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Look Before You Lease: Keys to Site Selection and Renewals
9
Look for upcoming changes to
the trade area
Imagine committing to a new site and consolidating nearby
locations with it, only to learn that the local government has
recently begun developing the other side of town, predicting
that it will be the most prominent hub of activity in the
next few years. Or suppose a new shopping mall is going in
somewhere else, and the new traffic flows are about to cut
you out. Perhaps there's a retirement community going in
across the street f rom you.
You can learn a lot by observing recent trends in
demographics and development within your target trade
area, but it's also important to see what you can learn about
plans for the community. In the last local election, did the
winners make commitments that could impact businesses
or reshape the city? What are the changes local business
leaders have been pushing for? As best you can, you'll want
to explore how the trade area may already be changing, and
investigate the implications for a long-term investment.
