FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Katelyn Little
Retail Strategies
klittle@retailstrategies.com
BIRMINGHAM, AL (March 17, 2023) – The City of Hanford is investing in its future by investing in a partnership with Retail Strategies. The partnership includes development of a strategic improvement plan for downtown Hanford, created by Downtown Strategies.
Additionally, City leaders will attend Retail Academy to learn how to turn data on the community and its consumers into action by speaking to retail real estate decision-makers. City leadership will attend the Retail Academy session on May 18 in Birmingham, Alabama.
“After an initial introduction to Retail Strategies at the League of California Cities annual conference, it was clear their team held extensive knowledge in downtown revitalization, retail development, and real estate—and more importantly, with similarly sized communities,” said Hanford City Manager, Mario Cifuentez. “City leaders are excited to begin the process with the Retail Academy to dive into the data on our community and understand what opportunities we may have with expanding retailers.”
“Before Retail Academy, our team will be familiarized with the City of Hanford’s commercial real estate market and will be able to provide our expertise and knowledge to City leaders,” said Madeline Farr, Director of Retail Academy. “The City team that attends the Retail Academy will walk away with comprehensive knowledge of best practices, processes, and contacts to begin the retail recruitment process, which will assist Hanford in bringing about retail wins.”
“In addition to the retail element, we are excited for the Downtown Strategies team to visit the market and work with all downtown stakeholders to bring fresh ideas to downtown,” continued Cifuentez. “We know they have worked in markets throughout California and are proud to partner with their downtown experts.”
To begin the process, the Downtown Strategies team will host an in-market workshop with downtown stakeholders. From there a customized, five-year strategic action plan will be created for the Hanford team to begin implementing. “Our team is more than excited to host deeper discussions with business owners, community leaders, and downtown stakeholders,” said Jenn Gregory, President of Downtown Strategies. “During our time in the market, we will analyze real estate potential and opportunities for revitalization and redevelopment in order to enhance the placemaking efforts in Hanford.”
About Retail Academy
Retail Academy is a program developed from the leading national retail advisory firm, Retail Strategies. The program assists communities in strengthening their retail landscape. Communities will be trained and equipped with the tools and education necessary to attract new retailers to their markets, while providing support to their existing local businesses.
About Downtown Strategies
Downtown Strategies, a division of Retail Strategies, exists to provide realistic, implementable strategies to communities for revitalizing their downtowns. Led by a team of former downtown revitalization practitioners and real estate experts, our combination of real-world experience, plus expertise in real estate and retail uniquely qualify us to assist communities with backfilling vacancies, increasing tourism, and enhancing the sense of place in their downtowns. Serving rural communities in 22 states, Downtown Strategies is the leading national firm for downtown revitalization planning with an emphasis on real estate and retail.
