Have you ever heard someone say, “No one goes to the Fulton Mall”? Well, the data is in, and we can finally lay that one to rest.
For three days in October, my students and I counted and surveyed pedestrians on Fulton Mall. Funded by the Downtown Association of Fresno (now PBID Partners of Downtown Fresno), the research sought to set a baseline of data about Fulton Mall pedestrian use so we can accurately measure the impact of any future urban design efforts in downtown.
I present some of the data below, but the biggest story is the extent to which the Fresno public radically underestimates the number of people who walk on Fulton Mall. Whatever else is wrong with the Mall, we can say this for sure: there are far more Mall users than we think.
Here’s a summary of the count data:
The number of pedestrians who passed the Clock Tower at the intersection of Fulton and Mariposa Malls between 10am and 6pm each day on Oct. 5 (Tuesday), 6 (Wednesday) and 9 (Saturday) were 4516, 5228 and 4671, respectively. (This was a study of use or load, so we counted passersby without regard to repeat trips; in other words, everyone was counted, even if they passed multiple times. The counters estimate that about 5% of the passersby made repeat passes.) Bicyclists numbered 143, 262 and 309 (Saturday’s number was buoyed by the DTA’s Bike Ride Through History event, which accounted for about 100 of the bicyclists that day).
I should note that the first week in October was chilly and rainy. On Tuesday, Oct. 5, for example, it rained lightly all morning and temperatures were in the mid-50s. Yet, 1048 people walked past the Clock Tower, in the rain, between 10am and 12 noon.
Count numbers peaked slightly around midday. For example, 929 people walked past the count line between noon and 1pm on Wednesday, Oct. 6, compared to 674 from 10-11am and 324 from 5-6pm.
Why were the weekdays so strong compared to Saturday, a well-known shopping day on the Mall? Wednesday’s pedestrian count was surely boosted by the farmer’s market, which drew people all morning and into early afternoon. However, a broader explanation lies in the “purpose of visit” question on the survey we administered to every tenth passerby. Shoppers are strongly present on the Mall during the week (27% of pedestrians on Tuesday, Oct. 5, and 33% on Wednesday, Oct. 6, were shoppers). These shoppers, in combination with people walking to and from work and conducting personal business (likely at the various public buildings) account for the high numbers during the week. On Saturday, the percentage of shoppers among the respondents increased to 52%, but work commute and personal business numbers dropped. This means that the Mall during the week is a place for shopping, work commute and personal business, but on Saturday, it become more homogenous, with shopping as the main activity and other categories of use less prevalent.
We surveyed, in both English and Spanish, 157 people who passed the count line. A summary of some significant findings is at the end of this posting.
The big story here, though, is the gap between the count numbers and public perception.
During the weeks after the count, DTA sponsored a “Guess the Pedestrians” contest in which the public was invited to guess the number of pedestrians who passed the Clock Tower during the count periods, with the closest guessers for each day awarded gift certificates to downtown businesses. Seventy five people submitted guesses for the three count days. The results are listed below.
Average guess: 1041
Median guess: 625
Lowest daily guess (submitted for Oct. 6): 55
Highest daily guess (submitted for Oct. 5): 7000
Obviously, the guessers vastly underestimated the number of pedestrians on the Mall, by an order of eight for the median guess and nearly one hundred for the low guess. The person who offered 7000 for Oct. 5 also guessed a relatively high 6500 for Oct. 6. These were the only guesses that over-estimated the number of pedestrians. Interestingly, however, this guesser estimated pedestrians on Saturday, Oct. 9, at only 600, implying that even this optimistic weekday guesser was very pessimistic about pedestrian activity on the Mall on weekends.
Evaluating the “success” or “failure” of the Fulton Mall is a complex thing, involving issues like rate of economic activity, amount of city revenue generated by Mall businesses, and the Mall’s historical and aesthetic value. These issues are up for debate, but, make no mistake about the numbers: each day, over four or five thousand people walk the Fulton Mall.
Fulton Mall at the Clock Tower, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 11:30am
Fulton Mall at the Clock Tower, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 3:15pm
Survey Results:
General
- About one third of the respondents had homes in the three zip codes that include the downtown core and the neighborhoods just to its south and east.
- About one third of those surveyed were walking on Fulton Mall for the first time. Two thirds had visited the Mall five or fewer times in the last month. Almost one fifth reported that they visited the Mall daily.
- Over one third of respondents cited “shopping/doing errands” as their primary purpose on the Mall the day they were surveyed.
- The Mall during the week is a place for shopping, work commute and personal business, but on Saturday, it becomes more homogenous, with shopping as the main activity and other categories of use less prevalent.
- Whites and Asians were present on the Mall in fewer numbers and African Americans and Latinos in greater numbers than their presence in the Fresno County population.
Significant Differences
- Individuals from zip codes with higher percentages of the population living in poverty are less likely to be first time visitors in the survey, i.e. more likely to indicate that they visit the Fulton Mall more frequently.
- Individuals whose home zip codes have a median family income less than $24000 have the highest predicted probabilities across the most frequent visit categories as compared to other median income values.
- Non-Latinos are more likely to utilize the Fulton Mall for work/school/commute purposes.
- Individuals from higher income areas are less likely to visit the Fulton Mall for recreational purposes, for personal business, or to shop, and more likely to visit the Mall for work.
- Individuals from poorer areas are more likely to shop and use the Fulton Mall for personal purposes.
More data and details on methodology can be found in the report submitted to the DTA (now PBID Partners of Downtown Fresno).
anthroguy
Felicia Salcido
TheAnthroGeek
79 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 6, 2011 at 6:34 pm
kiel
Very interested. Thank you so much for compiling this data.
January 7, 2011 at 11:23 am
bradley
ery interesting numbers. comparable studies at other pedestrian-heavy ares would provide some context.
January 7, 2011 at 10:05 pm
anthroguy
You’re right – working on that. Stay tuned.
April 20, 2011 at 11:44 am
MaryV.
Yes, data helped. Honestly I never realized how many people really visit the Fulton Mall on a daily basis. There are businesses left, and apparently they are getting customers because they are still up and running.
November 18, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Kenneth Nguyen
Sure there are businesses still up and running, but we are concerned about the perception that the Fulton Mall receives. Part of the negaive perception is due to these businesses. They seem to cater to a different socioeconomic group, which is then perceived by others as a not so popular place. The shops sale older, out of date products, that attracts a different type of buyer. Because of this, many people will not travel across town to do their shopping here. As the observers witnessed, the majority of visitors lived nearby. In order to change the perception of the Fulton Mall, I feel new businesses need to open shop and start selling merchandise that will attract a wider socioeconomic class. Once more revenue comes in, reinvesting into the buildings may bring about change to the Fulton Mall, thereby changing the negative perception that it receives.
November 28, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Louis Gennuso
@Kenneth: No true entrepreneur would dare open a new business down there. In order for it to work it will take a big box store like the alleged Bass Pro Shop that was going to move down there but the city nixed it. It would have to be a store like that, new to Fresno, only show in town, if you want something you have to go to Fulton to get it from Bass Pro Shop or whatever other store. It would attract new money, and allow smaller, locally owned stores to open down there. Without a solid anchor store, Fulton Mall will continue to be a shell of a mall that is more of a second rate swap-meet than a mall. There are quality renovations starting downtown like the Iron Bird Lofts which will attract hip, young people to living downtown. The problem is hip, young people are the ones that like downtown already and it does not necessarily bring in new wallets to the Mall. Until there are more adequate living spaces downtown and /or something to travel to Fulton Mall for, it will continue to be an afterthought.
January 10, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Sarah
I wassurprised that the various government services located on/near the mall do not appear to be a more prominent reason for visits according to your survey.
January 11, 2011 at 10:33 pm
JJJ
Im not surprised. Those with the loudest voices in government, online websites and in the english media tend to be white and relatively affluent. They’re also more likely to live in 93720 and shop at riverpark.
Ask them their opinion about fulton mall, and they’re likely to think “I don’t go to fulton mall, ergo, nobody goes to fulton mall”.
Ask the same person to estimate the attendance at the cinco de mayo fulton mall party, and they will probably be off by over 10,000. Ask them to guess the hmong new years attendance, and they’ll likely say “the what?”
They’re also likely to vote for white affluent neighbors who have the same exact viewpoint.
Of course this isnt exclusive to this one issue or this one group. Ask someone getting out of their pickup at the home depot to guess how many cyclists use the nearby trail, and they wont even know what trail you’re talking about. So of course when someone proposes funding for the trail, they will complain that nobody uses it.
May 1, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Kale Adams
Most people that go to a mall usually frequent that one mall more often than the others. This could be because it it closer to where they live, work, or the mall may have that person’s favorite store or restaurant.
Most people may underestimate the amount of people walking though a particular area because they are not being observant. It wasn’t until I was in riverpark and actually observed people that I realized the actual amout. I would have been completely off if I just guessed.
January 13, 2011 at 10:10 am
Justin
I don’t think this proves anything except that people are really bad at estimating the number of people who walk past a certain point.
You need a control to learn anything from an experiment.
Now, do this same study at a popular Fresno shopping center, like Riverpark or Fashion Fair…. then we can really learn something.
January 15, 2011 at 10:12 pm
anthroguy
In fact, I’m dying to do such a comparative study…I suspect we’ll be in for more surprises.
February 23, 2011 at 11:35 am
Janelle Kelly (P)
This is a very interesting study, but in comparison to the over half a million residence in Fresno County, a couple thousand people is not very much business when considering the frequency of the downtown visitors.
My friend works downtown and she frequents the Fulton mall for lunch and maybe some shopping on a brake or right after work. My husbands dad and step mom work close to the Fulton Mall and they eat lunch together there also but have never brought there 13 year old daughter there. The only times I have ever been there were for bridal shopping, Grizzly’s games, or for building research. I notice that the businesses there are aimed at lower income customers, such as the dollar store. I would assume that the most business goes to restaurants.
March 28, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Terry Kuhn
The issue of the Fulton mall is complicated. The Mall is run by the Fresno Parks & Recreation dept, Yet is commerce. Yes most of the pedestrians are workers on their way to and from work. But most of the shoppers are their only to look or eat (Recreation). The main issue is parking, most county workers (Fresno Housing Athority, Fresno County Courthouse. Etc..) have parking made available. Why would someone go shop at the Fulton mall and pay for a parking meter when they can shop at any of the other malls for free. Riverpark, Fresno Fashion Fair, Manchester Mall, Sierra Vista mall, Fig Garden Village. All do not charge to park. And it is not necassary to walk for blocks to get there. If Fresno was serious about down town rejuvination it should reconsider its parking policy or just give up saving the Fulton mall. Fresno City Government is in no position to lose parking revenue with the current economic crisis. Everything old most make way for the new eventually.
April 13, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Crystal Luera
Terry,
I did not know they charged for parking at the Fulton Mall. I have never been there, but I have been close so I was unaware of this. This brings a whole new issue to the surface about why the other malls are so popular. I agree, no one will want to pay to park at a mall they think is deserted anyways when the big popular ones have tremendous amount of parking and is free. I personally would not want to pay to park there, and if i had to go down there I would only go for the short amount of time that I NEED to be there.
April 14, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Janelle Kelly (P)
I wonder who is running the Mall now that Fresno Parks and Recreation Department has been disbanded. The parking issue is a good point too.
May 1, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Kale Adams
I agree with you that the parking situations are kind of ridiculous. The few times I have been there I’ve had to pay for parking either by lot or meter. And it never seemed worth it. So I can see what you mean about this could be another issue that leads people away from the area. And in my opinion most of the people that go there are regulars. Meaning that they are people that work or live in the area. The data from the survey even shows that only about 33% of the people were walking the mall for the first time.
May 12, 2011 at 11:31 am
StevenM
The parking meters could be the deterrence but there are many cities in which charges for parking in the downtown area. I think the main issue is how downtown is perceived by the locals. If the city of Fresno can change that then I believe the Fulton Mall can increase amount of people and sales. Unfortunately, it would be extremely hard for Fresno to change downtown especially during an economic crisis. I like the idea of a walking shopping mall and many cities around the world strive on walking shopping malls. There are many in California such as in the city of Rancho Cucamonga. I have been to walking shopping malls in other countries such as Isreal and the shopping mall was full of people. Parking meters were found all around that particular location. In the end maybe it just depends on the way the city is set up. The Fulton mall area doesn’t seem to be the focal point of Fresno. I think if downtown Fresno had more to offer to the younger crowd and made it look more appealing then more people would go out of there way and pay for parking to shop there. Personally as a male I hate going shopping for clothes but if I had to go with a significant other I would rather go to an outside walking mall because at least I can enjoy being outside.
