This was actually a win lose situation. It's good to see the interest in the Arcade, but it kept many from getting in last night. The lines were wrapped around to Ludlow Street near Kinko's. Not my idea of Urban nights, so I went to other venues instead. I just hope the suck economy here doesn't cause this project to be delayed any more. Then again, if we had something like the Arcade back in business, it could help the economy. I just hope the owners have met our retarded mayor. That could be a big problem

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remember the price per sq.ft. of downtown real estate. Requiring that any portion of a tenant's space must be devoted to cultural use is a de facto minority tax. Taking culture out of it, denying tenants the right to legally use their expensive space as they see fit will keep them away.

The arts market was tried at Main & Santa Clara; seen how that turned out lately? I can see maybe a few shopfronts on the Arcade's second-floor concourse; that sort of thing has been up there before. As for a "social experimentation area" and so forth, you have got to be kidding. This is downtown Dayton, not the UC Berkely campus. Commerce is what will sustain the Arcade.

The whole building will likely be weapons-free via zoning, and I'm pretty sure there's a wi-fi hotspot on Courthouse Square that may be accessible from the Arcade. Putting an access point in the rotunda would give the whole place full coverage. "Performance space" seems vague and kind of unnecessary considering the existing number of concert halls and nightclub stages downtown, but maybe I'm not understanding what you mean. Part of the history museum you describe has long been housed across the street in the old Courthouse, although there's not much to it.

I definitely think there should be an official City of Dayton footprint in the Arcade; it's just a question of how large that footprint should be. I think that mixed use by both public and private tenants (at least initially) would be the surest way to kick-start investment. Maybe the first few storefronts on the concourse could be opened up into the kind of classy, city-operated info center that you suggest. There's also the thought that some city offices could be opened to become anchor tenants in the office section at Ludlow and Fourth. The presence of such offices would encourage other tenants, as it would demonstrate active City of Dayton involvement in the Arcade's future.

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