ADRR Panel Discussions on Critical Issues, Problems & Opportunities

Partner Organization:The University of Wisconsin Madison - Extension

Panelists:Kristen Fish-Peterson, Partner, Redevelopment Resources;Michael J. Berne, President, MJB Consulting;N. David Milder, President, DANTH, Inc., and Founding Editor of The ADRR.; The Moderator: Bill Ryan. Community Business Development Specialist. UW-Madison, Extension.

The American Downtown Revitalization Review –The ADRR – partnering with the University of Wisconsin Madison – Extension presented an online panel discussion on Bringing Back Downtown Retail After Covid19 on October 6, 2021, at 12:30 pm CST. A link to a recording of  that discussion can be found above.

Using a conversation format, the lively discussion kept most participants for the full hour and many for 30 minutes longer.

 

Kristen Fish-Peterson, Partner, Redevelopment Resources

 

Ms. Fish-Peterson has 20 years of direct experience leading the business development efforts of a municipality and working in both media and manufacturing sectors. In 2009 she and two colleagues started Redevelopment Resources, a community impact consulting firm which operates nationwide. She has managed all aspects of business development and adaptive reuse programs including business recruitment, retention, entrepreneurial programming, loan fund management, deal structuring, blight elimination and policy/program development. She managed development in a 400+ acre industrial park and written/managed multiple Tax Increment Financing Districts from creation to fulfillment. Her work through Redevelopment Resources focuses on bringing results to businesses and communities through proactive commercial real estate development and redevelopment, market analysis, creative financing, tax incremental financing district creation and implementation, organizational structure consulting and business recruitment/retention.  Developing creative solutions to community challenges is one of Ms. Fish-Peterson’s favorite things to take on.

Michael J. Berne, President, MJB Consulting

Michael is one of North America’s leading experts and futurists on urban and Downtown/Main Street districts as well as the retail industry more generally. As the Founder and President of New York City and San Francisco Bay Area-based MJB Consulting, Michael has amassed more than twenty years of experience in conducting retail market analyses, devising tenanting strategies, and spearheading implementation efforts across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Michael is a regular presenter and keynote speaker at industry conferences, including those of the International Downtown Association (IDA), the National Main Street Center, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the American Planning Association (APA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), among others. In addition to his widely followed “Retail Contrarian” blog, Michael has penned numerous articles for ULI’s monthly magazine, Urban Land, and has authored a chapter for the book “Suburban Remix: Creating the Next Generation of Urban Places”.

N. David Milder, President, DANTH, Inc., and Founding Editor of The ADRR.

David has completed leading edge work on downtown central social districts, arts districts, multichannel retailing as well as numerous retail assessments and downtown revitalization strategies for clients such as: Meredith, NH; Maplewood, NJ; West New York, NJ;  the City of Gering, NE; the Village of Sherwood, WI;  the Morristown Partnership (NJ); the Long Island City Partnership (NY); the Grand Central Partnership and 34th Street  Partnership in Manhattan; Jamaica Center, NY, and the City of Peoria, AZ. David also has been involved in stimulating Transit-Oriented Development projects in Cranford, NJ, and Bayonne, NJ.  Since 1990, when many experts felt downtowns could no longer be successful retail locations, David has formulated numerous niche-based retail revitalization strategies that have stimulated growth in communities across the nation. He is the author of three books and numerous articles related to downtown revitalization.

The Moderator: Bill Ryan. Community Business Development Specialist. UW-Madison, Extension.

Bill works with local economic development professionals, municipal planners, and interested residents wanting to improve their downtown and commercial districts. Awarded the title of Distinguished Lecturer, he has developed innovative and practical tools to improve the mix of businesses and the use of space. The goal of his work is to improve local quality of life through increased economic activity in these commercial districts. As a statewide specialist, Bill provides practical, locally-based research and educational programs to inform community planning and investment. He has led the development of the nationally utilized Downtown and Business District Market Analysis Toolbox. This and other research and educational programs have been presented nationally, and continue to be the dominant source of commercial district, community-led market research techniques. In 2005, Bill was awarded the Wisconsin Idea Fellow in recognition for public service on behalf of the UW. Bill’s initial years after college were in hotel development. He has worked for Holiday Inns Corporation, Laventhol & Horwath-Boston, and the Boston-based Flatley Company. He transitioned to Extension, working as a tourism specialist, and then a business district economic development specialist. He is a graduate of Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration, and the UW-Madison MBA program.