April 13, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Crystal Luera
I found this study to be very interesting and informing. I have personally never shopped at the Fulton Mall, but apparently I have been through there without even knowing. I am not from Fresno, I am from Bakersfield. I lived in Reedley, CA for two years before I moved up here to Fresno and I did not know much about Fresno, except that it was so big. I only ever knew about River Park. Until I lived in Fresno for a year did I find out there was two other malls (fashion fair and sierra vista) even though I go to Fresno State and live out on Herndon and Cedar. I only ever knew about River Park and would shop there, but I am a college student as I said and I do not have a lot of income so that was never a factor of which mall I chose to go to. I only chose the ones I knew, or were familiar with. Last semester was when I first heard of Fulton mall, and the people who told me said that it was not very popular but that it was making a comeback. So I didn’t think that most people say that ‘nobody goes there.’
However, after reading this information from the study I am curious to explore Fulton mall and see what it has to offer. I found it interesting that the highest amount of people were there on Wednesdays, but that if before I read that there are businesses out there as well and it made sense that all the combined traffic on a weekday was not due to different items. And on Saturdays, it is mostly just shoppers that are there, and that is a high number considering most people view it as a desert mall area. I am a low income student, and I know several families in the Fresno area that are low income as well, which is why I found it fascinating that I had never heard of Fulton Mall before, up until last semester from a professor.
May 14, 2011 at 12:27 am
JJJ
Will I be blowing your mind by telling you that there is Manchester Mall as well? It’s where the giant Sears is located.
April 16, 2011 at 9:29 pm
MaiLorV.
This is a really interesting research. I hardly go there and so in my own perception, I also thought that many do not go to Fulton Mall. But I cannot say much, it is not like I’m there every day or weekend to observe thoroughly. When I think about it now, of course there would have to be many people going there because it is in terms of everyday compared to the times when I go there. I mean I haven’t been there in ages. I can’t believe that many people 1,048 people were still at Fulton Mall on a rainy day. I don’t go anywhere when it is raining outside. Another thing that I found interesting was that many went there to shop. I know that there are many people who walk among there are walking to go to work or on breaks. If I was to guess the number of people who walks pass the clock tower, I would have guessed the wrong number too. My number would have been too low. I agree with JJJ on their comment. The comment mentions that many thinks that if they don’t go there, then nobody goes to Fulton Mall. I thought exactly like that when I thought about how many customers do attend Fulton Mall for shopping. It is a surprise for me that many do actually go just to go shop around. I think that the comment Justin made is a good suggestion. Try to go to the malls where more people do attend, like the ones he lists and compare them to this study. It would be an interesting research and comparison. I think I should never underestimate a place and the amount of people who attends there just because there isn’t much of an attraction for people.
April 18, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Morgan Jacobsen
As a person living in Visalia, I did not even know there was such a thing as the Fulton Mall, though I have been to every other mall in Fresno. While reading the other comments I agree with the others. It does not sound like a place I would go to shop when there are so many others available that are of a higher caliber. I completely agree with Terry Kuhn, parking does sound like an issue, and if would pick I would much rather go to the many other shopping areas in Fresno.
April 20, 2011 at 9:06 am
Flora E.
I am not from Fresno, and I have never been to the Fulton Mall. I do however find this to be an interesting study of how city planning can have an influence on the economic success of a particular area.
The study states that lower income citizens and civic workers are the most likely users of this mall. Some of the comments also support this notion and call attention to the “dollar stores” and other shops that target the lower income patrons. One comment was particularly astute bringing up the issue of parking. As a passive observer I would say that this mall is set up for really only two segments of the socioeconomic strata: Those that live nearby in lower income areas that walk or bike more often, and the employees of the businesses and the city itself.
I live in the small town of Mariposa where we too have some of these similar issues of county planing (we have no “city of Mariposa”) effect our downtown commerce. Parking is a huge issue for us too… because there really isn’t any, and our downtown suffers in the winter when we have less tourism. Our town is set up for the people who live there and is almost too pragmatic about planning. We have nearly 2 million tourists in the summer visiting Yosemite, but only one upscale restaurant! Tourists are constantly asking me “why do all the shops close at 5 pm?”, and at the same time our merchants complain about their business suffering.
Since we have no city, no town counsel, and the chamber of commerce is run by the same old lame people that resist any change to the existing structure, we rely on our county supervisors to solve the problems that arise from a lack of city planning.
I guess the point is that if you want more visitors you must attract them, and the public’s perception of their town will directly reflect in visitation. For example; I have never heard about Fulton mall, no one at Fresno State has ever said ” oh wow, you gotta go check it out…Fulton Mall is so nice.”
If the citizens have a poor view of a place no one will go there, it is their job as citizens to call attention to the problem of perception and make the city do something about it, or even do something about it themselves…set a standard by example.
Thanks,
Flora E.
April 20, 2011 at 11:41 am
MaryV.
When I was a child we lived in the poorer side of town and spent weekends at the Fulton Mall. When I turned 8 years old, we moved because my father wanted a better environment for my siblings and I. So with that, we stopped going to the Fulton Mall. Frankly I wouldn’t go alone. I’m scared to go alone. In fact I have not visited the Fulton Mall for about 2 years. Sometimes my family and I go, for special celebrations like Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is a big attraction for the mall, many people go to eat and celebrate. When I hear that the City of Fresno wants to revitalize it, well it seems to be a lot of work. Honestly I’m not even sure if the mall was remodeled, would it attract new shoppers from north west Fresno? Personally I do not believe it will attract new shoppers if it was revitalized, there is so many other places to shop in Fresno and the Fulton Mall will still be in a poorer area of Fresno and unfortunately people may just not want to be in the environment.
April 23, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Ruth T
I must admit that I would probably also incorrectly guess the number of pedestrians at Fulton Mall since I do not go there myself. Last year, I was near Fulton Mall a couple of times but never actually walked Fulton Mall. The lady who waxes my eyebrows moved to a salon that I believe was in Fulton Mall. However, I parked in the underground garage and went into the building the back way. Once she moved to a different salon, I stopped going to that area of Fresno, I had no need.
For me, the location is a big determent from me going to Fulton Mall. I do not live close by and would have to go there specially. I also find the streets of downtown Fresno confusing with one-way streets and no turn signs. Normally I have a good sense of direction but I get turned around in downtown Fresno. It is easier and less confusing for me to go shopping in other parts of Fresno. I know that my personal feelings about Fulton Mall influence why I think that not a lot of people go there but I do not know why other people think the same thing.
April 25, 2011 at 9:51 pm
JessicaM
I think when people say that people don’t go to the mall down there they are referring to not only themselves, but at the same time the reason they and people they know don’t go down there. I don’t know anyone who would shop down there let alone by themselves seeing as down town has a rep for not being the best place to be. Even my father who lives down there hates when I am down there alone. Yet, my mother shops there and has always gone down there and I was amazed of just how much they had. I think because its not all cramped inside one big building it looks like less people are down there. I think we consider fashion fair crowded not only cause its inside and always packed but we fail to realize it has stores that are around it, newer stores, restaurants, a university down the street, and its right off the free way. So we assume that it will be crowded. However if you really spent time in down town you would realize it has just as many people in it if not more. It just happens to be spread out over more ground.
April 26, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Cathy Nguyen
I personally do not go to the Fulton Mall but this article certainly caught my interest since it is after all a part of the town that I live in. Downtown Fresno is a pretty important area since the superior courts and most of the government offices are located there. I was well aware people do walk Fulton mall but did not know that many people walk there in a day. I just do not find it necessary since malls in the upper side of Fresno is much nicer and those include Riverpark, Fashion Fair, Sierra Vista, etc. Parking is also free in those areas whereas if you go downtown, you would have to pay for parking and it is a hassle because you may have to park far and walk. No matter the situation, people do still walk around that area sine a lot of the things done there deal with how we live our lives. Overall, this was certainly an interesting article since most of us do not really pay attention to most of the things that happen in Fresno.
April 26, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Kassandra E
It’s very interesting to actually see in numbers the amount of people that you recorded down at the Fulton Mall. The Fulton mall has never been a mystery to me or people that I am acquainted with. I’ve always heard about it but very rarely ever visit the mall unless I’m in the area for other business. I make’s me wonder if the people that are visiting the Fulton mall are only there because of the same reason. There are a lot of major companies and businesses down in the area that employee hundreds of people who could just be passing through without actually spending money on shopping. I do remember that parking downtown always costs money; unless I’m going to an event, paying to park really doesn’t appeal to me. Why would people want to pay to park and shop when there are many other malls where they won’t have to pay. I guess the only real way to see the difference between the amount of visitations of pedestrians would be to compare another mall to the Fulton mall. I think it would be very interesting to see where our societies money is being spent the most.
April 27, 2011 at 8:08 am
Lucien Nana
The problem of Fulton mall is very interesting. For a while, when i moved to Fresno, i never knew there was a mall in the downtown area, my first encounter there was because i had to follow up with some paper work in an office in downtown that was located at the Mall. When i tried to inquire about the mall. Sadly just as you said, a lot of people told me. no one really goes there any more, it used to be famous in the past and so on, where the stories i was told. The experiment is very interesting, though it will be good to actually see the impact of the mall on the economy of the area as it will be able to better give us a correlation of how many people actually visit there and the amount of revenue the mall generates to the local economy. I would never have thought that more than 6500 people can ever walk pass that mall. Also , the idea Terry is bringing up is very important, people shouldn’t pay for parking. I don’t know if part of your study focused on how we can better improve the mall to make people to go often too, but i think this will be something worth suggesting to the authorities in charge.
April 28, 2011 at 12:13 am
Leslie Sipat
I find it interesting that you were able to do this kind of study and the results that were found were equally as interesting. I wonder if the purpose of the mall has changed because the results do not show a definitive pattern. This was evident in the ethnic and economic backgrounds of the people who were surveyed. I found it interesting that Whites and Asians weren’t as prevalent because I would think they would be able to attain items that are not found in other places. Since malls offer a plethora of choices, some of those choices would draw them in. If a mall is suppose to have many stores to choose from, it begs the question of why those particular people won’t come. The economic background was also something I found interesting because the people who were surveyed only went there for professional purposes and not personal. Could that because a business has a time constraint and the closest place to get something is whatever closest to the place of employment?
The theory of the mall is to be the sophisticated version of a flea market. Both places do offer different items, but the way it is presented will be the difference on whom and how many people come. Although the results suggest that there are many people that go to the mall, it shows that only certain people go and the reasons were not discussed in detail. With the growth of internet, does it change the dynamics of the mall and will it continue to change when the shopping experience evolves?
April 28, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Lilit Chamlikian
One of the benefits that Fulton Mall has and no other mall to my knowledge in Fresno does, is the business incentive. Businesses who open their doors in Fulton Mall are given excellent tax breaks. Though we don’t know the pedestrian count in places such as River Park or Sierra Vista Mall, it wouldn’t be a dangerous statement to say it’s possible they receive more, if not significantly more visitors daily.
Terry makes a great point about the parking being an issue and I can agree that it definitely hinders my intentions of going there. It doesn’t make it easy for Fresno’s influential population of senior citizens either. If another study could be done, one in which the focus is more about what people would like to change about Fulton Mall, then working around those elements could do more to rejuvenate the mall’s image within society and restore the perception that it is a well maintained facility.
To better understand why Fulton Mall is having problems, we need to understand what people expect from the mall.
Fulton Mall’s biggest problem is actually it’s lack of large stores. River Park, Sierra Vista, etc, all these other malls have large stores with several big businesses offering discounted goods in large quantities. Fulton Mall is a collection of many tiny businesses and thus they are not advertised as effectively. Not in the papers, television, or even by word of mouth.
The most interesting part of this survey was the fact that African Americans and Latinos were the majority of most prevalent ethnicity in the area and also that individuals from poorer districts of Fresno were more likely to shop at or use Fulton Mall. Knowing that, and finding ways to make Fulton Mall more appealing for individuals from higher income areas while also luring Asian and White ethnic groups into the mall, will greatly improve upon the success of the businesses within Fulton Mall.
April 29, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Darrell L.
This study is interesting. I certainly would have been one to grossly underestimate the number of people frequenting the Fulton Mall on any given day. I would have estimated somewhere around 1,500 people, certainly not as many as the data shows (4500!? FTW). None of these facts guarantee the future financial viability of this area (if generating revenue is its intended purpose) as stated in the article. That is certainly up for debate. I am sure those who rely on the area for employment might consider the area a “success.” One of the most surprising results of the study, for me anyway, was the percentage of people who reported they were shopping. Even the Saturday reported number (52%) of shoppers seems pretty low and it was quite lower for the weekdays. It seems like there are many people who pass by without spending (or intending) to spend any money which might help explain why the mall is in its current state and the lack of spending/intention to shop may be attributed to the socio-economic “class” of those frequenting the location. If visitors have less disposable income then obviously they will spend less. It is obvious that many people find the place appealing so there must be something the area is “doing right.”
I wonder if there is any future “urban design efforts” currently underway by developers or local municipalities.
April 30, 2011 at 1:44 am
Kale Adams
This is a very good study. I always here people say “who goes to Fulton mall?” Well now I can can reply “apparently four to five-thousand people on average.” Before reading about this study I was also one of the people that would have greatly underestimated the amount of people that walk through the mall. I have only been to the Fulton mall a few times before but I would have guest that there would be a few hundred people walking by each hour. I had no clue that it would be as high as 600-700 people per hour.
Another important thing to point out about the study is that it was conducted during, in my opinion, one of the slower times of the year. It is less favorable whether during October than the summer months. I would think that the mall would have more people walking it during the summer. So in a since, the study may be showing the lower levels of activity compared to the rest of the year. I thought that it was well conducted and very interesting.
April 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Briana C
The studied is intriguing and raises many questions in my mind. While I was pleased to learn that over five thousand people passed through the area on a Wednesday in October (2010?), to truly address the issue of public perception of the Fulton Mall usage, there needs to be a control study of prevalent shopping, business, and entertainment venues in this area and in comparable areas. I wonder what the numbers would be if Sierra Vista Mall, Fashion Fair, Fig Garden, River Park, and the Manchester mall were compared. An article in the Fresno Bee reported that as of January of this year Fresno has a population slightly over 500,000, making it the fifth largest city in California, one ranking above Sacramento and one ranking below San Francisco. Are the numbers reported in the study significant in terms of the population of Fresno, or do the numbers indicate that the Fulton Mall is actually under-utilized? Perhaps even a study of similar downtown shopping venues found in other towns such as Visalia, Madera, Merced, and even Sacramento would be informative and helpful.
I frequently go to the downtown mall in Sacramento as I have relatives who live in the area. The mall in downtown Sacramento, in some aspects is similar to the Fulton mall; so why is it more successful today, even after its near demise decades ago? My mother told me that in the mid-seventies the Sacramento K Street Mall had deteriorated to the point that there were few mainstream businesses and that it had been taken over by vagrants. K Street mall is similar in that it was built shortly after the Fulton Mall, there are many government agencies and related businesses, and it had a desirable aesthetic in the fountains, grassy areas, and walking areas. Then in the early 80’s, the city started taking measures to improve the mall and re-establish it as a desirable destination for shopping, outings, and entertainment. Today, unlike the Fulton Mall, the Sacramento K Street Mall, which still struggles along certain sections, has the advantage of major retailers, entertainment, restaurants, and Sacramento Area Rapid Transit (SART) which provides ease of access and decreases the burden of parking. The K Street Mall example shows that strategic planning and funding can help reverse decline.
Perhaps the survey results reaffirm lack of use of the Fulton Mall since the survey indicates that it is a neighborhood venue; it is not a draw. In order for it to be economically viable, measures should be taken to create a draw. The socio/economic group with the power to change the dynamics of downtown Fresno seem to come to baseball games or events at the convention center and then leave the area as quickly. Even dining venues after for pre- or post- events are few and poorly advertised. I, too, am guilty of not making downtown Fresno my preferred destination. The only times I have been there in the past few years were to take care of necessary government business or attend a Grizzlies game. Years ago my family and I started to limit our excursions downtown after our vehicle was broken into in the middle of the day while we were at the ballet. Perceptions about safety, as well as perceptions about use, need to be addressed if more people are to be drawn to the Fulton mall.
Furthermore, downtown Fresno is not user friendly; parking is expensive and difficult to find. It is a travesty that the funding and planning necessary to make downtown more appealing have not been addressed. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the mall and have pleasant memories of strolling, shopping, and visiting the Met Museum when I was very young. My mother, who grew up shopping downtown before urban flight, and who worked at J. C. Penney’s before the departure of major retailers has told me about the Fulton Mall when it was a center piece of downtown. Ironically, she worked at a new J.C. Penney in a suburban Sacramento mall at a time rapidly developing suburban centers drew business away from downtown Sacramento.
The political reality seems to be that planners and the city encouraged suburban development (i.e., Riverpark) instead of enlisting developers to commit to developing downtown as a destination for the expanding population. It seems that creativity in utilizing the current infrastructure, promoting the viability of access to the area through the network of freeways linking most areas of Fresno and Clovis, and convincing shopping and entertainment venues to locate downtown would truly affect the pedestrian usage. However, turning around urban blight is a much more complex issue than adding entertainment or altering perception. It is also not as simple as some proposals which would have the city tear out the pedestrian mall and restore automobile traffic. Perhaps politics and money are more valued than preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration.
I, too, would be one of those pedestrians counted in the study if the shops, parking, and entertainment for which I go to Riverpark were downtown.
April 30, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Briana C
The study is intriguing and raises many questions in my mind. While I was pleased to learn that over five thousand people passed through the area on a Wednesday in October (2010?), to truly address the issue of public perception of the Fulton Mall usage, there needs to be a control study of prevalent shopping, business, and entertainment venues in this area and in comparable areas. I wonder what the numbers would be if Sierra Vista Mall, Fashion Fair, Fig Garden, River Park, and the Manchester mall were compared. An article in the Fresno Bee reported that as of January of this year Fresno has a population slightly over 500,000, making it the fifth largest city in California, one ranking above Sacramento and one ranking below San Francisco. Are the numbers reported in the study significant in terms of the population of Fresno, or do the numbers indicate that the Fulton Mall is actually under-utilized? Perhaps even a study of similar downtown shopping venues found in other towns such as Visalia, Madera, Merced, and even Sacramento would be informative and helpful.
I frequently go to the downtown mall in Sacramento as I have relatives who live in the area. The mall in downtown Sacramento, in some aspects is similar to the Fulton mall; so why is it more successful today, even after its near demise decades ago? My mother told me that in the mid-seventies the Sacramento K Street Mall had deteriorated to the point that there were few mainstream businesses and that it had been taken over by vagrants. K Street mall is similar in that it was built shortly after the Fulton Mall, there are many government agencies and related businesses, and it had a desirable aesthetic in the fountains, grassy areas, and walking areas. Then in the early 80’s, the city started taking measures to improve the mall and re-establish it as a desirable destination for shopping, outings, and entertainment. Today, unlike the Fulton Mall, the Sacramento K Street Mall, which still struggles along certain sections, has the advantage of major retailers, entertainment, restaurants, and Sacramento Area Rapid Transit (SART) which provides ease of access and decreases the burden of parking. The K Street Mall example shows that strategic planning and funding can help reverse decline.
Perhaps the survey results reaffirm lack of use of the Fulton Mall since the survey indicates that it is a neighborhood venue; it is not a draw. In order for it to be economically viable, measures should be taken to create a draw. The socio/economic group with the power to change the dynamics of downtown Fresno seem to come to baseball games or events at the convention center and then leave the area as quickly. Even dining venues after for pre- or post- events are few and poorly advertised. I, too, am guilty of not making downtown Fresno my preferred destination. The only times I have been there in the past few years were to take care of necessary government business or attend a Grizzlies game. Years ago my family and I started to limit our excursions downtown after our vehicle was broken into in the middle of the day while we were at the ballet. Perceptions about safety, as well as perceptions about use, need to be addressed if more people are to be drawn to the Fulton mall.
Furthermore, downtown Fresno is not user friendly; parking is expensive and difficult to find. It is a travesty that the funding and planning necessary to make downtown more appealing have not been addressed. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the mall and have pleasant memories of strolling, shopping, and visiting the Met Museum when I was very young. My mother, who grew up shopping downtown before urban flight, and who worked at J. C. Penney’s before the departure of major retailers has told me about the Fulton Mall when it was a center piece of downtown. Ironically, she worked at a new J.C. Penney in a suburban Sacramento mall at a time rapidly developing suburban centers drew business away from downtown Sacramento.
The political reality seems to be that planners and the city encouraged suburban development (i.e., Riverpark) instead of enlisting developers to commit to developing downtown as a destination for the expanding population. It seems that creativity in utilizing the current infrastructure, promoting the viability of access to the area through the network of freeways linking most areas of Fresno and Clovis, and convincing shopping and entertainment venues to locate downtown would truly affect the pedestrian usage. However, turning around urban blight is a much more complex issue than adding entertainment or altering perception. It is also not as simple as some proposals which would have the city tear out the pedestrian mall and restore automobile traffic. Perhaps politics and money are more valued than preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration.
I, too, would be one of those pedestrians counted in the study if the shops, parking, and entertainment for which I go to Riverpark were downtown.
April 30, 2011 at 3:18 pm
marion mendez
The Fulton Mall in the heart of Fresno was opened in the mid 1960’s. It was a full of thriving businesses and restaurants. For many years, people of Fresno had an outdoor mall to shop. Speaking to many people, their memories were mostly of the department store Gottchalks. Today, Fresno has numerous shopping malls throughout the city. There is Fashion Faire Mall, Fig Garden Village, Riverpark, Sierra Vista Mall and Manchester Mall. With all the malls available to shoppers in Fresno, the Fulton Mall has lost a lot of business. Today at the Fulton Mall there are many empty buildings, not much variety to shop and limited parking. The other malls throughout Fresno do not charge its customers for parking but Fulton Mall is on metered parking or a flat rate parking charge.
Over the last few years the Fulton Mall has also got a reputation of crime, violence and drugs. I recall a few years ago, I attended the Grizzlies baseball game and witnessed an individual getting arrested for breaking into vehicles that were parked just a few spots from my vehicle.
I recently read in the newspaper that the city plans on developing the downtown area of Fresno. I read they will be renovating existing apartment buildings and building single family lofts. I think doing so will bring people back to the Fulton Mall. I have hope for downtown area of Fresno to thrive with homes, businesses and restaurants
April 30, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Dennis Colon
The two statistics that stood out to me the most were the one that described one third of respondents having homes in three dioxides near downtown and the other which explained the relationship between attendants and zip codes with higher percentages of those in poverty. I believe the misperception that people hold of the Fulton mall is more based on the individual opinions of these people and where they live in the city. If you ask someone from northern areas of Fresno about the Fulton mall, I strongly believe that chances are greater that they will know less of the area and as a result, reflect on their own experiences in venturing the mall. They may conclude that if they rarely go, or they don’t know others who go, then they extrapolate this to form the belief that nobody (actually meaning few people) goes. The same can be said when discussing the downtown area in general. When discussing this topic with others, I find that the further away someone lives from the area, the less likely they are to go with one of the only reasons for going being to pay taxes or visit the courthouse area. I think is is sad considering how beautiful the architecture is downtown and the potential it could have to become just as nice of a place as other major cities. However, this will continue to be prolonged as commerce focus remains on the northaide i.e. the Riverpark area. Only when area for commerce expansion is depleted in the northern boundaries of the city will we hopefully see interest in the revitilization of downtown.
April 30, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Valarie Taylor
I would think this would be the expected demographics for the Fulton Mall. The mall does have a lot of foot traffic and people arriving by Mass Transit. I am wondering when people say that there isn’t a lot of traffic are they meaning people of a higher socio-economic status? The stores that are in the mall cater to those of the Latino and African American communities. Which seems appropriate, one must know the target audience they are trying to reach. It would do no good to have a “Coach” store in Fulton Mall but it would not do much good to have a store catering to the “Mexican” rodeo fan in Fig Garden. There are many cities that revitalize their downtown areas. San Diego is a prime example. If you told the middle income wage earner in San Diego to go downtown 15 years ago: they would have thought you were on illegal drugs. Now it is a place where the yuppies shop and play. You can find a few low income areas, including restaurants, single resident only hotels and plenty of low income targeting liquor stores. I think the City of Fresno needs to figure out what they want to do with downtown and Fulton Mall. If they revitalize downtown they need to spend the money and stop delaying. The longer they weight the more it’s going to cost. Its time to put up or shut up. Fulton Mall needs to claim its identity for the culture it attracts.
