McAllen’s Downtown Needs to Remember the Past
I was 15 years old in 1971 when my father took me “Downtown” in McAllen to the Man’s Shop to get my first suit. Although McAllen’s downtown shopping district was mostly dependent upon the Mexican shopper’s there was also the feeling that it was the local elite shopping place as well. We walked in the store and were immediately greeted by the salesman. This same salesman knew exactly what all his customers liked and was an expert in fitting and style. He picked out several suits and patiently had me try several of them until we decided which one was best suited. Then out came the friendly tailor who carefully pinned or marked the suit in consultation with the salesman. All the while there would be ongoing friendly chatting about family not between customer and employees but among fellow members of the same community. My father used to point out to me that even in New York City you would never get as good a service as you would in downtown McAllen. When I was a graduate student in Boston we would walk along Newberry Street where he would point out that it was not as good as McAllen.
Today there is much controversy and finger pointing about what is right and what is wrong with downtown McAllen. The Jewish pioneers and others who helped shape McAllen into a great shopping center after World War II have mostly passed on. The local downtown economy is rightfully adherent to pleasing the shopping wants of our Mexican neighbors but that sense of exclusiveness has not remained.
The City of McAllen has done a great job in creating an infrastructure in downtown McAllen. The parking garage, open spaces, and walkways they have built are key ingredients in the foundation for success. Those who criticize the building of the parking garage are short sighted and wrong. It alone will not change the downtown but without it there is no future. The highly respected Pew Partnership for Civic Change lists seven strategies for revitalizing sustainable urban centers: aim for a multifunctional downtown, develop a broad strategy for revitalization, create partnerships, pay particular attention to attracting commercial business, focus on developing the unique qualities of downtowns, maintain and develop quality public spaces, make strategies locally based and flexible, secure multiple sources of funding, and get local governments involved in several areas.
In most of the strategies I would give McAllen an honors grade. There are two areas of concern where the grade would be in doubt. The recent concentration of bars and nightclubs is troubling. Experiences in other cities, most notably West Palm Beach’s Clematis District, has shown that too many of these establishments can have a negative effect. The other area of concern is that there is really no housing in downtown McAllen per se. Given the current trends to smaller families, the attraction of winter visitors to the area, and the rising costs of energy I cannot see how multilevel condiminums or apartments in downtown could go wrong. The housing should be of mixed income. If only “affordable” housing is placed it will doom any prospect for growth.
Finally, McAllen’s downtown should try to bring back it’s reputation as the “Rodeo Drive” of the Valley. This would help attract more shopper’s from Mexico and the United States. By Rodeo Drive I do not mean just offering expensive items but more importantly customer service. Imagine a street filled with vendors and services who can only be there because they have great customer service. Imagine walking on Newberry Street in Boston and wishing you were on Main Street in McAllen.
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