HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 03 14 Regular 502 Request of James Doran Company to Delay Renaming of the Town Center
031405 _ COMM _Regular _502_ Town_Center _Name_Change
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM 502
Consent
Informational
Public Hearing
Regular , X
March 14. 2005
Regular Meeting
Mgy~
Authorization
Dept.
REQUEST: City Manager requesting the City Commission to review a request of James
Doran Company to delay renaming of the Town Center.
PURPOSE:
This agenda item is needed for the Commission to consider a request of J.D.C. to delay changing
the name ofthe Town Center to Winter Springs Down Town.
CONSIDERATIONS:
On February 14,2005 the City Commission voted to rename the Winter Springs Town Center to
Winter Springs Down Town.
As further explained in the attached letter from J.D.C., J.D.C. believes that their efforts to market
the Town Center will be severely effected by the name change. Therefore, J.D.C. is requesting
the Commission to delay changing the name until they complete the build out of the Town
Center (3-5 years.)
FUNDING: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Commission review J.D.C.'s request and act accordingly. Based
upon J.D.C.'s investment in branding the Town Center, staff believes a delay makes sense.
031405_ COMM_ Regu1ar_502_ Town_Center _Name_Change
ATTACHMENTS:
James Doran Company Letter of February 22, 2005
COMMISSION ACTION:
LlAMES DORAN COMPANY
ESTABLISHED 1 BB2
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT BANKERS
RECEIVED
FEB 2 8 2005
February 22, 2005
Via Fax 407-327-6695 and ~ WINtER SPRINGS
City Manager
Mr. Ron McLemore
City of Winter Springs
1126 East S.R. 434
Winter Springs, FL 32708-2799
Dear Ron:
I have heard that the City Commission on February 14,2005 voted in favor ofa motion to change the name of the
Winter Springs Town Center to Winter Springs Downtown. I am writing to express my concerns about the name
change. Even though, I believe a name change is a great idea when the Town Center is complete, a change now
would significantly undermine our marketing efforts to continue to grow the Town Center in the following ways.
o The James Doran Company has spent close to four years marketing to retailers, restaurants and
professional users using the name Winter Springs Town Center. Most users have been contacted
numerous times and sent numerous packages of infonnation that have the Winter Springs Town Center
name used to "brand" our development and the overall Winter Springs Town Center in general. Many
users, even though they have not signed on yet, know the development as just that, the "Winter Springs
Town Center". Changing the name in mid-stream of our marketing efforts would confuse users and
could potentially have them believe that there is a competing project in the market and make our deal
making efforts much more difficult.
o The use of "Town Center" in the name helps in our description of the nature of the mixed-use project.
Many developments around the country that are mixed use the words "Town Center" in their name.
Retailers and restaurants understand the connotations of the use of Town Center and we are able to
avoid many pitfalls in discussions because users understand in advance the issues as they relate to
parking, development phasing and the mixing of uses. The word "Downtown" implies that the area is
an existing conglomeration of older buildings that the users need to adapt to existing spaces and have
limited flexibility in locations and sizes.
o We take the branding of our developments very seriously. To date we have made significant investment
in the name Winter Springs Town Center in both our marketing materials and the signage at the center.
Name recognition in our business is a large part of the sales pitch. What would the consumer think if
they saw the name ofP.F. Chang's changed to "Chang's" or the Florida Mall changed to the "Mall of
Florida"? Both would lose their identity to the general public and therefore the marketing of the
property would become more difficult.
Please let me know how we can hold off on the name change until the Main Street is complete and we have fully
solidified the identity of the Winter Springs Town Center in Orlando, Florida and the Country. I would be happy
to discuss this issue further with anyone on the Councilor Staff at any time.
~j~
Pete Harper
Vice President Marketing
Cc: Shane Doran
216 SEVEN FARMS DRIVE' SUITE 200 . CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29492 . (B43) BB 1 -7550 . FAX: (B43) B49-6765
WWW.JAMESDORANCO.COM