San Diego, CA worked on getting the transit system to increase traffic downtown, make places where those commuting from the outskirts could park in safe well lit areas. This would work in Fresno, get a better transit system that runs later. California State University to downtown isn’t that far but the buses stop at 10 PM. You could have great night clubs, discos, ranchero places for people to go and a have a good time. The students from CSU, Fresno would go. Just make it safe, and fun. You need to know you can go to Fulton Mall and not get mugged, raped or murdered just for walking down the mall. Add more security, you have a great new ball park again just like San Diego. The ballpark was part of the big impetus for the revitalization of downtown. Many of us from San Diego, looked at the proposed Ballpark site and it was a run down dump. It now is a world class area, people can take a ferry from Coronado to the ball park, take the trolley that runs late and has security, all the transit systems accommodate the ballpark traffic. New fancy restaurants moved into old abandoned drug infested warehouses. No one unless they were looking to score, would go near that area even in the day. We can make Fulton Mall more attractive to the average hard-working citizens of Fresno County.
May 1, 2011 at 11:43 am
Roverto Valdez
Fulton Mall I had expected to have fewer visitors than the research suggested. I do come to an understanding of what businesses or events attract the public, as mentioned in the discussion. I feel that the shopping at Fulton Mall actually attracts more Hispanics than any other group. This is due to the shopping environment that seems comforting to them. It is an environment where they may feel well situated and familiar with. They can easily communicate with vendors and enjoy some authentic food. To me, I connect it with it being traditional thing with their culture.
The city can maybe increase the number of visitors if there would be an attempt to get rid factors that give the area a bad image. If the city wanted to rejuvenate Fulton Mall something drastically would need to be done with the poverty rates near the area. This is in concern with the homeless and others that can be seen in the area, which may be a reason why the public may be drawn away from Fulton Mall. If better known shopping centers were introduced to the mall, this may attract people from a higher class level and eventually the image will improve.
May 1, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Julio Garibay
The Fulton Mall has a long-standing history in the City of Fresno. I remember coming to the Fulton Mall as a child with my family. This was something we did on weekends as a family and it was also due to the amount of shops that were all within walking distance. However, nowadays it is filled with less shops and venders. The owner of a hair salon that I knew of had her business there for years but she said people did not want to come to down town and it was mainly due to the parking. Parking was even expansive for owners of restaurants and stores. She did end up closing her salon due to decrease in cliental and the price of keeping the business open. I believe the only way to improve down town is to allow for free parking and negotiate with some top vender to open there business here and to create more special events that will bring more people to the down town area.
May 1, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Jessica P
I am not surprised that non-Latinos are more likely to utilize the mall for non recreational purposes. As a Latino myself, I admit I rarely travel to the Fulton Mall—in fact I estimate I have been there maybe three or four times in my lifetime. However, I do admit to being exposed to vast marketing through Univision and Spanish language radio stations for Latino oriented events that take place at the Fulton Mall. These include Cinco de Mayo celebrations as well as Mexican Independence celebrations (amongst many other things). The point is, there is heavy marketing towards the Latino community. Is the same being done for non-Latinos? I don’t believe so. Rarely do I see invitations to the Fulton Mall on Fox or ABC news. I think that this has led for other Fresnans to believe they do not belong at the Fulton Mall or very simply, that they have nothing to do or purchase there.
I feel it is a shame that the mall (all of downtown in fact) has gathered such a bad reputation. Personally, I would not go there on my own for fear of my own safety. I have no idea whether it is safe or not, how many thefts, assaults, etc occur there, but I have a biased idea that it is not an appropriate place for a young lady to go to by herself. The horrible thing is that the Fulton Mall has beautiful buildings and is rich in history. I would love to be able to just take a stroll through the street, maybe with a coffee in hand and listen to some background music. Am I able to do that right now? Quite frankly I don’t know. But something needs to be done to clear its reputation. Perhaps add shops that appeal to a wide array of consumers, increase the perception of safety, any other ideas???
As a side note, I feel the same thing occurring to Manchester Center as to the Fulton Mall. Although, I believe the Fulton mall has a higher possibility in improving its demographics because of the historical richness found there, along with the government agencies, etc that would make it a convenient stop for Fresnans. I’m not at all hopeful for Manchester Center. I do not shop there nor do I plan on shopping there.
May 1, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Brandon May
I agree with Bradley that a control would have further illustrated the number of people who visited the Fulton Mall by comparing the data to another shopping center of equal size, such as Fashion Fair or Sierra Vista. However, the data presented adequately answers the question of the type of population that shops at the Fulton Mall. Furthermore, the study clearly illustrates to people, that do not shop there, how busy the mall is.
I also agree with Terry about the issue of parking meters in the downtown area. The City of Fresno government continues to revitalize the downtown area for economic growth without considering the issue of parking. It is likely that people from the north side of Fresno will not make the drive, costing them more in gas, only to pay for parking as well.
May 1, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Bobby Shepard
The opening line when it says, “No one ever goes to the Fulton Mall,” is clearly false. The data shows that tens of thousands of people visit the mall weekly. I believe that a better statement would be, “None of the people i know go to the Fulton Mall.” Most of the visitors are from the downtown and southern Fresno area. If we as Fresno State students lived near the Fulton Mall, I’m sure a handful of our friends would talk about going to the mall. It is just like if we were to watch people walk by stores in the Sierra Vista or Fashion Faire malls. Because of our proximity to these malls, our close friends and people we interact with on a daily basis talk about attending a half off sale on shirts at a store or getting a buy one get one free deal on a hat. The whole article was based on the perception of the mall. Perception is defined as an understanding based on the senses. But if we are not able to use our senses and see, hear, and walk around a place, we cannot have an appreciation for somewhere. As is the case with Fulton Mall.
May 1, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Ashlee V
This study was very interesting and the survey results for the significant differences brought the most attention. This study showed not just an approximate amount of pedestrians who walk the Fulton mall but what there general purpose was and what types of people are going to the Fulton mall. Seeing that individuals who are are from poorer areas are the most likely to be at the Fulton mall for shopping and personal use was shocking. One would think that if a certain individual had a limited income then they would not have the extra money to shop. I think the study needed to include if each individual that said they were at the mall to shop really did purchase any items at the mall. The reason why I bring this up is because there are many times I get bored and go walk around the mall to “window shop” and never purchase anything. With that concept it would make for another research study to be done with a different agenda in mind.
It was also interesting to see that many Non-Latinos were most likely to utilize the mall for school, commuting and/or work. There is a lot of cultural differences in this research study that could be analyze even further.
I have never been to the Fulton mall but having been to Riverpark it would be very interesting to see if a study similar to this would compare to the Fulton malls recent study. What I am wondering is what DTA will do now that this study has been completed. The number of pedestrians that walked the Fulton mall was a lot then what people think but does not compare to how many residents there are in Fresno. I wonder if the data has persuaded the DTA to do something different with the Fulton mall.
May 1, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Randy F
I personally found the study to be pretty interesting because I am one of those people who say that “no one goes to the fulton mall.” I base my judgement by the numerous times i’ve had to travel to downtown Fresno. As I pass the mall it looks like a ghost town. Maybe because i’m so used to seeing how busy Riverpark gets that I compare that to the numbers I see at Fulton?
To be honest I was pretty surprised to see the numbers you posted from your study. But as your study suggests, you counted people who simply WALKED past the clock tower ( your passing point). I agree with your assessment that the busier week was because of the offices only open during the week versus the weekend. And those who are “real” fulton mall shoppers came during the weekend.
I don’t feel that people who shop at fulton mall are necessarily “poor.” I believe that is an assumption. I feel that the only reason those who choose to shop at fulton is because it’s what’s available. Location is everything, look at riverpark. Do you think it would be thriving if it were downtown? As mentioned before, parking is a huge turnoff for downtown fulton mall. It’s actually one of the main reasons I choose not to head downtown Fresno.
May 1, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Aurel Lacuesta
It is surprising that very many people walk in that area. I would have never guessed that amount. But then again, if a person who has never visited that part of the city would incorrectly estimate the number of people that walk by a certain point. Even citizens who own businesses or live in the area would not accurately determine the amount of people who visit unless they conducted their own experiment. And if a person who visits a large mall like Fashion Fair and goes to the Fulton Mall during the week, they would most likely come to the conclusion that, “nobody goes to the Fulton mall.” When somebody says, ‘nobody goes there’ they are merely expressing the lack of visitors and most of the time comparing numbers or persuading somebody to go somewhere more popular. For example, if you frequently visit two restaurants, each located across town from each other, and one is more popular than the other one. And a visitor asks you which of the two restaurants are more people going to, you may refer them to the more popular one suggesting, “that nobody really goes to the other one.” Likewise if you compare Manchester Mall with Fashion Fair and present evidence that a few thousands shoppers walk Manchester to the tens of thousands that walk Fashion Fair in a given week, then a visitor may come to the conclusion that, “wow nobody really goes to Manchester.” Although I’ve been to the Chuckchansi stadium a few times, I’ve only walked the Fulton mall once. And if a friend from out of town came to visit, I would tell them that more people go to Riverpark or Fashion Fair even though I know now that a few thousand people go to the Fulton Mall. Nonetheless, my perception of Fulton Mall has changed from this experiment. The data compiled from this experiment could be more compelling if it were compared to other malls like Sierra Vista, Manchester mall, Fig Garden, Riverpark, etc. I would like to see the results from that aspect. If it were possible, a year-long study may yield interesting results. A week or more would probably be more feasible though.
May 1, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Judy L.
Personally I’ve only lived here for two years and have yet to stop by the Fulton Mall. I have passed by only a couple of times and have heard about it through friends who have lived here longer than I have. While passing by while in the veterans day parade it looked very lonely and not a place I would like to come shop or even bring my child to. Even though people do stop by and it reminds me of home a bit, I think if this place wants more people to come by they need to upgrade on their look and as someone said on their post parking is a big issue for some. As for me I don’t mind walking or paying for parking as long as I feel safe, and in this area for some reason or another I don’t and that’s part of the reason why I haven’t made an effort to go to this mall.
May 1, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Leslie F
I was not particularly shocked by these numbers at first – then I did some quick math. If I am not mistaken, that’s approximately ten people every minute. My one experience at Fulton Mall was a particularly dreary and very early hunt for a prom dress several years ago – it was deserted and I walked past maybe only a handful of people the entire time I was there. Perhaps it is similar experiences and sharing it that have lead people to form such vastly underestimated numbers. Some interesting stats would have been the extent of underestimates with how often respondents visited the mall and what their past experience had been like (are respondents more likely to underestimate it if they are visiting for the first time).
It does seem like these numbers should be higher considering Fulton Mall is at the heart of the greater metropolitan area of Fresno that has a population of over one million. As I was reading this, I kept thinking what about other cities. Other shopping centers in Fresno make it obvious that the comparison should be to those with similar characteristics. For instance, it might be safe to assume that Riverpark’s numbers would blow Fulton Mall out of the water but that seems appropriate for the well advertised big businesses that reside there.
While, I agree with previous posters that the study mostly demonstrates that people are bad at estimating (, I think that there is definitely something to that and is a great basis for future research. Personally, I think it is that people underestimate things that are stigmatized and stereotyped and that there is some deep rooted group think going on. It figures that if people in general are down on Fresno with jokes being made about it on national television shows, that the heart of its downtown should be so drastically overlooked and underestimated.
I have to wonder why I don’t go to Fulton Mall. It’s mostly because I don’t know what’s there and am too busy with work and school to go very far from where I live (downtown is about 20 minutes away and as it is I go to Riverpark or Fashion Fair about 5 times a year, Sierra Vista never, and consider all of them too far as well).
May 1, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Diane Barnes
It’s extremely sad that a landmark in this community is on the list of places that face uncertainty in its future. The Fulton Mall clearly shows promise as seen in the dramatic difference in number of visitors, the ratio 55:7000. Many have stated that because the numbers aren’t including multiple walk bys or shoppers that are actually buying that this isn’t significant. However, the more bodies that visit the area, the more likely they will shop, or at least browse. More traffic can have a residual effect in the sense that they see what the area has to offer and may buy or may want to return. So why is there a lack of business in the Fulton Mall area? I don’t think you can just chuck it to the “economy”. Granted I think the economy obviously plays a part, however I believe it goes much deeper. As our city expands more North, businesses and retailers are catering to a very materialistic and expensive society. Fulton Mall just doesn’t offer the “brands” and “goods” people are looking for. I also believe that the Fulton Mall has the stigma of being in a “poor” area and people want to avoid them because they are “unsafe” and “gross”. Lets be honest, people dont want to shop at finer retailers and be bothered by bums begging for change. Therefore people find it easier to avoid the problem, homelessness included. So what can be done to revitalize the area and is it possible? I hope that it can be done, however unless different shops go into the area, people I fear will continue to avoid it. Put it a Coach store, a Dooney and Burke store, stores that have big names but are few in the area and we may be able to attract more visitors. Until we can cater to our ‘materialistic” and “highclass” society than it will remain as is unless people have a change of heart. They’d rather not waste the money on the revitalization and instead waste money on demolishing it. I really just don’t get it.
