Invest in Blue Island!

It was a curious thing that happened. A woman came in and said, “I’ve got to start shopping Blue Island, and I’m starting here!” We talked for quite a while, and I asked if she lived here. “Oh no, I live in Oak Lawn, but I can see that more and more businesses are gone, and I would hate to see the entire business district close up.”
She told me that she and her husband have a business in Blue Island, and also own a few apartment buildings here. Supporting the businesses in Blue Island was a way to protect their investments. A city with an empty business district would surely see a drop in its property values. Who wants to live in a city with a shuttered and boarded up main street?
This leads me to wonder about the home-owners in this city. Are they concerned about the impact that the business district has on their property values? Do they realize that for every dollar they spend outside Blue Island the value of their home is decreased ever so slightly?
I don’t know how the math works on this, but let’s just say for the sake of argument that for every $100.00 you spend outside Blue Island, the value of your home is diminished by $1.00. In the not-too-distant past, this would not have been a big deal. Home prices were rising so rapidly, that it made little difference. As we know, things are very different now. I wonder if my house is worth what we paid for it 30 years ago. So now it becomes a big deal.
Every time you leave Blue Island to buy a greeting card, groceries, gas, clothing, tools, you name it, you are lowering the value of your property. I know that many things are not available here, but many things are available within the city limits. It’s time, as home-owners and residents, that we recognize the value-added proposition of a vibrant downtown. The more we shop on Western Avenue, the more successful the businesses become. The more successful the businesses become, the more new business is drawn to the area.
It is an idea so simple. Invest in your own property, invest in Blue Island, by doing as much shopping here as you are able to. The businesses that we are lacking will follow. Pick a business and spend your $5.00 today!

Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday