Reading Becoming Ghost Town

Since Atlantic Market closed there is nothing to bring the residents to downtown. with the closing of Portland Pie , The Butcher Shop, Orange Leaf and now Zinga. Let's face it we have an issue with keeping businesses in town. Is it the that the residents don't support it? Maybe our Town Manager along with the Chamber of Commerce will take some direction from Belmont, Wakefield and even Lynnfield with Market Street. Lets stop with the apartments we need businesses and we need someplace for the elderly residents where they can downsize and not be forced to leave town. Look at the old Walgreen Store building. It just sits there, I'm sure the rent is being paid to the landlord so he has nothing to lose. There are so many entrepreneurs out there that can use some help getting a business started but start up costs are prohibitive to them, maybe reach out to them and help them get off the ground with a plan rather than do nothing to revitalize the downtown area. It would take some coordination between landlords, the permitting people, and the Chamber of Commerce. The downtown area will eventually die off if we do not make it a priority to start revitalizing it with something other than apartments. Apartments bring nothing to a town like reading except more people.