May 1, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Joshua Bruce
If the issue at hand is this downtown revitalization debate that has been going on for several years now, then more data than just the amount of pedestrian traffic that visits the Fulton Mall on any given day. Even if Fulton mall averages 5000 pedestrian visits per day, that is less than 1% of the total population of Fresno, and if only a rough third of those 5000 visitors are actual shoppers (as opposed to pedestrians en route to work or visiting an office building located at Fulton Mall), then we are now looking at 1600-1700 people who are contributing any revenue to the shopping center to help fund the local economy and revitalization efforts. I would be interested to know what kind of purchases Fulton Mall shoppers were making and a rough estimate of the average purchase. If the average Fulton Mall-goer is only making small $5-10 purchases (say, such as buying lunch on their break from work) then it is hardly contributing a significant source of revenue. Downtown revitalization still has a long way to go, it would seem.
Also, instead of focusing on the small portion of Fresnans who do go to the Fulton Mall, what about the 98-99% who do not? What about the Fashion Fair, Fig Garden, Riverpark, and “Don’t go South of Shaw” crowds who have perpetuated the myth of Fulton Mall being a ghost town. What about circulating surveys to the general public (they can either be distributed in heavily-trafficked areas of Fresno, or posted in an online format, such as this website) asking the citizens of Fresno questions such as:
“When was the last time you visited the Fulton Mall?”
“Have you visited the Fulton Mall in the last month?”
“If yes, what was the purpose of your visit?”
“Did you purchase anything? What did you buy and how much was your purchase?”
“If you have not visited the Fulton Mall in the last month, what is/are your reason(s) that prevent you from visiting?”
“What would you like to see added to the Fulton Mall that would make you more interested in visiting?”
Perhaps then, we might have a better idea as to what steps to take in this process of downtown revitalization, and then Fulton Mall might see significantly more then 5000 visitors per day, and more visits than just pedestrian commutes.
May 1, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Dario S.
The fact that over four thousand people are in the Fulton Mall per day is very impressive. Even though it only accounts for roughly one percent of the population in Fresno, about a third of the people are first timers. The Fresno community is still has interests in the Fulton Mall and has not been forgotten. The problem that PBID needs to work on is how to convert first timers into consistent pedestrians. If all the first-time pedestrians from one week returned the following week, there would be roughly an additional fifteen hundred pedestrians per day the second week.
Perhaps if the parking lot at the Fulton Mall did not have a cover charge, there would be more pedestrians. Most inner city parking lots charge money around California, but these cities tends to consistently have a lot of pedestrians. Once Fresno reaches that level of activity, it can begin charging for parking. It is demand and supply. If there is a lot of demand for parking in downtown Fresno, than there should be a fee for parking. Since there is not, the fee should be removed. I would argue that a fee is ok during huge events like Cinco De Mayo festival or the Grizzlies games. Otherwise, fee should be removed.
My second concern is the need of more stores that generalize to the Fresno general population. There would need to be strong advertisement though, because the business would not survive if attempts to attract more people failed. I personally have shopped at the Fulton Mall a few years ago and have been there a few weeks ago for community service. I noticed that most of the products for sale in some stores are targeting the Hispanic culture. Of course these products and services are a necessity in the area because a large percentage of shoppers are Hispanic and without their business the stores will not survive.
I believe it would be great if the Grizzlies official store was moved to the Fulton Mall. I believe this because people who want to buy Grizzlies gear can be exposed to all the other shops in the area. I believe if a lot of good stores are concentrated in one area, like Fashion Fair Mall for example, the perception of the location will be considered “lively” rather than empty. Having a condense area of popular shops can built a domino effect in the Fulton Mall.
The question that I ask myself is if it really is worth trying to “revive” the Fulton Mall. I believe Fresno has more than plenty wonderful shopping centers besides Fulton Mall like Riverpark, Fashion Fair, Manchester Mall and many others. It would be great if people went downtown to see those nice buildings but again there are plenty of other locations to be around Fresno.
The statistics from this research are very interesting. Perceptions of shopping centers are very important and probably predict business success. If people don’t perceive the location as popular, they may not want to shop there. I wonder how the numbers change every year. I would be interested in knowing whether the Fulton Mall is actually growing or declining in pedestrians and how that correlates with people’s perception.
May 2, 2011 at 12:08 am
Angelica Garcia
As I read the postings I thought about why I don’t visit the downtown Fulton Mall anymore. To be honest, the surrounding area is discouraging and I have found my shopping needs fulfilled elsewhere. The downtown project offers a chance for revitalization to an area that needs uplift in the center of Fresno. Traveling through the streets one can see why many don’t care to come into the area. I like the thought of seeing an area that I once walked around as a child with my family. I remember going from shop to shop holding a corn on a stick with some chili and parmesan cheese. I could see it all again, walking around and playing in the water fountains; it was a place my family could afford to be in without spending much money.
As for anyone that has been in the area recently, it is hard to imagine how this can be possible without a tremendous amount of money. Another thing that is hard to over come is safety. Right in downtown many individuals do not feel safe when darkness falls, I wouldn’t. The parking is inconvenient and walking far with shopping bags is not reassuring, but I did see some bicycle cops come and go so the problem seems to be getting better.
Whether Fulton area will thrive or fail is difficult to determine and it comes down to more money. Will these investments receive the expected gains? I believe if the money is used efficiently is possible. Using the funds for more police enforcement, holding events that relate to the community, and rebuilding the ugly parts of this area and turning it into a clean, safe, and welcoming environment is a start.
Fresno has been improving in the downtown area, greater changes need to be implemented for greater change.
May 5, 2011 at 2:02 am
Panos George
You make a good point about the area being discouraging. I remember not wanting to go downtown unless I was with friends or family. The streets have pot holes, the back alleys look scary and people around downtown Fresno do not seem to most friendly. I have never shopped at the Fulton mall as well. I usually go to Fashion Fair or shop online. Gas is always an issue and the location of the mall is far from where I live. It must be tough for people who live around Fulton Mall and want to come over to Northeast Fresno to shop or near Fresno State and go to Fashion Fair. I still can not see how these stores make money, even with investors. As I mentioned earlier in my previous comments. Fulton Mall has been moving in the right direction. I would assume they have special events in the walking path between the stores. Maybe some a musical concerte. I also remember there is not much cultural diversity.
May 2, 2011 at 2:29 am
RyanB
After reviewing this blog I was fascinated to see that so many people are inclined in helping create a better Fresno! Initially, I was halted by some of the statistics that I observed pertaining to observation that occurred at Fulton Mall. I originally had a similar perception that Fulton Mall was dead, so to speak. Within the last year I have been there once, and it was a random trip to view Downtown Fresno. During my experience, I noted quite a few pedestrians and bicyclists, but retrospectively, the numbers were nothing compared to that of the Fashion Fair Mall. Curiously, I began considering why the numbers were so low.
Taking all factors into consideration, I made another trip to Fulton Mall. I was apprehensive about taking this trip since the last time I visited, multiple pan handlers tried to get money from me. However, this trip was made primarily for observation, and had to be done! When at Fulton Mall I made note of race and background of various individuals and groups. Although it was difficult to derive background purely off observation, I was assertive and asked a few individuals what area of Fresno they were from. The results of my observation place a large majority of individuals going to Fulton Mall in lower socioeconomic classes. Many of them were either Hispanic or African American. To complete my observation I decided it would be best to browse multiple stores to get a feel for the environment. Many of the store advertisements were in Spanish, and the employees spoke Spanish wish some broken English. This correlation seemed to support my original observation that many of the people were Hispanic. However, the African American group may have been an aberration to my sample, and of course, since I only did this for one day, do not have conclusive evidence to suggest that any of my observations are encompassing of the total population that visits.
Furthermore, this analysis would not be complete without traveling to the Fashion Fair Mall, so that’s exactly what I did. In an attempt to have comparative data, I sat a bench in the middle of the mall near Starbucks. This observation had many more people passing by. In fact, there were times when groups would be so large that it was difficult to extrapolate the various races even passing by. The population size was considerably larger, with many more white people in comparison to Fulton Mall. For the most part, people were dressed well and had made purchases at stores like Abercrombie and Fitch, Macys, Buckle, and others. I dually noted that people seemed to be on a mission at this mall, whether it was for food or clothing; whereas a lot of people at Fulton Mall seemed to be walking around just enjoying the weather.
Again, the data compiled via my observation cannot be noted as statistically significant without further research. However, when taking into consideration the statement that no one goes to Fulton Mall, this statement can be negated, as obviously people do go to the mall. However, through comparative measures, the numbers that venture into Downtown Fresno to go to this mall seem to be significantly lower. Therefore, in a sense, the population that visits may seem minuscule.
In order to increase the amount of visitors to Fulton Mall, I believe that revitalization and restoration would need to occur in Downtown Fresno. As the city of Fresno continues to add onto the Northern part of Fresno, we are losing out on a large portion of customers that would have gone to Downtown Fresno to do their shopping.
-RyanB
May 2, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Priyanka Nijhawan
Fulton mall is a jewel of a Fresno past. I have been to Fulton mall a couple of times. Usually when I go to Farmers Market. I did think the mall was rather empty or lacking in shoppers. On the surface this seemed to be the reason why Fulton mall has failed. This experiment by students and faculty of Fresno State’s anthropology department contradicts my perception. The Fulton mall does have a sizable pedestrian traffic. But the perception of a ghost mall still persists. The mall survives due to the nearby community. As stated in the study, the local residents are the primary consumers. People from other areas of Fresno almost never visit the Fulton Mall. Most of us in North Fresno have either never heard or never been downtown to the Fulton mall. In an era of high standard of living, people can afford to travel long distances just to be able to shop at chic shops. I know I am guilty of having driven to outlet centers in search for deals at stylish shops.
Presently, I would be interested in a study where the anthropology department can go back out to Fulton Mall and recount the pedestrian traffic. As you may know recently the gas prices have increased rapidly. This spike in prices has lead most local consumers to shop at their nucleus mall. The main objective of the recount could be to see if the numbers of pedestrian traffic do increase. If they do, then we would have a variety of possible solutions. One is that even the neighboring community tends to commute to other nucleus malls for their shopping needs. This means brand names are the primary draw lacking in the Fulton Mall area. If the traffic does not increase then it would mean the Fulton Mall is largely a result of the socioeconomic status of its community. If this is the case, then only an improvement in the living conditions of the community will result in Fulton Malls revitalization.
I would also be keen to see if the anthropology department can do a case study of the Sierra Vista mall. I remember back in the day the Sierra Vista Mall was usually never crowded. Supposedly they took out a loan and did some major renovation work. Presently, the Sierra Vista mall is better than ever. More crowded and has better shopping facilities. What was the underlying cause that allowed for the revitalization for the Sierra Vista mall? After all, success is always imitated.
May 3, 2011 at 10:36 am
Vanessa B.
There are many different views I hear regarding Fulton Mall. Recently, I spoke to a coworker who is older and described how it was back in the past. She described how Fulton Mall in its day was popular. After Fulton Mall, popularity went to Manchester Mall and it is now to Fashion Fair and River Park. It seems that the popularity of the mall has moved north to a higher socio-economic area.
I understand some people may not be interested in going to the Fulton Mall because it does not offer much retail shopping. Fulton Mall is filled with small stores and none are recognizable retail stores, like Macy’s or Kohls.
A lot of views regarding Fulton Mall are that it is dangerous because it is down town and down town has a large homeless population and crime. I wonder if there are any statistics regarding the crimes and which types. Are they crimes that would pose a risk to customers going to down town such as theft and robbery.
From my experience many people go down town to visit agencies such as WIC, the courthouse and the Mexican Consulate. Recently the Mexican Consulate has moved locations and one of the benefits they stated was parking. They felt the new location benefited citizens so that they would not have to pay for parking. As mentioned in an earlier blog, parking is not charged at other malls only Fulton. It can drive people away because if they do visit they do not want to have to worry about feeding a meter when shopping.
According to the study, a large part of the population attending the Fulton Mall is Hispanic. I have been to the Fulton Mall on a few occasions. One was to attend a Mexican Independence Celebrations and other one to shop for items I needed for a church celebration. Had it not been for my Mexican heritage, I probably would not have shopped at Fulton mall.
I love the idea that the city wants to save part of Fresno’s history but it seems progress has been very slow. They even built the Chukchansi stadium for our baseball team but I’m not sure if that has been successful either. I hope it does improve because it would be unfortunate to see it go.
