Empty storefronts in Medford
Sunday evenings are primetime for canvassing. The Sunday after Medford's Porchfest, about two weeks ago, was rainy. Nobody's not home on a rainy Sunday evening. Most canvassing encounters are from pleasant people who are pleased to accept the literature and hear my well-practiced 30-second pitch. They can sometimes turn into more extended conversations; it's difficult to tell at a glance who knows a lot about the internals of the city and will really press the candidate for information.
My favorite encounter that day was with a woman who was all smiles when she came to her doorstep. "Oh!" she said, "Wow, you're a city council candidate, and now you're here right on my doorstep." I gave her my normal pitch, about how I'd like to get more affordable housing and increase revenues in the city. "Yeah. So, how do you make that happen?" I talked about more specific policies, and she seemed to start to really like me when I discussed the idea of a commercial vacancy tax to do something about empty storefronts around Medford. "You're coming onto my porch and using the term 'speculative squatting'!" She really got a kick out of that. It turned out that she had been on a few of Medford's boards and knew a lot about the mechanisms by which development projects are routinely blocked in the city. We spent about 20 minutes chatting before I walked back in the rain to pester her neighbors.
These empty storefronts, owned by landlords who would prefer to not sell, are an ongoing issue in the city, particularly South and West Medford. It's not just buildings that sit unoccupied; there are also establishments that are ostensibly open but in reality are not. Last year, I purchased a cheap watch from the internet. I needed to get some links removed so that it could fit my wrist. I live a block from a jewelry store, so I decided to visit that. But the jewelry store was closed. It was closed on a weekday in the middle of the day. I visited again the next day. It was still closed.
Before I needed to go to a jewelry store — I usually do not — I had never noticed this. Afterward, I started to pay attention. In a given week of seven days, this particular storefront was closed about seven of those days. I asked a few of the older folks around about it. One said that the owner had had it for fifteen years and never needed to use it. Another said that the owner is a full-time bookie. Moreover, their responses indicated a lack of concern, an acceptance that the jewelry store, closed almost every day on prime commercial storefront property, was perfectly A-OK.
I'm picking on Main Street Jewelers because I happen to live nearby. There are other instances of dead storefronts in Medford in areas that could be booming. A bit further from the road from me is the shopping center across from Tufts Park. There are a few tobacco shops around there and other properties up for rent, but very little going on. This is a prime area to bring commercial businesses in. Colette's Bakery is just down the road, in the middle of the suburbs and across the street from a gas station. It has a line down the sidewalk every Sunday morning, and sometimes it takes half an hour just to get a cup of coffee and a muffin there.
West Medford is similar. This was brought to my attention by Ilene, the woman who hosted my kickoff party in May. There's a dry cleaner that's been closed for a year and a half. She told me that the owner was charged with a crime; so, it’s just sitting there, unused. At a meeting I had with the mayor, she told me about a few other instances of landlords around Medford unwilling to sell or do much of anything with commercial properties.
The solution to this problem, which I outline in my platform, needs to involve both carrots and sticks.
The stick: Medford needs a commercial vacancy tax for these properties. Landlords have every right in the world to own these properties. They purchased them, and if they're not going to do anything with them, that's their decision. But sitting on storefront property without ever using it ought to be an expensive decision. This includes both property that is closed and businesses that are never actually open.
The carrot: Medford needs more city staff to undertake the task of actively reaching out to more businesses to come into Medford. These landlords need good businesses to rent or sell to. This is why Malden has had so much success with their downtown area — a city staff that regularly reaches out to businesses to set up shop in their downtown area. Medford does not have the staff to do that at the moment, and we need it. A person in that position would pay for their own salary several times over in the long run. This is how we increase revenues and put Medford in a better financial position.
