As consumers, we’re pretty excited about the shops coming to the WestRidge Commons development. We’ve already dusted off our bargain-hunter hats so we can wade through the deals at Burlington, Ross and HomeGoods, and we’re excited to see if Menards has just the right thing for that home-improvement project we keep putting off.
As journalists and residents of the greater Morgantown area, however, we’re eyeing the new shopping plaza off Interstate 79, Exit 153, with wariness.
On the one hand, it’s good to see economic development during our pandemic-induced recession. Building the infrastructure for these businesses employs tradespeople of all stripes, from commercial and road construction companies to plumbers and electricians. And once the stores are complete, they’ll employ hundreds of retail workers. In a time when work is scarce for many, all job opportunities seem like a good idea.
On the other hand, once the construction aspect of the development is complete, much of what will be left are minimum wage service jobs. As the pandemic has shown us, service and retail jobs are essential to our economy, but Morgantown and the surrounding areas are not places where someone can live comfortably on less than $15 an hour. The greater Morgantown area is also home to some of the most well-educated young people in the state of West Virginia, but the majority of jobs available are in lower-wage service industries. This leaves our best and brightest with two choices: Settle for a job that pays them significantly less than what they are worth and that won’t use their education, or leave the area — and usually the state — to find employment opportunities.
Our other concern is the continued suburban sprawl that continues to draw business away from the city. Organizations like Strong Towns and Hometown Advantage have conducted or assembled research that show the economic impact of big box stores. And while such shopping supercenters tend to save money for the individual consumer, they tend to lose money for the local government. Strong Towns found that in Brainerd, Minn. — the founder’s hometown — a city block of traditional main street businesses (envision High Street in downtown Morgantown) produced about 40% more tax revenue than the same city block with a stand-alone big box store or chain restaurant. But the local municipality is still on the hook for maintaining the same amount of infrastructure for each.
Hometown Advantage cited a study from Tischler and Associates that found “big box retail generates a net annual deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet.” Similarly, shopping centers lost $314 per 1,000 square feet and fast-food restaurants lost $5,168 per 1,000 square feet, though exact numbers vary by year and location. Main street businesses, though, actually produced more tax revenue than it cost to service them as compared to big box stores.
But that isn’t just a Morgantown problem. It’s a Granville, Star City, Cheat Lake and all of Monongalia County problem. So instead of leveling mountaintops to build sprawling shopping centers farther and farther from where people actually live, maybe we should be looking to replicate High Street in Morgantown’s various neighborhoods and in towns throughout Mon County — but with better parking, please.
