Lexington Center: Imagining the Future of a Historic Place

From a thought-provoking word cloud to thought-out business proposals, the collaboration between Bentley University students and the Lexington Center Committee has provided a fresh look at the downtown and its future prospects.

Charged with managing change in the center so Lexington’s downtown remains viable into the future, the Lexington Center Committee this year enlisted committee member Peter Siy’s students for an exchange of insight an ideas that benefitted both.

Through the partnership, students from Bentley’s Integrated Business Project course embarked on a semester-long project in which they considered current conditions, secondary research, surveys and focus groups to develop and propose value-adding businesses and/or services for the downtown.

On both sides of the equation, participants have called the experience a win-win.

“What this does for the Center Committee and local government is it give them a lot of input and heads up about what could be coming in the future,” said Siy. “I think this paves the way for those kind of businesses that might come in to be more engaged and encouraged.”

And for the LCC, it provides new data and perspective on a topic it perpetually wrestles with as members consider ways to keep the downtown vibrant and viable.

“We’ve seen the great work done by Bentley University students for Lexington in the past, we were grateful for the opportunity to work with them on such a topical business issue,” said Jerry Michelson, chairman of the Lexington Center Committee.

Bentley students evaluated Lexington Center on many levels, including against “competitors” like Arlington, Belmont, Concord and Wellesley, and considered elements like parking, historical character, pedestrian friendliness, government restrictions and tax rates. While cities were not directly considered, Siy said the city vs. suburb dynamic was everpresent.

“Today’s demographic and psychographic trends put cities in direct competition with suburbs for residents considered to be in the ‘creative class,’ successful individuals in high-paying professional jobs,” said Siy. “These individuals and their families seek more urban-type attractions such as a diverse retail scene, upscale restaurants, entertainment and other magnets normally associated with city living.”

Though the course of the students’ work, there have been several deliverables, including the survey and wordcloud presented earlier this year. Around that time, about 700 Lexington residents and other visitors had completed the 23-question survey.

“The survey validated some things,” Michelson, the LCC chairman, said at the time. “Some of the information is things we’ve heard anecdotally and the results validated it.”

For instance, respondents indicated their top reasons for visiting Lexington Center include retail shopping, dining, coffee shops and using Cary Memorial Library. Meanwhile, the top wants for Lexington Center included an improved retail mix, more independent retail, improved parking and extended evening hours for shops and restaurants.

While locals were able to consider those results as reasons for reaffirmation or redirection, students benefitted from their multifaceted assignments.

“In this case, I think the students got the advantage of looking at all of the stakeholders involved a little more closely,” said Siy, referring to the dynamic of looking at an entire downtown instead of a singular business. “An I think that was an eye-opener for the students.”

Probably it’s been an eye-opener for everyone involved. While students have been sifting through scores of data, LCC members have been sifting through the same.

Some student ideas, like bike sharing and pay-by-phone parking, reflected initiatives that could be incorporated into the existing downtown, while others, like a high-end grocer or combination café/bookstore, would require significant private investment.

Certainly all of the ideas won’t catch on, though some could. Either way, the kind of collaborative thinking exhibited here is something Siy expects will stick in Lexington.

“I think you’ll see that going on into the future,” he said. “With town politics, it’s an evolutionary product not revolutionary, so thinks like this project could pave the way.”