, city and state officials and Chamber members their perspectives on improving the area and on thinking differently about how to bring more people downtown.