The gap is closing between Ives Street and the rest of the East Side. Ives runs north and south, so it gets a fair amount of sunshine for most of the day, while half of east-west Wickenden is always in shadow. Ives is also a wide street that has recently been enhanced by a program of curbside tree-planting that was suggested by members of the Fox Point Citizens Association. Last summer, after the trees were planted and the weather was so dry, the business owners made sure they were watered so they'd survive, which almost all of them did. Goldstein says he wishes that banks were as supportive of commercial growth on Ives as the city was of the tree-planting program.
Banks have so much power over how development occurs in a city.
There are few loan programs out there for small commercial proposals where the profit margin is small. Without it, it's hard to get the momentum to get a business going. Property prices are low on Ives Street, at least relative to the rest of the East Side, reflecting the area's changing demographics and character. The drug problem of several years ago caused a drop in values, but things are improving, and the street is on an upswing now. Many houses have been rehabbed, it's convenient, and there's ample parking.