Black River, retail not a fit

BLACK RIVER — The village's downtown can support only one type of small business.

According to a study by Camoin Associates Inc., Saratoga Springs, conducted as part of the recently finalized Community Visioning and Strategic Development Plan, at least one limited-service eating place would survive, but there is no chance for average-size stores to flourish.

Limited-service eating places include cafes, fast-food restaurants, pizza shops and takeout places.

Village officials and Barton & Loguidice, Syracuse, the engineering firm that compiled the plan, agreed that several types of businesses would fit into their vision for downtown. These included: sporting goods, hobby and musical instrument stores, gift stores and gas stations. The study, however, found that the retail gap, or local demand for these goods, is too small.

Village Mayor Leland J. Carpenter was not surprised by the conclusion.

"If we're going to get anything big as far as retail, it's probably going to be on Route 3," he said. "We want something that's going to fit into the community."

The analysis does not take nonresident demand into consideration and said the expansion of Fort Drum could make it possible for more types of retail to have a place in Public Square.

The prognosis is good news to village resident Sean M. Hennessey, who plans to open a cafe in the former library.

"It actually does make me very pleased that Barton & Loguidice feel that this type of project would be a positive thing for the village," Mr. Hennessey said.

The Zoning Board of Appeals member and Jefferson County Democratic Committee chairman also said the study's findings gave him a sense of confidence that his venture can be successful.

"Going into something like this that really has no benchmarks is hard to justify to myself and my family sometimes, so finding that out helps," he said.

But it also means it's unlikely the village ever will resemble its golden ages again. The days of the well-known Land and Sea and Village Inn full-service restaurants and the mill industry that the village was built around in the early to mid-1800s may be gone.

Mr. Carpenter said he thinks there might be a place for another full-service restaurant downtown despite the study results, but it would take the right developer and restaurateur to make it happen.

"They're going to have to go from the ground up," he said.

The village, along with two other organizations, had commissioned GYMO Architecture, Engineering & Land Surveying, Watertown, to study potential uses of parcels in the business district, which is centered on Public Square, for $6,000.

Mr. Carpenter said Barton & Loguidice's plan, paid for with a $24,000 grant from the state Quality Community Initiative, is more detailed and builds on the GYMO study.

He also said the plan will help developers see what the village's vision for development is and give grant applications a boost.

"If we didn't do the study, and let's say somebody does come along and says what's available in grants, we need to have something like this," he said.