Low Retail Vacancy Has Downtown Brighton Thriving

For the first time in several years, people can walk down Main Street and see businesses in just about every storefront.

Matt Modrack, Brighton Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Community Development director said that since he began tenure in 2005, downtown Brighton has never been this full.

Modrack said the DDA estimates a vacancy rate between 3 and 5 percent, which is basically full.

"Two years ago, there were 17 vacancies on Main Street between Grand River Ave. and the railroad tracks," Modrack said. "We're down to one, I believe. And there's activity in the space that's open."

Modrack said the success of the downtown area is due in part to the private and public improvements being made as well as the area becoming a dining destination in the past three to four years.

"I think downtown Brighton is very unique," he said. "We have 15 restaurants in the immediate core downtown area. Because it emerged as a dining destination, it produced more foot traffic, particularly at night."

That foot traffic and the general high activity of the downtown Brighton area is what convinced many of the recent businesses - such as  and  - to chose Brighton for their location, according to Modrack.

"The most recent, and probably the most significant example is the Excelda site, at the former Chamber of Commerce location," Modrack said. "This is going to be a very significant addition to downtown."

 from the DDA to become its corporate headquarters.

Mark Binkley, owner of Cooper & Binkley Jewelers and chair of the Principal Shopping District (PSD), has outlasted three economic downturns.

"I equate the enthusiasm we're seeing now to early 1990s," Binkley said. "People are in town and excited, but it's not an apple to apple comparison. Things are different. The mix of businesses and the restaurants, certainly, have set the stage for making Brighton a cool town."

Binkley said that while downtown Brighton's recent success is due to the DDA, Chamber of Commerce, PSD and the City of Brighton all communicating and working together, the DDA has played a huge role in setting the stage.

"I give a lot of the credit to Matt Modrack, who has come up with ideas, concepts and possibilities that the DDA didn't think of on it's own," Binkley said. "He brought a different attitude and a different thought process to the DDA that hadn't been there before. Ever since it was formed in 1986, the DDA has always taken proactive approach to doing things, but not in the grandiose scale that has been done in the last three, four years."

There are some vacancies in the City of Brighton, which lies in the DDA's district, with Borders closing last summer and .

Modrack said there is a regular interest in that area, but there is nothing concrete at this point.