A revitalization of Frankford’s business corridor will require a collaborative effort on the part of business owners, residents and elected officials — at least that’s how the Frankford Business and Professional Association sees it.
With the Ten Principles for Rebuilding Neighborhood Retail, a report published by the Urban Land Institute, as a starting template, the group of business people discussed ways to go about reinvigorating the business district in this lower Northeast neighborhood during the association’s April 9 meeting.
"If we can rebuild our commercial district, we can rebuild our community," Elizabeth McCollum-Nazario, the association’s president, told the group.
McCollum-Nazario said it’s no secret that Frankford has been struggling in the retail department for some time now, something that needs to be recognized before the situation can be remedied.
She came upon the report by the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit education and research institute, while studying ways to revitalize the business community. It is something that spoke volumes about her own community, she said.
"This speaks Frankford . . . this is Frankford," she said.
The 20-plus-page report highlights ways to improve and rebuild neighborhood retail, and gives examples of how municipalities across the country have accomplished such a feat.
One local example mentioned in the report is the borough of West Chester. A caption accompanying a photo of the borough’s downtown business district notes how landscaping and brick sidewalks, like those found in the Chester County community, help to create a more pedestrian-friendly feel for shoppers.
"The decline of neighborhood retailing has had a profound effect on the desirability of many urban neighborhoods and communities," the introduction of the report reads. "The convenient availability of goods and services is a key factor that people consider when choosing a place to live, and neighborhoods without suitable retailing are dramatically weakened."
McCollum-Nazario was not put off by the report, but, on the contrary, said she is inspired to take action. Despite its changing nature, Frankford still can be a place where people can be proud to live and work, she explained.
"It just really speaks to me of what Frankford can be," she added. "We’re never going to have Frankford be the Frankford of the past. Frankford has changed; cities change."
There will be challenges, however, in the group’s attempt to institute change, the primary one that undoubtedly will be zoning. For example, the group envisions something such as a zoning overlay, which could limit the number of similar businesses, as benefiting Frankford’s business district. But the members also acknowledge it would be a hard policy to achieve.
Just the same, the association vowed to press hard in its quest to revitalize Frankford’s retail hub.
"We can actually achieve this if people get together and say, ‘This is a goal,’" McCollum-Nazario said.
She stressed that communities that have been successful in revitalizing their business districts have done so through a collaboration of many groups and individuals. In Frankford, the goal would be the same, she said.
Megan Forrestal, a past president of the business association and a current board member, said that for changes to take place within the business community, both merchants and residents must work together to make that happen. People have to feel as though they have a stake in their neighborhood, she said.
"There are people who are staying here and want to remain here," Forrestal said. "If you can rebuild your neighborhood retail, you can rebuild your residential (component)."
Another association member, the Rev. Jonathan Clodfelter of St. Mark’s Church, at 4442 Frankford Ave., said he lived for 12 years in Alexandria, Va., a community that implemented changes similar to those highlighted in the Urban Land Institute report. The changes worked wonders for the town, Clodfelter recalled, and he urged Frankford people to take enough pride in their community to want to spur positive change.
"In my mind, what has to be done is the whole community buys into the vision," he said. "Without that, we perish. People without vision perish."
McCollum-Nazario said the problems facing Frankford are not unique to only Frankford; the entire city, and other municipalities across the country, are continually faced with similar issues. But the fact that many communities are rebuilding their main streets and downtown districts gives areas like Frankford hope.
"We need a vision. We really do need a vision. We need to market Frankford as a place where you really can have a business," she said.
Association member Debbie Klak, president of the Historical Society of Frankford, said rebuilding the business sector could be a starting point in revitalizing other areas of the neighborhood.
"Things are really deteriorating a lot in Frankford," she said. "We’re losing a lot."
Tracy O’Drain, manager of economic development programs for the Frankford Community Development Corp., pointed out that smaller, family-run businesses represent a strong segment of the commercial district, rather than the big box stores that are being built elsewhere.
"Mom-and-pop shops are what make an area like Frankford successful," she said.
O’Drain said that reality should be reason enough for community members — many Frankford business owners also live in Frankford — to want to be active in the neighborhood’s revitalization.
Another challenge facing a possible revitalization effort, aside from zoning, is funding.
"We have our work cut out for us," McCollum-Nazario conceded.
Upgrades to the business corridor, she said, will have to be financed by a public-private partnership. According to McCollum-Nazario, the last time any kind of master plan was done for Frankford was in 2000. It was briefly revisited in 2005, but no changes have been made since then, she added.
McCollum-Nazario suggested that the group look into Transit Oriented Development, or Transit Oriented Design, a popular trend emerging nationwide that seeks to create walkable communities around places with a train system or other modes of public transit. Frankford, of course, is home to a leg of the Market-Frankford El, the elevated train system that has been a staple of the community for decades.
Whether it’s looking into Transit Oriented Development, seeking zoning changes or taking other steps that will help revive Frankford’s business community, association members say something needs to be done to help the neighborhood regain its luster.
"I think we can do it here; I believe we can do it here," McCollum-Nazario said. "I believe we have to do it to save our community." ••
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com