Rising Rents
Rising rents and increasing turnover of properties have left many local businesses struggling to find new, affordable accommodations, local business owners said. \n"More and more of the city is being owned by a select group who are raising rents," said Jaime Sweany, who owns the downtown store Wandering Turtle Art Gallery, referring to the recent acquisitions of land by Finelight Inc. and the Chicago-based Tartan Realty Group. The two companies purchased the locations of Ladyman's and Jiffy Treet, respectively.\n"They will rent to whoever can afford it," Sweany said. "They'd rent to me if I could. But small businesses can't afford the rents."\nIn recent years, the amount of downtown housing has exploded, said Lisa Abbott, Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Development director. New apartment complexes brought more student and nonstudent residences into downtown Bloomington, especially since Smallwood entered the scene in fall 2005. \n"I think it was a trend, one that we're still in, where urban downtown living is the 'thing,'" Abbott said. "People are interested in living downtown where there is access to shopping, restaurants, bars and work." \nThe influx of more downtown residents has led to increased business and a rise in the value of property in Bloomington, said Gary Shelley, interim president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation.\n"I think (property) has increased in value because there is more traffic and more potential, then, for making money," Shelley said. \nIncreased value can lead to higher rents, Shelley said. And smaller businesses can usually not afford to purchase the buildings themselves because they do not have the capital for such a large investment, he said. \nThough in the case of Ladyman's Cafe, the owners were never given the opportunity. Early last June, Reynolds received a letter telling her that the location had been sold to Finelight Inc. and that all leases would have to be negotiated through the new owner. \n"Being a lifelong tenant of a building, you'd think we'd be offered that chance to purchase the building before anyone else," Reynolds said. "But we were never made aware of the situation." \nReynolds' lease expires Dec. 31, and then Finelight will tear down the building and construct a five-story office space for the company. The building will also have some retail space, which they will rent out, Reynolds said.\nReynolds said they were told that if Ladyman's Cafe could relocate somewhere else for the next year, Finelight would rent it a space in its old location after they finished construction. But Reynolds said that option would be prohibitively expensive.\nFinelight did not return calls by press time. \n"Moving back is not something we'll be able to do -- the rents will be so much higher that it will be out of our league," Reynolds said. "It is such a loved and cherished place; why can't they just make it affordable for us to stay?" \nSimilarly, Jiffy Treet will leave its Kirkwood location after Tartan purchased the property, which it intends to tear down and replace with a three-story mixed purpose building, Jiffy Treet owner Hartzell Martel said. Though Martel could have purchased the building, he declined based on cost and a desire to invest elsewhere, he said. \nMartel was also offered the opportunity to rent the space his shop originally occupied, but it would have been only about half as large as his previous shop, he said, and the rent would have risen considerably. Still, he and wife Hilary understand that it is part of business.\n"It is an unfortunate situation, but these people are in business to make money," Hilary Martel said. "You can't blame them."\nProperty values and rents respond to market pressures, Alano said. Both landlords and businesses must react accordingly.\n"Landlords certainly must respond to the market in terms of pricing rent for their properties in order to make their businesses viable," Alano said in a e-mail. "In that same vein, businesses that need to rent space must factor rent into their business model."
Business Impact\nStill, others see new business as a positive for the rest of Bloomington business owners. Pete Smith, the owner of Soma and Laughing Planet, which sell specialty coffees and California-style burritos, believes the influx of competitors has increased his business.\n"One thing that I've noticed is that with a company like Starbucks and Chipotle, they have name recognition," Smith said. "People seek them out, then see other options and are more likely to try those things than if they'd never been downtown." \nDowntown Bloomington now boasts a variety of Mexican restaurants, from local chains La Bamba and Tacos Don Chui to the larger franchises Chipotle and new Qdoba, but Smith, who has worked at the businesses since 1995 and owned them since 2003, says he is busier than ever. \n"Having thriving downtown businesses helps everybody," he said. \nGreg Rago, managing owner of Nick's English Hut, agreed, though he said he is not concerned about losing his business because the history of Nick's and the fact that the original owner's family still owns the property. The bar has been located on Kirkwood for 79 years, he said. \n"The more places there are to eat and shop down here, the better," Rago said. "It makes downtown more of a hub." \nSweany, the owner of Wandering Turtle Art Gallery, disagreed. She said eventually the price of rent will drive them out of business entirely. And many newer locals cannot afford to relocate, she said. \n"If that happened to me, I'd have to close," Sweany said.\nStill, spokesman Ed Schwartzman of Buffa Louie's, however, does not worry about what Sweany calls a "trend." Though Buffa Louie's rents from the IU Foundation, which recently declined to renew the Den's long-term lease because of "issues in their business relationship," he said Buffa Louie's is just concentrating on serving up great food. \n"You can worry yourself to death, but you can only control what you can control," Schwartzman said. \nAs for competition, he said, it will always be there, regardless of who it is. \n"We know there is always going to be competition -- if it isn't another chain, it'll be another mom and pop shop," Schwartzman said. "We are not thrilled to death if a big chain moves in next door, but we aren't scared."
Solutions\nBloomington residents need to do their part for the businesses, Sweany said. While she said there is a select group of people who conscientiously support local enterprises, more people need to do the same. \n"People take (local business) for granted and don't always support it in a way they could and should," she said. \nConsumers should also consider where their dollar will go, Sweany said. Shopping locally helps their neighbors and the community as a whole. \n"The money we make goes into the community," Sweany said. "That's the difference. It is imperative to have people who care about the community occupying these spaces."\nThe city also needs to make a "concerted effort" to protect the small businesses of Bloomington by keeping the cost of rent down, she said. Though she said she is not against seeing Bloomington's economy grow, she fears the town will lose its uniqueness.\n"It is going to be a sad day real soon when Bloomington is full of chains and loses its character," Sweany, who has lived in Bloomington since 1978, said. \nDespite losing one of his shops, Martel did not entirely agree, however. \n"I would not like total rent control," Martel said. "But the critical thing is to find a way to make it worth small business's while to stay."\nAssistant Economic Director Denise Alano said in an e-mail that the city has a number of different avenues for small businesses needing assistance, including a low-interest loan program.\n"The City works closely with the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development and other business support organizations to make sure that small businesses have access to knowledge, resources, expertise and practical tools to help them operate their business in the most feasible and sustainable way," Alano said.
The Future \nSweany, who opened the Wandering Turtle four years ago, said she enjoys a good working relationship with her landlord, who has not made any overtures toward raising her rent or terminating her lease, she said. Still, she cannot help but worry about the future. The same goes for other small business owners she has talked to. \n"It is very stressful to think that your entire fortunes lie in how a landlord decides to use the property," Sweany said. \nMeanwhile, the Den -- rechristened as "Campustown" -- has moved to a new location on Walnut Street, and Jiffy Treet is looking for another location in Bloomington, though three others already exist throughout the town.\nBut it seems unlikely that Ladyman's will ever reopen. Reynolds said she can't imagine opening the restaurant anywhere else. \n"You never know, maybe after I've healed," Reynolds said. "But we've been in this location almost 50 years. You can't take that history with you"
