More shops coming to Hillsborough Street

While the vacant stores and empty restaurants on Hillsborough Street may cause one to think the area has long seen it’s heyday, behind the scenes construction in the works will soon attract more vendors and customers to NC State’s college street within the next few years. 

“At least seven of the buildings that are under construction on Hillsborough Street are being renovated or built for new businesses and are about a year from opening,” said Jeff Murison, executive director of the Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation.

About four years ago, Hillsborough Street had more vacant shops, but as the market continues to improve many of these places have become occupied. However, these spaces appear as though they are vacant because they are still under renovation or construction, Murison said.

Murison said some of the new buildings are going to be hotels with retailers on the first floor of the structure. 

“This will help Hillsborough become a more attractive and modern place for businesses since it is easier for businesses to move into a completely new space as opposed to renovating it,” Murison said.

Peter Hansma, a bar manager at McDaids Irish Pub and an NC State alumnus said business has been picking up over the last year.

“Hillsborough itself has seen more foot traffic since the city made an effort to make the sidewalks more enticing,” Hansma said.

Hansma said he thinks in the next year and a half business will pick up when the new stores and hotels open.

Most businesses that shut down on Hillsborough Street do so because they are a duplicate of at least one other place already on the street. For instance, most places that are currently on Hillsborough are restaurants, so another pizza place would not do well without a more diverse setting.

“Hillsborough Street definitely needs more of a diverse set of businesses,” Murison said. “We have a limited amount of retail, casual dining and nightlife right now. It’s like having a food court without a mall.”

Another reason why businesses seem to always be opening and closing on Hillsborough Street is that businesses have “life cycles,” Murison said.

Murison said when a business opens, it usually has a vibrant start. After that, they might hit a slow period, which is usually when you see the business trying to sell itself all over again. This could be accomplished by vendors advertising themselves in a new fashion or selling a new product. This is called a “brand refresh.”

Other things that can happen to end a business’s life cycle are market changes, ownership changes or changes in trend. When this end comes around, Murison said this is just another opportunity for a different business to begin its life cycle.

Hillsborough Street receives inquiries weekly from vendors looking to join NC State’s college street, although it can be difficult to pick which vendors get to move in because of the numerous factors that go in to the decision, according to Murison. 

Murison compares picking a business to move onto Hillsborough like arranging a marriage. The business needs to have the right prices for the area, the right location, the right amount of foot traffic or parking area, even things such as the neighbors of a vendor are important. If two coffee shops open up next door to each other, it will hurt business for both of them due to unhealthy competition.

Murison said in 2016 Raleigh will be doing a street scape on Hillsborough Street to further improve the area’s attraction as a whole.