May 3, 2011 at 12:19 pm
James Ros
It’s interesting to see the numbers. Though there is a lot of traffic, I wonder how many people actually buy things. I bet there are a lot who go just to “window shop” or hang out. Or maybe a lot of people go to just grab a bite to eat. Even if the numbers (foot traffic) are there, are the businesses making a profit?
May 5, 2011 at 1:52 am
Panos George
I am curious how many people buy things as well. I am assuming businesses do not make much profit, if any. I was thinking about putting food as a means of foot traffic at Fulton mall. You make a good point with eating out. I do remember quite a few amount of people at Fulton mall, but it was about three years ago. It could be the location of the mall as well. Is it not located around the Grizzles stadium? Downtown Fresno has tried to progress in the past couple of years as well. Remodeling has taken place and I must say from pictures, it looks impressive. My friend actually works downtown at the court house and mentions downtown Fresno is much more cleaner than it was in the past. Apartments were alos remodeled with a modern look to it as well. I like where downtown Fresno is going, in the right direction. I know it is going to take awhile till the final outcome is achieved. Seeing this slow progress has to bring joy to all people living in Fresno.
May 5, 2011 at 1:45 am
Panos George
It was quite shocking to see the numbers between weekdays and weekends. I could see how some days of the week, there would be a low turn out for people at the Fulton Mall. I have been to the Fulton Mall a few years back. My experience was great. I did see quite a bit of people shopping or hanging out with their friends. I was not surprised however when I saw the lowest turn out on October 6th with 55 people on hand. If you think about it throughly, people have to run a business in the Fullton Mall just like in middle class to upper class areas of Fresno. Businesses take employees to run and leading to a percentage of the average.
May 6, 2011 at 10:37 am
StevenM
This article was interesting. I have only lived in Fresno for about 4 years now and have never been to Fulton Mall. I live with Family members, who have lived here for many years, and they have never mentioned the Fulton Mall. I found that I actually work about 4 mins away from the mall. My co-workers also have not mentioned the mall since my 2 years of being there. The methodology of the research increased the validity of the results. The researchers covered both the quantitative and qualitative methodolgies. I am curious why no one that I associate with has mentioned that mall.
May 9, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Benjamin Bravo
I find this study quite interesting because it contradicts the perception that is out about the Fulton Mall. People do visit the mall quite frequently, especially the locals that live within and around the downtown area. I have a different perspective because I grew up in downtown Fresno. I grew up riding my bike in downtown Fresno. I used to wonder why the Fulton mall was mostly frequented by people from my neighborhood. I never noticed any of my teachers or any other professional that I came in contact with in downtown Fresno. I always felt safe in downtown Fresno because that was the area I grew up in. Now I understand why middle income people never came and still don’t come to downtown Fresno – it is because of the perception of downtown. Downtown Fresno is not a bad place to visit. In 32 years of being in and around the downtown Fresno area I have never experienced any problems. As an adult I work in the downtown area I often visit the local stores to shop. The only problem is that there is not a lot of selection as far as clothing is concerned. It used to be a great place for me to shop when I was younger. I have changed my style of dress the selection of clothing on the mall is the same as when I was a kid. The problem is that there is not a whole lot of quality when it comes to clothing or any other merchandise that you might think about purchasing in the downtown area. I wish that a company would take a chance on the downtown area. I think big business could be successful here. Downtown Fresno reminds me of Denver, CO. Downtown Denver is much more successful because the city has invested in it. In the downtown Denver area it had two story buses that would drive you from one end to the other. It had top notch restaurants that you could take a family to. They had a baseball stadium where a family could go and see a ballgame. Downtown Denver thrived because the city and the people believed in the area. Fresnans need to start believing in the downtown area. If the city were to create a transportation system and invest money in the right places downtown could once again thrive like it once was. The downtown area needs to be the heart once again we need to see that the city is built around the downtown area. If you build it people will come. I have gone to the Saroyan theatre to see theatrical performances and for the most part these shows seem to be full or sold out. The problem is that there are no top dollar restaurants in downtown Fresno to eat at. People are no given a choice to change their perception of downtown Fresno because they come and visit but they leave right after the show because there are no places to visit after the show. I wished that big business would give downtown Fresno the opportunity to show them that people are willing to shop downtown. I just hope that some day the city Fresno will take a page out of downtown Denver, CO and downtown Kansas City, MO. These two downtown areas are very comparable to the Fulton mall. According to this study the Fulton mall is successful if measured by mere numbers. What are the possibilities if brand name businesses were to move into downtown Fresno? The number of people would double if not triple because the people from downtown Fresno that frequent the river park area would no longer need to do so because they would have a place in downtown Fresno to shop at.
May 10, 2011 at 6:04 pm
StephanieA
The Fulton Mall’s Perceptual Problem has been hidden issue. Personally, I did not think or believe many people used the Fulton Mall or the services it offers; I was among Fresno’s public that radically underestimated the number of people walking thru the Fulton Mall. Seeing how my I do not spend much time in downtown or specifying in Fulton Mall, I did not see the use of a walking mall. Upon reviewing the data in the article, my initial thought was “Wow”. It was surprising to see the amount of people that walk repeatedly during the day thru the Fulton Mall. In my experience I have only been there for cultural events such as the celebration of the independence of Mexico in September and in May. It was last year when I went with to the festival held during September and noticed the full use of the Fulton Mall. I know the perceptions I had of the Fulton Mall’s use were not always positive, but what are the negative views of a walking mall in downtown area? After reading the research, it seems clear there is a positive use for the Fulton Mall for many people downtown. I can imagine the number of pedestrians walking in the Fulton Mall would increase in better weather conditions than when the surveys were taken. I can see how the pedestrians from around the area utilize the services within walking distance to the fullest extend to help save money on gas, help the air quality in Fresno, have physical exercise and save part of the urban living in Fresno. I personally think Fresno and Clovis should start incorporating more areas like the Fulton Mall to encourage the public to more involved in the community.
May 10, 2011 at 8:47 pm
EARL P
It was interesting to see the guesses of the amount of people that go to the Fulton mall and the actual numbers. I also think the amount of people that go to the mall do not spend money. I would like to see how much revenue the mall as a whole takes in on the average day. I think this is the problem. The problem is not getting people to walk through; it’s getting people to spend. After reading and understanding the purpose of the research, it made sense why the city is hard pressed to improve the Fulton mall. In my opinion it would cost more to improve that area then it would bring in. Take for example the huge empty buildings that surround most of the mall. How much would it cost to modernize those buildings. I see on the news all the time that one of those building is going up for auction and know one buys it. I know some of them have small businesses inside of them, but I also know that the majority of the space is empty. The buildings look real nice, but investors are looking for a profit. And will profit and bankability come from a specific type of ethnic group. The area mostly caters to Hispanics, that’s the bottom line. The numbers prove that. I never had a doubt that people go to Fulton mall, it is still there. It had to be making enough to survive. So, besides the amount of people that walk through, we need to know who is spending money. I would like to see it compared to Riverpark or Manchester Center. Manchester Center and Fulton mall once had their heyday at one time. The question is does having a large amount of people walk through an area; give it reason to be revitalized. I think just having a lot of people walking through doesn’t give it a huge leg to stand on. And who wants this? Every time I see people trying to campaign for revitalization it’s always older people, where is the youth of Fresno trying to save it. Does the older crowd think they can save it, so they relive their youth? I think if this place has any chance of surviving it needs to appeal to the younger generation. I think if you can bring something fun to the Fulton Mall. Your number of people will increase and so will the money. Also, they need to make it free parking.
May 10, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Marisol Vera
I have to say that I’m very surprise for the number of people that goes to the Fulton mall. I thought for a minute that the Fulton mall was not the favorite place for people to shop or to visit. I was there one time and there were few people shopping, which made me leave the mall becase it felt boaring. I probably went one of those days where less people go shopping. Is interesting to know that a lot of people likes to go to the Fulton mall. People probably likes to go and eat there because what I witness that day at the mall is that the mall have various food places. I have to say that one thing that I liked about the Fulton mall is that is an open mall and not just one big close building like the Fashion Fair Mall. The Fulton Mall may be for many hispanics the perfect place to celebrate cultural heritages because the Fulton Mall resemble the plazas from Mexico where cultural events take place.
May 10, 2011 at 11:52 pm
HannahD
One year ago, I went to Fulton Mall once with my friend because she was looking for a dress for her friend’s wedding. One thing that I don’t like about the Fulton Mall is the parking. I didn’t know that we had to pay for the parking at the Fulton Mall. I had never been there and that was my first time visiting that place. There weren’t a lot of stores at the Fulton Mall and I didn’t see many people shopping there. People probably go to other malls for more convenience because there are more stores. In addition, they don’t have to pay for the parking. Personally, I didn’t want to pay for the parking at the Fulton Mall. I would rather go to Fashion Fair Mall where I don’t have to pay for the parking and there are more stores for me to shop. I think that if the city of Fresno doesn’t charge money for parking, people will go to the Fulton Mall more often. For those who go there often, it’s likely that they work or live in that area. Thus, they are more familiar with the area. Research showed that there were 1048 people who walked past the Clock Tower on a chilly and rainy day. I was surprised by this statistic. When I was there, it was a Saturday morning and there weren’t a lot of people there. The research mentioned that people come to shop, work, commute and do personal business during the weekdays. However, on Saturday, only shoppers visit the Fulton Mall.
May 11, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Kyle D
Public perception can be a very unreliable and unrealistic tool in the social sciences. It often is based upon each individual’s own experience with the subject in question. This often offers wide variance in opinion due to the vast amount of different walks of life created in our society. This is further compounded by the amount of persons questioned in the survey. Therefore, it is no wonder public opinion on this subject was so different from the data attained by you and your students.
I am not originally from Fresno, but instead am from Bakersfield, Ca. I came to Fresno four years ago to attend Fresno State in pursuit of a degree in Music Education. Fresno has two very impressive malls, Fashion Fair and Manchester Malls, that I have visited. However, I have never visited the Fulton Mall. This is surprising for a college age student, the usual target customer of malls. This is probably due to the fact that the mall is relatively far from campus. On top of this, there are two closer alternatives to the Fulton Mall that are close to campus; one right down Shaw and the other just a little bit farther of a drive. On top of this the Fulton Mall is located in downtown Fresno. It seems every city’s downtown area is an unpleasant location to visit. Often driving in downtown areas is a pain due to limited free parking, one-way streets, narrow two-lane streets, and a lack of protected turns. Fresno’s downtown area is no exception. Taking these reasons into account, it is not hard to see why the general public might be further convinced that the mall is not often visited. The amount of reasons to avoid the area the Fulton mall is located might influence public perception of the frequency in which the mall is visited.
General perception might be held accountable for the wide gap between guessed statistics and actual statistics. Almost everyone has participated in the common fairground game of guessing the amount of Jelly Beans in a jar. While participants may be able to see the outer Jelly Beans contained in the jar, often guesses are widely out of the range of the actual amount of jelly beans contained. Like the jelly bean game, participants in this anthropological survey most likely guessed based upon what they could see on the outermost layer of the jar. In this case, it would be the amount of people currently around them. The amount of people around them at one time is hardly an accurate representation of the amount of people passing through daily however. The Jelly Bean game also does not inherently produce any bias like the Fulton mall might, yet still results can be drastically dissimilar to actual data. No one is going to guess there are less Jelly Beans in a jar because it’s located in an inconvenient area, yet still guesses can still be far from the actual data. Perhaps human error is the more ambiguous culprit for this surprising data.
May 11, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Maria Cuevas
Maria C.
The results of the study regarding the number of visitors in the Fulton Mall are very surprising to me. I have been living in Fresno for the past two years, and since I started living in here; I always heard negative comments about the Fulton Mall. For example, “there is no stores in there”, “no one goes there”, “it is very dangerous, there is always crimes happening around the area” and, “there is not free parking spaces like in the other malls” and the list keeps on going. I personally had the opportunity of visiting the Fulton mall two times, but not for shopping. The first time, I visited the mall during the weekdays to collect some paperwork from one the offices located in there. I remember only seeing few pedestrians and, little movement in the stores. The second time, I assisted to a big event organized by one of the Fresno radios; a couple of famous artist were invited and many ambulant sellers were there. I cannot predict the exact number of the people who assisted the event, but I can say that there was thousands. Now, that I read the article about the number of visitants during the weekdays and the weekends of Fulton Mall, I can say that there is more activity than what I have heard and, I personally thought. I always thought the Fulton Mall would only get crowded when there were special events and, there was famous people attending them. It is very surprising that the daily visitant to the Mall reaches the thousands in a daily basis either for shopping or business related. I would have guess that during the weekends there would be less visitants because, most of the business buildings are closed during those days. According to the study the numbers are a lot higher during those days and, the people there go mostly for shopping; I think this fact it is very interesting because, I would expect people to go do other diligences except go shopping in there. If someone would of asked my to guess the number of visitants to the Fulton Mall, I would also guessed wrong like the people who were asked in the study. Definitely, I would have offered a very low number compared to the actual number of visitants. Certainly, there is a misunderstanding and underestimation how many people visit the Fulton Mall among the Fresno people. A very surprising fact presented in the article is that even in rainy and chilly days there is a very high number of pedestrian in the mall. It is clear that people have a misconception and a negative opinion about the Fulton Mall.
