By: Diane Benjamin
Downtown Bloomington has it’s own website. The map below is actual size on that site, yes it’s hard to read.
http://downtownbloomington.org/welcome-to-downtown-bloomington/business-parking-guide/
One glaring error – Grossinger Motors Arena should be 13, not 11.
How many businesses survived COVID? Comment below if you have any information. Any flooding downtown?
The website also has a business directory, it only lists 19 businesses, mostly law firms and accountants. They must be the only ones willing to pay for advertising: http://downtownbloomington.org/directories/work/business-directory/pg/4/
The empty buildings aren’t listed, maybe those should be advertised!
The now defunct Downtown Business Association , even under the brilliant and visionary leadership of Trish Stiller , could not get people to join or pay dues.
Instead they beg for special favors and money from city hall , which other Bloomington merchants not located downtown don’t get.
City has tried everything – even new way finding signs , yet downtown still sux.
That map is a work of fiction and incompetence.
Another classical example of the Downtown echo chamber. The only people going to this website are locals that are obsessed with the Downtown. If people want specific products or services, they Google what they need, do their research, and then make a plan to patronize a business (in-person or online) that offers said product or service, generally based on a combination of fitting the specific need, price, and perceived quality. Few people are looking to make a plan to go window shopping or door-to-door shopping Downtown or any other place with multiple shops. The Downtown cheerleaders are trying to sell an experience that the marketplace doesn’t want.