New focus on helping downtown
Brazilians, MIT work on strategy
Framingham officials and community leaders are applauding a new effort initiated by Brazilian merchants and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help downtown businesses stay open, a move they say is even more pressing now with the recession.
"Because of the general state of the economy, the urgency has struck home," said Ted Welte, president and chief executive officer of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Framingham Downtown Renaissance, an organization that promotes downtown development.
The town's central commercial district has been hampered by the loss of a number of businesses in recent years, a dwindling base of Brazilian customers, and a dismal economy, which has cut business in half for some enterprises.
The Brazilian merchants emphasized that their goal is to promote the health of all businesses downtown, not just the Brazilian ones.
"We want all of the businesses to get involved; we want to work with the Americans," said Dorli Pinto, who owns Ad2 Advertising & Printing Inc.
In partnership with the Community Innovators Lab, a community-oriented research effort in MIT's department of urban studies and planning, the Brazilians have formed a committee with town officials and other community leaders and are in the process of starting a merchants association. The committee is creating marketing campaigns for special occasions, such as Valentine's Day, Easter, and Mother's Day, in an effort to draw more customers downtown.
In a recent show of community support, the Framingham Public Library is giving $1,000 to the Brazilian merchants for an upcoming business workshop.
The money is part of an $8,000 grant from the Sudbury Foundation to help newcomers in town, said Julie Heagney, coordinator for Literacy Unlimited, a volunteer program housed in the library.
"It's important economically to downtown and we wanted to do what we could to promote their prosperity," Heagney said.
Over the past two years, a number of Brazilian businesses have closed in the downtown area, say community leaders and merchants. But neither the chamber nor the town knows exactly how many have been forced to shut down. The town is preparing to take a survey of downtown businesses, said senior planner Erika Oliver Jerram.
Nubia Gaseta, co-owner of Party Flowers, a business that sells flowers, cakes, and offers photography services, has been operating in downtown Framingham for 12 years. She said she has seen at least 20 Brazilian businesses close over the past two years.
The merchants say their dwindling client base has to do with Brazilians moving back home and the worsening US economy, which has contributed to an informal economy that has caused competition for products and services. This has forced many of the merchants to reevaluate their offerings and broaden their client base.
"First of all, we're in the United States and we have to adapt to this reality," Gaseta said. "We have to reach American customers."
During the town's annual tree-lighting Dec. 12, the merchants held a holiday drawing to entice new patrons. About 38 area businesses participated and 60 gifts were donated for the drawing, said Ilma Paixão, an MIT fellow and community activist, who is acting as liaison between the Brazilian merchants and town officials. About 1,500 people participated in the drawing, she said. The merchants are planning a gift-card drawing for Valentine's Day.
"There has never been that sort of cooperation between the downtown business owners before," said Paixão. "For the first time, I think they're seeing the results of something that costs nothing: coming together."
Paixão said a workshop held in November drew 25 business owners along with town officials. Another workshop is slated for Feb. 1.
Both Gaseta and Pinto said that business has dropped by 50 percent over the past year or so, making it a struggle just to keep the doors open. "We're all in the red," Gaseta said.
The closing of more businesses is "something that we're trying to avert," Oliver Jerram said. And MIT's initiative is definitely a step in the right direction, she said.
"We're encouraging them to work with" Framingham Downtown Renaissance "where they can," she said. "And it's exciting to have the business owners more organized than in the past."
Lloyd Kaye, a Town Meeting member and business banker, is putting together a report with solutions to help the businesses survive and is looking at things such as increasing and maximizing markets and promoting business partnerships.
The idea is not only to help businesses in downtown Framingham, but also along the Route 9 corridor, and as part of the town's overall vision of economic development, he said.
"Even though we are focusing on downtown and the Brazilians, we are bringing within that realm other businesses that are not doing well," he said. "This does include a greater vision." 