If I was asked if I like shopping at the Fulton Mall, I would answer no. I personally do not like to go shopping there, the two times I visited the mall, I had a really hard time finding a parking space, when I found it, I had to insert money in the meters. I think the parking cost is a very inconvenient issue for people who decide to visit the place because, you have to walk a long distance, pay, and there is no much surveillance to take care of your car. I rather visit the “Fashion Fair Mall” or the “River Park “ shopping center. The parking its for free, there is continuous surveillance in the parking lots and, parking spaces are very close to the stores.
May 12, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Prabhdeep B.
It is quite surprising to me how much people underestimated the number of people that go to the Fulton mall. Since I live sort of far away from the mall, I never even went there myself. I may have passed by it without recognizing. It is amazing how 1048 people were found to have visited the Fulton mall, especially on a rainy day. Fulton Mall does need improvement now to do better; now that it has been created in such a location where mostly business people travel. It requires larger stores, when compare to River Park, Sierra Vista, and fashion fair. Buyers and shoppers look for places where they can find the most stuff and are able to choose from a great variety. Buyers also get free parking in the other malls and don’t have to walk miles. Just the fact that it is in down is a huge disadvantage in itself, so why make it even more of a disadvantage by charging people for parking. It was amazing for me to see the statistics as the lowest guess was 55 and exaggerated guess of number of maximum visitors being 7000. This is unbelievable. Also, amazingly I found out that the mall is rather more of a business during the week instead of on weekends. I was not amazed that African Americans and Latinos were in greatest numbers present at the Fulton Mall. This is very similar to the Fresno Downtown population in general. I think the reason why Latinos are more likely to use Fulton Mall for work and commute is due to the fact where it is located. Unsurprisingly, I would agree that people that are less stable financially are more likely to use Fulton mall. Back to the study itself, I do think it could have been a more accurate one because Fresno’s population is actually much greater than couple thousand downtown visitors. In the survey, they were more interested in the number of pedestrians, their general purpose of going, and what group and ethnicity they belonged to. I think instead just figuring out that majority that visited had a low socioeconomic status was not enough, there could have been more focus on whether those people that went did any shopping or not. Cultural differences can be studied further. It would be interesting to do the same studies at other malls like fashion fair and river park to compare at more close level. I never had even heard of Fulton Mall, even though I live in Fresno. Just the term Fulton sounds a little familiar but not the term mall anywhere near it. Knowing the location, I would have guessed that the population that I would expect visiting this mall would be business people or people that are poor since downtown is known for many people of low financial status. Now that I have found out about the mall, I will definitely go there and compare with my own eyes. When I first heard that the mall is in downtown, I felt uninterested about it since it is located in downtown. But I will want to see how the mall looks now. Thanks, Prabhdeep Bassi
May 14, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Jeffrey Guinn
I find this post very interesting due to the fact that I worked at the Public Defenders office from August of 2010 until December of 2010, at which time i would frequently visit the Fulton mall for lunch almost daily. Many of the lawyers that I worked with at the PD office would also visit the mall during their lunch breaks due to the fact that the food there is very good and relatively cheap. I do understand as well as agree with the findings that lower income families shop at the Fulton Mall, because of the fact that the stores there are all mom and pop stores. They have very low prices on clothes as well as furniture, among many other things, which is a main drawing factor for these families that have lower incomes then others. I would say that in my own personal opinion after seeing the survey results as well as visiting the Fulton Mall frequently, that the reason we don’t see many families of higher incomes visiting the mall is because they would rather shop at brand name stores, which are found in places such as Riverpark or Fashion Fair mall. These are the places where people who have the money to spend, go to spend it. The stores in Fulton mall however are not dirty, run down, and actually have some really good deals on clothes. I bought a full suit from one of the stores and it only cost me 70 dollars where at any other retail store it would have cost roughly around 400 dollars. These are amazing deals, that I think everyone should know about. This would bump up the already surprising large foot traffic that comes through the Fulton mall daily. One thing that I think is a reason as to why during the week there is a larger foot traffic then on the weekends is like I said prior, many of the lawyers that work during the week at the courthouse, use the Fulton mall to go to lunch and grab food. This would also explain the increase in foot traffic during the lunch hour period as noted by the group doing the study. Another thing about this study that I found to be along the lines of normal was the fact that the majority of people who attended the Fulton Mall regularly were predominately African Americans as well as Latino’s. This is because in Fresno, the majority of people who live in low income areas, as well as receive a lower income then most other people in Fresno, are those who are African American and Latino. The reason why this is, is due to the fact they are at a sever economic disadvantage. In the United States, California in particular, Latinos are among the most poverty stricken race along side of African Americans, which is the reason why the fact that they are among the most common people to shop at the Fulton Mall. This is why anthropology is so profound and important to society in order to better understand these findings.
May 16, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Kimmy Steinbuch
As a student at Fresno State, I have not adventured very far into the down town area. I was always told to stay away from down town by people who had been to Fresno or had lived here for short periods of time throughout their lives. After living here for three years I have become more comfortable with driving through down town and through the tower district as well.
It was astonishing to see how many people visited the Fulton mall and that they did so quite often. I can see how the numbers were higher during the week for those visiting the mall especially for work. The people who need to walk through the mall multiple times per week for work will not be turned away by a little rain or cold weather.
If the visitors to the mall didn’t work there they most likely had something they had to get at the mall or someone that they had to meet there. At home the malls are a kind of hot spot for young teens to hang out when they don’t want to be at home or with their parents. I can see a few thousand people being present at any mall during the day, especially around lunch time, so that was not as surprising. People who work in close vicinity to the mall could also come there to shop or simply spend some time out of the office for their lunch break.
Of the people who had been interviewed, it makes complete sense that they lived in the surrounding areas of down town. Although the people from these zip codes don’t seem to have a high family income, the mall goers don’t necessarily need to be buying something every time they go to the mall. It may be a nice change to go somewhere close to home but different and more exciting. These individuals will also want to stay closer to home for economical purposes if they need to actually buy something from the mall.
The malls on the Fresno area have a lot to offer in appearance and number of high end stores. Also at home there are a few malls that you would prefer to go to. If the Fulton mall area was friendlier visually, the people who go downtown would feel more welcome to visit the mall, in turn raising the number of visitors. It seems like the mall doesn’t have the funding due to the fact that the parks district controls it. It is unfortunate that the mall cannot become friendlier to those of us who do not live down town. I have begun going downtown more and more for sporting events and would love to adventure, but nowhere looks very eye appealing. If those of us who have never been to Fulton mall can go and visit, maybe the parks district will see new faces coming to the mall and be able to put some money into it in the near future.
May 17, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Andranik Avakian
Coming from New York City, I can only bow my head down and ask myself what were we thinking when we relocated. But I’ve been living here in the valley long enough to know why our downtown suffers from sickle cell anemia and I am truly glad to hear that there is hope at the end of tunnel, as evidenced by this study. When I moved here in 2000, Fulton mall hasn’t changed much in many respects, where as in big cities like New York City, the city is constantly bringing change and revitalization to every corner you turn. The fact of the matter is the county of Fresno is not involved enough in making plans and intervening with our downtown( Fulton Mall is only a small slice of the pie), and thus places like Fulton Mall suffer because it essentially has nothing to play off of. I currently work at the hospital in downtown so I’m very familiar with the area and I can tell you that downtown Fresno has lots of potential. There’s a casino, lots of areas to establish an abundant nightlife and yet there’s not a single social joint that stays open past 11pm, even the Starbucks closes at 9pm. The city planners did a terrible job laying out the grid work for the entire city. Every major intersection you come to is the exact same thing (a shopping center and it’s parking lot). When Donald Trump announced that he was planning on investing in downtown Fresno (along with his “Running Horse” golf course), a lot of people felt that would have been the turning point for a major downtown revitalization, but the conservative city officials (these people are why downtown suffers) mucked the deal up somehow. Why is it that every city in California (other than the conservative “red” cities in the central valley) have awesome downtowns and social infrastructure. Personally, I don’t find anything appealing about any of the remaining shops at Fulton mall and quite honestly, the mall is littered with immigration law offices and places to take passport pictures. With that said, you can’t really blame people for not wanting to visit or shop here. I currently live in north Fresno and can tell you that if the shops and entertainment offered uptown move downtown, people will follow. However, I don’t see that happening. If nothing major changes, the best solution for Fulton mall is the get rid of walkway in the middle and convert the mall into a two way street. Five thousand people generating foot traffic per day doesn’t seem much at all, given that this place is considered to be one of city’s biggest attraction points. Fulton mall reminds me of a stained shirt of mine that I wear to the gym…which I’m planning on getting rid of soon.
May 19, 2011 at 9:52 pm
NatalyS
Reading this post does not surprise me one bit about its results and the “type” of people that visit the Fulton mall. I live pretty far from that area so I have only been there a couple of times due to events. But I would never think to wake up on a Saturday morning and tell myself that I will be visiting the Fulton Mall today. That thought would never even occur to me. However, I would most definitely visit River Park, Fig Garden, or Woodward Park because those are the places that I enjoy going. It is true that those who visit the Fulton Mall live in the zip code area where income is lower. The area does not look like it is “low class” but if you were to compare to any of the other areas in the Fresno area, it would be considered that way.
Although, I am very shocked that so many people do visit the Fulton Mall. Over a 1000 people daily. That is a huge shocker to me given the fact that I thought the place was boring or not up to anyone’s standards. But I did learn that there are a lot of cool shopping areas and events that happen often that bring those people to the Fulton Mall. One thing that troubles me about the downtown area of Fresno and the Fulton Mall is that there is no free parking. If you go to River Park or fashion fair mall, you just park the car and enjoy shopping, eating, or just hanging out. When you want to go to the Fulton mall u have to pay to park your car in a garage or on the streets with meters, otherwise you have to search all over the place for free parking. For a place that is not so up to the standards of people with the median average, I say that is kind of pathetic. It just seems as though they should be able to give free parking to people due to the fact that not as much people visit the Fulton Mall than they would to River Park or Fig Garden. Due to that not, what were the people who were visiting the Fulton Mall doing? Were they shopping, eating, or were they just walking by to get to another place, therefore, not actually visiting the Fulton Mall itself. I think that plays a huge role to whether or not the Fulton Mall is actually being visited by over a 1000 people or not. My guess is that the majority of that number is those pedestrians who are passing by rather than actually having any interest for the Fulton Mall.
My opinion to the Fulton Mall is that I do not enjoy going there. No offense to anyone of course. I would never make time to go shopping, eating, or hanging out there or anywhere nears it. I am sure many people enjoy it, but for me, I would much rather stick to the good old River park and its new environment.
May 22, 2011 at 10:08 pm
HolleeyBusch
This research article was very interesting. It is not too often that one gets to read about research done in their own community. This research affects every Fresno resident because downtown is a center for businesses and many government agencies. At some point nearly everyone living in Fresno will visit downtown Fresno, and the Fulton mall is right at the center of this. When I think of the fulton mall I think of it as being “ghetto” meaning that I see many homeless people and the lower socio-economic class. I also have a perception of it being unpopular and only being used for work and transportation purposes. But after reading this article I have been proven wrong. There is actually a large amount of pedestrians’ each day at the Fulton mall much more than I would have ever guessed. This article also stated that many people are there for shopping purposes especially on the weekends. I did not even realize that there were still so many shopping stores. I had just assumed that most had shut down due to lack of business. Individuals from the poorer neighborhoods are more likely to shop at the Fulton Mall and non-Latinos use the mall for business, commute, and school purposes these facts were not surprising to me. With this in mind it is safe to assume that the majority of shoppers are Latino. The stores that I have seen at the Fulton mall are stores that pertain to Hispanics. Perhaps another reason that residents with a lower income shop at the Fulton mall could be due to the fact that it is close to their homes and transportation is easier for them. A large portion of visitors were from the downtown area and zip codes on the south and east sides of the mall. Residents with a higher income have the luxury of shopping where they please. The stores at the Fulton mall are also cheaper stores that would attract lower income residents. Restoring the Fulton mall has its pros and cons, if it were restored then Fresno would look much more attractive, it is after all the center of our city. If restored it could possibly attract more people, it already has much more visitors than is perceived, if updated and restored it would only attract more people. The cons are that perhaps the money spent on restoration costs will not outweigh the cost revenue it receives back from visitors. Stores would need to take a chance and hope for the best. It could be a revenue increase or a loss of money for the city. This study showed that the Fulton mall is frequently used and not only by people who work nearby but by people shopping and running errands. This was not only surprising to me but by the majority of people surveyed to guess the amount of pedestrians per day. The fact that it is being used frequently now shows that a restoration would be beneficial to the city. The amount of visitors can only go up by introducing new stores and making it more attractive.
