Designing for our next tenant

I am playing with layouts, materials and systems to finish out the other two suites within the Blackwater Overlook building of Davis Riverwalk. Hypno Coffee is doing well in Suite 1, primarily due to the fact that they are well-conceived and well-run business. Additionally, the attractive and high visibility location has helped them add new customers and keep growing right on through the relocation.

For the remaining space in BW Overlook I'm thinking of one small suite, maybe 325-400sft, and one large space of about 1,100sft. Down the road I think Riverwalk would benefit from having its sales and management office in the smaller space, but we can put a starter business in that space for 2009+.

Financing is a major issue in the market we are living with, and will always be a sanity check on future phases of the project.

"Someone" once said something to the effect of, "what does it matter what the tenant business does as long as they pay rent?" Well, it matters bigtime for Riverwalk because the businesses need to attract residents, weekenders and vacation visitors alike. For example, an appliance repair store may be of interest to residents but is of little interest to weekenders here for some fishing. Conversely, a touristy "made in WV" gift shop may be of interest to a tourist but does not interest the weekender, never mind the local. Granted, each business may lean toward one of these demographic spheres, but I want to make sure Riverwalk has a relevant lineup of tenants so that Davis continues to position as a relevant town to all three groups: residents, second home owner/weekenders, and tourists.

Does the business offer something that will be desirable to the present and future population of Davis and the Valley? Does it attract the people who actually spend money on the goods or services it offers? Does the business take a positive step toward defining what downtown Davis is and will become over the next decade?