'Mr. Downtown' Ed Shaffran weighs in on state of downtown Ann Arbor

Posted on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:58 a.m.

'Mr. Downtown' Ed Shaffran weighs in on state of downtown Ann Arbor

By Paula Gardner

Downtown Ann Arbor is known throughout Michigan for sustaining vibrancy through the recession.

But at the same time, we’re seeing a number of recent retail changes in the city’s central business district. In the months after Borders closed for good, several store and restaurant closings (and a few openings) have made news.

Many are centered on or near East Liberty, and they range from startup This N That to the newer Sole Sisters to the 40-year Parthenon Restaurant.

A recent AnnArbor.com editorial cautioned in the headline, “Don't push the panic button: Ann Arbor's downtown is evolving, not floundering.”

The changes made me want to know what Ed Shaffran — still known in some circles as Mr. Downtown from his days on the DDA — thinks about downtown Ann Arbor, circa 2012.

I wanted his quick assessment of the district, since I’ve seen him as a very conservative investor and cautious about the country’s financial outlook - and also as a very focused downtown booster.

Here are some excerpts from a recent conversation we had about downtown.

Ed Shaffran

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Of all of his answers, the one about downtown not expanding caught my attention the most. I’ve found it interesting that many proposals over recent years attempted to “stretch” the traditional boundaries of downtown, but they’ve met with little success.

So far, at least, his assessment seems to be true.

We’re hearing about a lot of changes downtown right now. What’s your read on it?

Shaffran: Is it a changing of the guard? Is it old concepts just moving on? Every entity that starts has an end date. …. It’s attrition, but maybe taking place a little bit faster than we’ve seen in the past. I don’t see it as a deathknell.

What’s the most perilous aspect of downtown as a business district?

It’s about 100 percent occupied. You do have some little gaps. What would be normal? 7 percent (vacancy) would be high. … That’s still creating an opportunity for somebody new. And a new concept. Once we were overloaded with coffee shops. Then hair salons. Now it’s restaurants.

What surprises you about that?

It’s hard to believe we have 100-some restaurants in the downtown. For anyone who’s been in the community for a long time, we can remember when there were 15-20 in downtown. They won’t all succeed.

The closure of Champion House is one of the latest changes in downtown Ann Arbor.

Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com

Why do you resist restaurants in your Main Street buildings?

Restaurants are fickle. We all know that certainly as landlords.

You said you’re getting many, many calls from people interested in the former Champion House. Will you bring in another restaurant to the space?

If you had a good retailer, you would get my attention right away.

Why?

Less wear and tear to the building. I just have a softer heart for retail. It’s a delicate balance.

Are we going to see more chain restaurants downtown?

I don’t see it … in the Main Street area. Size is the restriction. If you bring in a national purveyor, they’d want (5,000 to 8,000 square feet). Start thinking about the 200, 300 blocks of South Main. Who has that much? Nobody. But you can find 2,000 or 3,000 square feet.

What’s the retail outlook?

It’s going to be tough. Because of the rent rolls that we have, by default, created (when buildings sell for high prices). People paid more and more for buildings. They have go get the rent.

How much more transition will we see in downtown storefronts this year?

A couple more (closings). I don’t think they’ll be any mainstay businesses. There are some businesses that if they didn’t own the building, they’d probably have issues.

What’s your bottom line on downtown?

I’m as optimistic as I’ve ever been. They’re not making downtown land anymore. Whenever there’s a hole, it seems to be immediately plugged with something.

So the recent changes represent healthy change?

There are still people who are livid that the Old German doesn’t exist. Downtown will continue to evolve. That’s the beauty of it. The wonderful thing is that we’ve got people that want that downtown Ann Arbor retail address.

Paula Gardner is News Director of AnnArbor.com. She can be contacted by email or followed on Twitter.

Comments

Oxford Companies

Thu, Mar 22, 2012 : 6:55 p.m.

Oxford Companies just wrote about on the changing downtown scene. You can read about it at our blog: http://buildingannarbor.com/2012/03/19/the-continually-evolving-state-street-scene/

hmsp

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 3:46 p.m.

@revras: ...closing Main Street...?" The extra cost of having to pipe exhaust fumes in for all of the sidewalk cafes would probably be prohibitive...

Stephen Landes

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 9 p.m.

