Researcher: Local retail could help Route 1

2004 study showed that each dollar spent at a locally owned store adds 68 cents to the local economy, whereas chain retail adds only 43 cents

Mitchell, also a researcher for the national nonprofit Institute of Local Self-Reliance, an organization that focuses on community-centered economic development, spoke at the Hyattsville Municipal Building at the invitation of Route 1 Growth, an online blog run by a group of residents who help identify projects eligible for federal funding.

Steven Newsome, a Hyattsville resident and member of Route 1 Growth, said Mitchell’s presentation was a conversation-starter about the importance of local businesses.

‘‘It was a discussion to cause people to do some thinking about what locally based or community based retail means to them, and it will spark conversation,” he said.

Mitchell said the Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, which was done in 2004, showed that each $1 spent at a locally owned store adds 68 additional cents to the local economy, whereas only 43 cents of every $1 spent at a chain retailer goes to the local economy.

But Stuart Eisenberg, executive director of Hyattsville’s Community Development Corp. — a nonprofit organization that helps develop the city’s open spaces while spurring economic development — said that while Mitchell raised interesting philosophical issues, the organization is trying to create a sustainable economy by recruiting both independently owned and chain retail options.

‘‘Our challenge is getting the [independent] businesses in. We’re doing fine attracting larger businesses, but it’s harder to find those main street-type of businesses,” he said.

Eisenberg said the Hyattsville Community Development Corp. is in talks with a few residents who are opening businesses in the city.

‘‘So we will have at least two or three local businesses coming down the pipeline soon,” he said. ‘‘We’re looking for the community to revitalize itself and not rely on outside developers to come in and do it for them.”

Nick Francis, executive director of the Gateway Community Development Corp., which is heading the development of the Gateway Arts District along Route 1, said Mitchell presented information that showed how communities have started to explore the relation between neighborhoods and locally based retail. Mitchell, who had not studied the Route 1 corridor specifically, spoke in general terms during her presentation.

‘‘The next step is that we need to determine the unique conditions in our neighborhood and ... the appropriate strategy to match the conditions that we are facing,” he said.