Chuck D'Aprix Reinvigorates Daprixblog.com

Chuck D'Aprix, the maverick economic development and downtown/commercial district revitalization professional has decided to alter the focus of DAPRIXBLOG.com, his already well-received blog. The new focus will be on "real-life" issues facing the economic revitalization practitioner. It will "re-debut" on January 15th at www.DAPRIXBLOG.COM

D'Aprix says," There are so many wonderful blogs out there by people I greatly respect.
I hesitate to even name them--there are a few that leap to mind--Planetizen of course, Richard Florida's absorbingly brilliant Creative Class blog, CEOS for Cities superb blog, Richard Layman's insightful and thoughtful blog....and that's just barely skimming the surface!! I read them all daily--as everyone should. I took a hiatus from DAPRIXBLOG.COM because I felt there were enough talented folks providing great information. I wasn't looking for a niche-- a niche found me."

Chuck notes that the posts for which he has received the most responses are ones that deal with the realities facing economic development and downtown/commercial district professionals on a day-to-basis.

He says, " As someone who has run economic development agencies, directed downtown revitalization programs, worked on staff for developers and runs several consulting firms--I have a unique perspective. I understand the problems that Executive Directors and Board Members of economic development organizations face. I've been in their shoes and I speak with them daily. There are days when theory is wonderful and links to interesting articles are exceptionally entertaining and intellectually stimulating--BUT there are also days when someone out in the field needs practical advice--I hope--I know-- DAPRIXBLOG.COM will offer that."

D'Aprix says that he is a contributor to several ListServs and that he receives daily telephone calls from fellow ListServ members who want to share their day-to-day frustrations. " I get calls from Main Street Managers(TM), CDC Directors, Economic Development Directors, Planners, BID Directors........and they are seeking practical advice from someone who has been on their side of the desk. Those calls guided me to the new format for DAPRIXBLOG.Com," Chuck said.

Chuck says that when he speaks around the country he is often besieged by follow-up telephone calls from audience members who are frustrated with a host of issues they face daily. He says, " I have found that when I speak about what it is like to be on the front lines it resonates with people. I see it on the faces of audience members. ListServs are great, but I want to be able to provide a steady diet of pragmatic advice absent a moderator---so DAPRIXBLOG.COM is reborn. As I said, the niche found me."

Going hand in hand with the revitalization of DAPRIXBLOG.COM will be the renewal of Chuck D'Aprix's blog on RETAIL INCUBATION. That blog can be found at www.retailincubation.com.

Chuck D'Aprix is Principal of three innovative consulting firms based in Washington, DC with satellite offices in Miami and Boston. The firms are Economic Development Visions(www.economicvisions.com or www.downtowneconomics.com), The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project(www.downtownproject.com) and The Retail Incubation Group(www.retailincubation.com). All three firms have garnered national and international attention for their groundbreaking approach to economic development and downtown/commercial district revitalization.

D'Aprix is a firm believer in highly affordable, imaginative, ground-breaking and practical consulting services. Chuck says " There was a time when I had to hire many consultants and I was frequently frustrated--almost always in fact-- with the lack of innovation and creativity I witnessed and by the boilerplate material that was handed off as original research. Those are the types of issues we will address on DAPRIXBLOG.COM. Economic development and downtown/commercial district folks are ready for someone to speak about the realities of running an economic revitalization organization."

Chuck D'Aprix can be reached in Washington, DC at 202-248-9715