I believe one of the reasons Downtowns are becoming popular again is that they are among the last places in America where you can actually be surprised. Where in this country anymore can you find a place, or store, or district that isn’t predictable? How many chain stores, how many housing developments, how many strip malls do you have to pass before you begin to ask: haven’t I been here before? Downtowns aren’t immune; too many are trying to compete with suburbs by imitating them.
Let’s say clearly and without question: Downtown Albany does not want to be a franchise. Downtown Albany does not want to be “McCity.” We want to be a group of diverse people who are creating varied businesses that can’t be imitated. And we should hold ourselves accountable to support our local businesses by shopping local. If you just talk about neighborhood hardware stores and spend all your money at Home Depot, you’re not going to have a neighborhood hardware store.
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