During a Peters Township Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week, a packed crowd of curious business people heard township manager Mike Silvestri address the immediate and long-range future of the township. His presentation detailed revenue projections, housing starts, infrastructure needs and new business ventures.
Many of the items he talked about were simple to figure out. For one, without correcting problems soon, most intersections in the township will be overly problematic within the next decade. For another, bucking the national trend, housing starts and sales are down slightly but certainly not out.
The interest of many in the room was peaked when Silvestri spoke of the commercial development the township is now witnessing. Several new strip-mall type buildings are being erected or proposed, particularly in the Route 19 corridor. Council has already approved an additional traffic signal at Dam Road to handle some of the additional traffic expected with a new retail development in that location, with an additional promise of synchronizing all the traffic lights from Waterdam Plaza through Donaldson's Crossroads.
We're encouraged to see this retail explosion and certainly welcome it into the township. Peters has long been known for its strong residential foundation and it's nice to have a stronger business and commercial base to balance that equation.
What concerns us, and, when asked, seems to be a concern for Silvestri, are the empty existing commercial buildings. On a larger scale, these include the former La-Z-Boy building, Prizant's Carpet and Maggie's Building Solutions. On a smaller scale, there are empty store fronts in many of the business plazas both on Route 19 and in other commercial plans within the township.
Lack of parking and cost seem to be the largest obstacles to filling these empty spaces. With the bigger structures, while the building may be conducive to many types of businesses, there is not enough space to accommodate customer parking as regulated by the township. Because of the popularity of Peters Township, some smaller businesses are being priced out of the market for the empty storefronts.
Both from a residential and business standpoint, there is certainly a lot to offer in Peters Township, including a low and stable tax base. We understand that bright, shiny and new is attractive. It can lure in business which may be turned off by old and needs improvement. It can certainly enhance the landscape of a community.
Considering all the empty structures, let's not forget the flipside to all that. We don't want the township to become dotted with any more white elephants with darkened windows and closed signs on the doors.
Other communities offer incentives to attract businesses. While that's not a problem in Peters Township, maybe its time to offer incentives to those who could fill these empty spaces. It just may sway companies into taking advantage of the buildings that are already part of the township's landscape.