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Zephyrhills' strategy depends on researchBy Times staff writer © St. Petersburg Times, published February 15, 2001 Downtown Zephyrhills is experiencing growing pains. The new bricks, palm trees and street lights are up along Fifth Avenue and the city received a second $600,000 grant to expand its downtown beautification. So, everyone is asking, where are all the people? It's a premature inquiry. More appropriately, the information to find out is: Where do the people come from who do go downtown? How old are they? Do they have offspring at home? How much disposable income do they have? What drew them? How many people drive through Zephyrhills on U.S. 301, but never turn east into the newly refurbished business district? What businesses exist now? Without those answers, the city and business leaders cannot properly devise a marketing strategy for downtown. A pair of economists from the Center for Economic Development Research at the University of South Florida briefed Zephyrhills' merchants, city officials and Downtown Main Street board Tuesday evening on the value of research. The information vacuum is not unique to Zephyrhills, the county's second-largest city. The county's economic and tourism development councils also lack hard data on demographics, visitors, and spending habits to use for business recruitment. That information is to be compiled in a just-commissioned study on the feasibility of a self-supporting multipurpose center in Pasco County. Its findings will be pertinent to all of Pasco, including Zephyrhills. Credit the business interests with being proactive. Tuesday's meeting came even though there is little unoccupied space downtown. But a sense of urgency exists because a pair of longtime downtown institutions, Neukom's and the Army-Navy store, plan to downsize or close. Merchants want to attract retailers, rather than professional office space, as replacements. Instead of hitting a panic button, the focus must be on patience. The city can't expect customers to flock downtown just because the construction dust has cleared. Likewise, the Main Street group shouldn't slap together a marketing plan to meet an artificial deadline set by business owners. Which gives pause to the recent public sniping about accountability and downtown special events. The discord is more a matter of impatience than performance. Forming a merchants group to promote downtown events is a logical step. Such a group exists in Dade City, along with a chamber of commerce and Main Street organization, and promotes the successful Christmas in July event. It would allow Main Street Zephyrhills to work on all its mission planks, not just promotional events. But once the public is lured downtown, the business groups must survey the customers to obtain some of the demographic information needed to help attract a quality restaurant or significant retailer to act as the commerce anchor. Working to bring people to downtown Zephyrhills is fruitless if there is no reason for a return visit.
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