It seems to me that our town is structured along north-south routes: we have the State St corridor through campus and the Main Street corridor through downtown. East-west roads are connectors between these major corridors, but they are not business corridors in and of themselves. When I think of the density of business it peaks along those corridors and each block off the main drag in either east or west direction has declining business and interest. Expanding "downtown" is virtually impossible when there is no draw to walking more than a block off Main. Just think about the festivals we have downtown from Octoberfest to Rolling Sculpture, nothing really extends more than a block either side of Main. It also seems to me that it is difficult to keep a restaurant open more than a block or two off State street -- it's as if no one wants to walk that extra block. If the DDA wants to do something useful for downtown they will put the same kind of effort into developing Fifth as has been done to develop State and Main. That will give people a reason to get off Main Street and walk a couple of blocks. Whatever is a) built on top of the garage and b) built on the vacant land the DDA now is supposed to develop will make or break the expansion of downtown and the linkage between our two north-south business corridors.

UFOfairyologist

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 9 p.m.

I know how to get people downtown. And it hasn't cost the city or store owners anything. ;) If rent was not so high, I'd get more people downtown.

revras

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 7:38 p.m.

The biggest boost to downtown Ann Arbor would come from closing Main street to vehicular traffic from William to Washington during the " fair weather " months of April - October. Creating a pleasing pedestrian mall in this space would do wonders. I cannot imagine why this has not been done already.

Mike Martin

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.

It's been shown in urban design studies that those streets closed and made into pedestrian districts suffer a huge loss in traffic. I'm not sure why, but that's the fact. It seems like it would be attractive and inviting. But, many cities that have experimented with that process have reverted to traffic streets.

hut hut

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:46 p.m.

Ed's a smart and capable local businessman and property owner of several downtown properties. Among other projects he rehabbed and remodeled the downtown Armory, Kline's on Main St, (for those been around long enough to remember) and the old Toyota labs at Broadway and Pontiac Trail into residences. He's never been part of the local political game playing and is a straight shooter. His opinion on downtown and local real estate is relevant and valuable.

justwondering

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 3:54 p.m.

"Don't push the panic button: Ann Arbor's downtown is evolving, not floundering." The term is "foundering" not floundering. A flounder is a fish.

Skylar Woodman

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:46 p.m.

I think most people know what a flounder is. The terms "flounder" and "floundering" are actually legit, and they're in the dictionary. Check it out. <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flounder%5B2%5D" rel='nofollow'>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flounder%5B2%5D</a>

whodat

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 4:12 p.m.

Either word works.

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 3:53 p.m.

From personal experience, I can say that Shaffran is a great landlord. He seems to have his finger on the pulse of downtown, and sincerely cares about the people he does business with, and their success. I, too, would love to hear more from him in the future, on a variety of topics. He always has something insightful to say when asked the right questions.

Mike Martin

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 8:52 p.m.

He takes good care of his buildings too including major renovations on the 300 block of Main where they pulled all that awful metal sheeting from the 50's off the face of the buildings and restored all of the wood, brick, and terra cotta detail. Well done Ed.

xmo

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 3:19 p.m.

What does Mr. Downtown think of the parking situation? Does he have an opinion on the amount of parking and the parking rates charged downtown? Downtown business lives or dies by parking, Maybe Mr. Downtown is not really Mr. Downtown!

say it plain

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:48 p.m.

I'd say that the author here misleads us by calling this a "weighing in", instead of "I had coffee with Ed Shaffran and this is what I recall him saying" ;-)

pbehjatnia

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 2:53 p.m.

Actually, Mr. Downtown works in the kitchen at Zola.

Nancy Reid

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 2:36 p.m.

I have known Ed Shaffran for many years, even in high school. He is a true leader and has always been. When it comes to making the best decisions for what will and does sustain the Ann Arbor downtown area shopping district, he takes a look not only at what currently attracts people to the downtown area, but will attract people in the future. To sustain a vibrant downtown area and a diversified one, is not an easy task. Ed not only has done this successfully for many year, but also takes to heart and personal pride in what he does for Ann Arbor. Ed, continue the great work! ...and to Sallyxyz...first, Ed's last name is ShaffrAn, not ShaffrOn, second, he has no control over all the issues you listed, i.e. police cuts, increased crime downtown, increased parking fees, etc. Those questions would be better addressed to Ann Arbor's Mayor, don't you think?

say it plain

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:47 p.m.

Lol @Mary Ellen O'Keefe, even insofar as her "the most interesting answer" schpiel was related to some further conversational tidbit that she didn't even include here, about attempts to 'expand' downtown by trying to rent out retail space in Ashley Mews or whatever. It looks like she had a casual conversation with Shaffran about whether he's worried about downtown and is 'marketing' it as a "weighing in", which sounds so much more comprehensive and focused.

Newmarket

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 4:29 p.m.

Ed Shaffran is a stand up guy & is a highly respected business person in A2. The lack of depth& substance in this piece is from the writer and not Mr. Shaffran.

cinnabar7071

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 3:22 p.m.

