wbjournal.com | October 25, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 17
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nent of retail in Worcester's downtown,
vying for ground-floor stores in the new
400-apartment Table Talk Los develop-
ment, which neighbors his market in the
Canal District neighborhood.
"My holy grail is a district that is alive,
that has people on the street," he said.
Annual sales
2000
0
$5B
$10B
$15B
$20B
'02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '21
$19.7B
$11.7B
Retail trade in Massachusetts
Here are the annual sales of the retail industry in Massachusetts, which includes
in-store and online shopping.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
"People on the street are sort of the in-
dicator species of a successful ecosystem
and the kind of city people love to be in."
At the same time, he said standalone
shops along Green Street have faced
greater challenges than his indoor busi-
nesses, which he attributed to a lack of
walkability in the area. While retail en-
livens a street, he said, it can be challeng-
ing for solo businesses to succeed when
they aren't surrounded by other shops.
Residential developments are key to
retail's success, as it keeps the streets
pumping with life aer work hours, said
Alexander.
"If all [Worcester's proposed] develop-
ments come through and we start to get
that density in the residential popula-
tion, we'll see many more retail oppor-
tunities for different types of businesses,
not just restaurants," he said.
Amazon has 11 distribution centers either operating or planning to open in Central
Massachusetts.
W
PHOTO/COURTESY
OF
AMAZON