November 18, 2011 at 12:29 am
Kenneth Nguyen
What is it with Fulton Malls Perception? I feel there are many reasons why Fresno’s Fulton Mall gets a bad rap. The buildings are run down, there is nothing modern or cool about the architecture. The shops that are located here are similar to a swapmeet. They sell out of date clothes, along with fake knock off brands. For this reason, the merchandise is not fashionable. Besides the older, out of date shops at the Fulton Mall, there are many homeless people who live in this area, and because the Fulton Mall is located in Southwest Fresno, many people are afraid to come here, thinking they may fall victim to a serious crime. Statistical information of the Fulton Mall is not very appealing. 48.6% of the people who live in this area are below the poverty level and close to 50% have never graduated high school. It is reasons like these that give the Fulton Mall a bad perception. Although it is widely underestimated the number of visitors the Fulton Mall receives daily, it does not explain why many people feel this is an unpopular part of Fresno. If it is so heavily visited by people, then why not reinvest in the buildings and bring in more businesses that would be more popular to a larger majority of Fresnans? Through its shops and image, I feel it is evident that Fulton Mall caters to the lower socioeconmic class. If we want to change the perception, the image of Fulton Mall, we need to begin by changing its image, and eventually revitalizing the area. I feel Fulton Mall has a lot of potential, but just like any thing else you need investors who are willing to go in and try to revitalize the area.
November 23, 2011 at 2:50 pm
LeahW.
This was very informative and interesting. I myself have never visited Fulton Mall and considered it to be a dead zone. I had no idea the volume of people that were visiting the mall and the surrounding areas. It is also interesting that most people visiting the mall were there during the noon hr. This might be due to business men/women taking their lunch etc. In addition I was surprised that the numbers of people present during the weekdays were higher than those present on the weekend. This survey is a great start to really analyzing the need of the Fulton Mall. It would further more be interesting to analyze the gross profit of the Fulton mall on all those days with respect to the amount of visitors. In addition I beleive that it would be not worthy to analyze the age range of the people visiting the mall. Are there more teens and young adults? Are there more Mother’s with their children? Are there more senior citizens visiting the mall? These are all the questions I was asking myself while reading this survey.
The Fulton Mall appears to not only be a place where we can conduct our shopping but also a place that people come to get out of the rain and cold weather as well as to walk around and possibly get out of the house with their children etc. After seeing the numbers and reading this article it is easy to say that the Fulton Mall see’s it’s fair share of people and that it is not in fact a dead zone but rather a place that sees a good quantity of traffic throughout the work week and weekend.
November 26, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Martha T.
I am very happy to hear that the Fulton Mall is not as much as a “ghost town” as people believe. The fact that only one person overestimated the number of pedestrians walking past the clock tower is really surprising to me, I didn’t realize there was such a stigma against the Fulton Mall. I hope the results of this study are widely circulated to begin changing the public’s perception of the Fulton Mall/downtown Fresno. I think that downtown has a lot of potential, it really seems like there are thriving businesses there; such as Kiku Floral and COIL Yoga Studio that are doing well. If the misconceptions about downtown were broken down, then maybe business owners wouldn’t be so hesitant to open up shop there.
There should be more publicity overall downtown to work on this. Fresno Magazine often covers and reviews businesses in the area, such as Revive, a raw, yummy, vegetarian restaurant. More events (especially properly publicized events) also draw people in the area where they can see what downtown is really like. Also, once they’re there, they are more likely to patronize the local businesses. ArtHop is a great such event, where around 80 venues are open monthly displaying local artist’s work. This is a win-win for the Fresno Community. It brings people to the downtown area, and it helps local artists by getting their work and their names out there. A lot of the art is usually for sale as well. The farmers market, which accounted for a number of the pedestrians counted on Wednesday, is also a great event. There should be farmers markets on the weekends, when more people could attend on a non-work day (if there aren’t already).
I ran the Two Cities Marathon and Half (I did the half) this year and I liked that packet and bib pickup was at Chukchansi Park because it brought at least 6,000 runners into the area. I think it’s quite possible that some of those runners had never been downtown before (the race took place in North Fresno/Clovis). The last time I ran that race two years ago the pickup location was in North Fresno at a school near several neighborhoods and few businesses. I don’t know if the placement at Chukchansi Park was a consumerism stimulant strategy but I’m sure it drummed up business downtown at least a bit. The California Classic race (coming up in May) is also a great event that begins downtown and goes through the Tower District and the Chaffee Zoo. There is also a cycling race, drawing more than one type of athlete (and their friends/families to cheer them on!) to the area.
I hope that the completion of the new lofts being built down the street from the Iron Bird Lofts will further increase the numbers in the Fulton Mall. If more people live downtown, more consumerism will result. Especially since 1/3 of the surveyed pedestrians reside in one of the three closest zip codes.
Finally, I think that more studies, utilizing the free labor provided by students seems like a great way to get the word out about downtown. If more studies were conducted, it would shed light on the reality of Fulton Mall and the rest of downtown.
-Martha T.
November 28, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Louis Gennuso
Fulton Mall is run-down, dirty, and overrun with the homeless. The “perception” of Fulton Mall is reality. The high traffic volume is attributed to government office employees, jury duty and the homeless. Being down there recently for jury duty I did notice how many people were down there walking around, many elderly people just getting out side, many jurors eating lunch, lawyers scrambling around trying to get to court, but very few people shopping. I witnessed virtually no one walking around with bags of purchased goods like you would at Fashion Fair Mall. The attempt at revitalization has already occurred with the baseball stadium, as nice as it is promoters cannot even attract enough bodies to sell out a game because the area is so run down and off the beaten path. There was an alleged attempt to bring a Bass Pro Shop to Fulton but it fell through for whatever reason. For Fulton Mall to come back to life it will need to start with a big-name anchor store that is the only show in town. Bass Pro Shop would have accomplished that. It would have attracted new money from not only Fresno and Clovis but outlying towns as well because of its uniqueness. It would have allowed local businesses to open eventually and would slowly drive out the “swap meet” and downtown could once again be desirable. But for now, it is just a shell of a mall surrounded by bad neighborhoods.
November 30, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Lauren G
If you were to approach me and ask me how many people I thought were regulars at the Fulton mall, I would have guessed no more than 200 daily, including the population of homeless that make their beds on the benches. I can say though, in my adult years, I have never purposefully taken a trip to the Fulton Mall. As a former employee of the Downtown Fresno area, I worked at venues such as Hero’s Sports Bar on Inyo and VanNess as well as in the 600 Club of Chukchansi Park. We all heard the ideas brewing of the efforts to revamp downtown. They brought a club to Chukchansi Park, Hero’s Sports Bar turned into nightlife, etc. Fulton Mall, from what I heard, was also in the mix to be redone and spruced up. However, over the 3 years I worked downtown, many of the days I worked, I would walk through the Fulton Mall. I may be biased, but all I saw were people walking into the Park. I rarely saw individuals going into the stores or walking around with shopping bags. I remember as a kid, my older sister was getting married and we bought her dress from Luftenburg’s in the Fulton Mall, which seemed much more populated than in recent years. After reading the research done, I am very happy to see that I am sadly mistaken on my guess of people that frequent the mall. My times of walking through were clearly congested with baseball goers. I am happy to see the photos showing proof that Fulton Mall can still carry its own and provide a vital heartbeat to the dowtown area. After all, the first Hero’s (there is now a second one by a different owner) closed down and the club at Chukchansi Park stopped operating. This proves Fulton Mall can weather the storm. Despite the number of commuters, including myself, that walked through the mall, the number of pedestrians is clearly higher than many of us expected. It would be nice to see the supporters of Dowtown Fresno really do something with the mall in terms of a make-over, but keeping Fresno’s history intact. My grandmother used to work at the old Gottschalk’s building downtown and often told me what a scene the Fulton Mall used to be. It was busy, full of life, and bustling with shoppers moreso than commuters. This only reminds me of Fashion Fair. If we could get the Mall back to what it used to be in its Golden Years, I think we would see a new Downtown alltogether and hopefully the numbers would rise from 4000. All in all, Fulton Mall has so much potential clearly many Fresnans do not see.It is actually a beautiful space with interesting architecture, sculptures, and even a stream running through it. Playing up on its attributes would likely enhance and invite more people to the area, increasing the numbers of pedestrians that passed through. Additionally, there may be potential for commuters to swing in and shop on their lunch breaks or do a little shopping before heading home. I appreciate the research done to prove to me as well as many others that Fulton Mall does not in fact have tumbleweeds rolling through it and that there is still a pulse in the downtown Fresno shopping district.
April 10, 2014 at 11:20 am
What’s Your Walk Score? | Des Moines Area MPO
[…] the bus counts?’ They were like, ‘What?’ ” People on foot can be a more elusive quarry—a study of the Fulton Mall in Fresno, Calif., found the amount of pedestrian traffic people perceived was […]
August 2, 2014 at 3:57 pm
stephen
as a child back in the 60’s, the mall was a wonderful place. all the main retail stores were there… there were trams you could ride that would take you from place to place. then came the decline. the manchester mall did not do it. it was the constructions of the sierra vista mall and the inclination of modern business and home contructions to go north that sounded the mall’s final death knoll. ALL of the major businesses have been gone for years. the big buildings which had many thousands of individual businesses are all closed up, as well as many of the other single-story businesses. the water fountains stopped. the bums moved in. all that was good about the mall is now gone. it is now nearly only frequented by mexican/mexican owned low rent businessess or booths. i did not see any white people there. it is now nothing but trashy flashy gown and jewelry shops and booths, stereo booths, places where you could get a tooth capped in gold, etc. i know this sounds racist but the truth is that the place is nothing more than a second rate mexican shopping center that offers lots of fun and colorful boots, hats, wedding gowns and dresses, jewelry, pants, shirts, toys, shoes, etc. sometimes things are a bargain but many times the products are no cheaper than at retail stores much closer to where people now live (north fresno/clovis).
and what about all those thousands of abandoned offices in the larger multi-story classic buildings? only the first floors are occupied of a few are occupied and the rest are totally closed. how does the planning commission plan to have them occupied, if at all. and how do they plan to evict the hundreds of mexicans who depend on the cheap rent to support their businesses?
the mall is out of the way now for most fresnans. i have not spoken to anyone (white anyways) who has been there for years. it’s too far away and they don’t favor the current clientel. it is not because they are racist… it is because they don’t feel safe having their families there anymore. the rennovation plans sound impossible… what are they going to do… raise the rents so much that the cheap establishments there now cannot afford to make the rent and move in hi-end businesses?
i did make a purchase and there are several ethnic eating places which are quite good. unfortunately the perry boys smorgysboard was closed. i still like going to the mall for the memories and am thinking of renting out a small antique shop… the only one i saw on the whole mall. this is no clovis old town.
if the mall is to work, it will have to go to neon, cater once again to major businesses and mid and higher income levels and open places where it will be “hip” to hang arouund at. i did see a few of these kind of places but they were far and few between. and since the roundy-round old gottschalks parking lot was closed, the parking is hard to find sometime, even the pay metered one. the half-dozen smaller motion picture( crest, wilson, etc.) buildings in the area are all either closed or rented by churches. the top lights at the old security pacific building have been shut off for year.
the current huge photo-shopped pics plastered on the windows on the mall of what the “new” mall will look like is a fantasy and doomed to fail unless the city fathers come up with a radical new approach. look at riverpark. learn what works and what does not.
if you do not believe me, park near the end where the gottschalks building is at. walk the entire length of the mall and back. what is your perception? personally, even the way it is now it is a fun experience for me. but for most people, the place is a place to be avoided. i hope some kind of plan works that can work, retain some of the current businesses there and somehow rent out all the offices.
unfortunately i get the feeling that this great venture will be throwing good money after bad. i hope that i am proved wrong.