"second, he has no control over all the issues you listed, i.e. police cuts, increased crime downtown, increased parking fees, etc." What he doesnt vote?

Lolly

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 2:14 p.m.

Where's the beef?

Zach B

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 4:45 p.m.

You want more steakhouses?

Paula Gardner

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.

I appreciate the comments from readers asking for more information. We've written a lot about downtown over the past 6 months or so, connected to the serial rapist, store/restaurant closings (and openings) and some of the development issues. I started this with the intention of having a short "companion piece' to that coverage shaped as opinion, with one specific voice, to supplement all of that. I felt some sensitivity to the potential overkill when pulling this together. But I'm also happy to respond to requests to develop some of these themes further in AnnArbor.com's coverage. On a personal level, I find the dynamics of downtown and how it changes (or not) very interesting and important for our entire county. Keep the comments coming ... or even email directly if you like: PaulaGardner@AnnArbor.com thanks!

Paula Gardner

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.

rusty shackelford

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:52 p.m.

Who is this person & why should I care what he thinks? Seemingly vital information missing from this article...

Mike Martin

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.

He is a major downtown landowner. And, he has over the years put a lot of personal energy into the downtown. One year Ed arranged for enormous piles of snow to be removed from Main St. in a particularly harsh winter. The concept was that it was so hard to move around people were not coming downtown and the businesses were suffering. So, clearly, since you've never heard of him he has been far more involved in downtown AA than you have. If you had been there is no question you'd know his name.

hut hut

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 5:44 p.m.

You're obviously not from Ann Arbor., lived here for the last 20 years or kept up with local real estate. Ed's a smart and capable local businessman and property owner of several downtown properties. Amon other projects he rehabbed and remodeled the downtown Armory and the old Toyota labs at Broadway and Pontiac Trail into residences. He's never been part of the local political game playing and is a straight shooter. His opinion on downtown and local real estate is relevant and valuable.

pbehjatnia

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 2:54 p.m.

he is a larger landlord in ann arbor. nothing more. he is also the landlord who left the unpermitted scaffolding blocking the sidewalk on main near starbucks for MONTHS. yeah. another great ann arbor landlord.

Sallyxyz

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:33 p.m.

At least he admitted that high rents are part of the problem for downtown businesses. "Once we were overloaded with coffee shops. Then hair salons. Now it's restaurants." I've lived here 30 years, far longer than Mr Shaffron has been part of the downtown scene, and I do not recall any time when there was an overload of coffee shops or hair salons. Downtown has 100 restaurants, according to Shaffron, and the reason is because they are very high profit businesses and are about the only ones that can handle the high rents. Too bad there were some political answers that even in this short interview were contradictory: "What's the retail outlook? It's going to be tough." "What's your bottom line on downtown? I'm as optimistic as I've ever been." Too bad that the interviewer didn't ask about more of the real issues facing downtown: --Police cuts --Increased crime downtown --Increasing numbers of panhandlers --Increased parking rates --Increased numbers of students living in closer proximity to downtown

Mike Martin

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 8:47 p.m.

Ahh 30 years is not far longer than Shaffranhas been a part of the scene. I owned a Main St. store 22 years ago and he was well established as a land owner at that time.

K Thompson

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:24 p.m.

This is good but could be longer. There are more questions to be asked. Yes, it is interesting, but why does the author say that in the article? If this is a news story, why are there so many "I" comments by the author? Her title says News Director. The article's style is too casual for news.

Paula Gardner

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.

This was written as an opinion piece, not a news story.

B2Pilot

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 12:30 p.m.

Ditto Chip's comment - Was there any discussion of the impact of closing 5th ave for the parking garage. What about all the apt. high rises being built how are they impacting the down town area. Parking rate increases, police cuts... i realize he is a former politician and his answers are going to be watered down but hearing his response would be interesting

Chip Reed

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 12:10 p.m.

@Paula, can you expand on Mr Shaffran's attention-catching answer about downtown not expanding. I couldn't find either the question or the answer in the article.

Paula Gardner

Thu, Feb 9, 2012 : 12:23 p.m.

I was referring to his comment, "They're not making downtown land anymore." Our conversation around that was less focused than much of this, as I pointed out that people have tried: Ashley Mews had vacant retail space for some time, Ashley Terrace still does, the climate for former Maude's (etc) restaurant space on Fourth Ave has changed to where offices may be more viable. Then there was so much conversation in the mid-2000s about developing city-owned land on Ashley, etc. So while I did challenge that statement, we really couldn't come up with a good example of downtown expanding.