Encouraging Small Business Growth and Expansion: Ramsey COR Retail Market Analysis

Abstract

This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. The City of Ramsey has long had a goal to create destinations in the community for residents to shop, eat, and enjoy entertainment. Market forces make achieving this goal challenging, and current efforts have fallen short of meeting community expectations. Students in Bob Streetar’s Community and Economic Development class conducted a retail market power and consumer buying power analysis to identify “gaps” in the Ramsey market that the City could capitalize on, identified barriers to commercial-retail development in the city, and made recommendations for strengthening retail demand in Ramsey by promoting housing density and developing a unique character to distinguish the city from competitor communities. The students’ final report and presentation are available.