Process Work for Radford's Dick's Sporting Goods

I first began with a criteria matrix to gather an idea of exactly what I wanted next to each other and what elements each room need such as a window or plumbing. This gave me the starting block to complete my adjacency diagram, bubble diagram, and blocking diagram which are preliminary steps to my final floor plan.

My adjacency diagram shows what rooms need to be next to each other my showing primary and secondary adjacencies. Primary adjacencies are most important and need to be met when drafting the floor plan. Secondary adjacencies are adjacencies that would be nice to have, but don’t necessarily need to be drafted.

My next steps were to complete a bubble and blocking diagram. The bubble starts with an idea of where the rooms are going within the floor plan. The blocking diagram gets more precise and is closer to getting actual measurements of the room I will later be drafting.

Finally, my floor plan which shows exact measurements and everything that will be in the design.

My Ideas for Radford's Dick's Sporting Goods

Open Plan of Dick's Sporting Goods

                So I decided that I wanted to try and follow how other Dick’s Sporting Goods are laid out. I wanted my store to be open and free of clutter. Many Dick’s Sporting Goods you walk into have a lot of items for sale, but keep it clean and up to date. With areas instead of rooms in my design I will eliminate the cluttered feeling of walking into a small, closed off room.

                To start off, I wanted to have the very minimum amount of walls in my design. That would keep the area open and appear larger. With a space that appears bigger, customers will feel as if the store has more to offer and continue to shop at the store. Space has a huge effect on a customer. Imagine walking into a local store that barely has enough room to supply what they have in storage. Not only would some goods go off the shelf quickly, but they might also not restock an adequate amount in order to keep their store full. With an open floor plan, there is plenty of space not only to store merchandise on the floor, but also in closed storage. Overall the business would be able to maintain a better image creating happier customers.

                I also thought about having two different sex bathrooms. However, while drawing out the preliminary floor plan I started to realize that two different bathrooms that both have to be accessible were taking up a lot of room within the floor plan. I changed from two different sex bathrooms to still having two different bathrooms, but made both of them unisex. Now only one of them has to be accessible. That provided me with more room for my store layout and a overall, more open and bigger floor plan.

Gun Selection at Dick's Sporting Goods

What could Radford Be?

Radford, Virginia

               

           When searching for comparing town areas that needed just a little push to jumpstart their local economy, I found a sight about Los Angeles and how adding a successful business really helped their area. Before Los Angeles was a city filled with nothing anyone wants to experience. With the rise of business, the city has really grown. There is less crime, more businesses booming, and more jobs to provide families with a better life. The increase in businesses helped the city as a whole reach towards a better future for generations to come.

Now granted Radford doesn’t necessarily have the problems that Los Angeles had, but we are a small town, a small town that could use some help. We need booming businesses that can help support local families. We need an area that can provide not only financially to locals, but also a place that can provide families with the products they need to have fun with their life.

I found another article that talked about a Dick’s Sporting Goods that came into the town of Moore. This town had never had an outdoor supply store in their area. People from all across the town were excited to see the grand opening of a store that could give them support and products that they weren’t able to get before.  A good point that was brought up in the article is that not only does it benefit Radford, but also other local areas near Radford. It draws customers in that could make the business very successful and help out Radford even more.

With a Dick’s available to make the outdoors activities around Radford possible, people can shop with ease and find what they need to complete their adventures to come.

LA Changes for the Better

New Dick's Sporting Goods Enters Town

Dick's Sporting Goods Could Come to Radford

I decided to make the store located on the strip a Dick’s Sporting Goods to put into the available retail space in Downtown Radford. Dick’s carries a wide variety of sporting equipment, athletic clothing, and shoes for any outdoor activity people might want to participate in.

                Since the space is limited here in Radford, I decided that I would have some sort of express shop. Instead of it being a huge commercial building, the Dick’s would only carry a little bit of everything. However, knowing that, If someone comes in looking for something that they need to let’s say, go hiking the store will be able to meet their needs. The store will carry more of what will be needed depending on what is available to do in Radford, Virginia.

                I believe that putting in an outdoor apparel and equipment store would increase business flow on the main strip. Everyone around Downtown Radford has at some point gone on adventure that Radford has to offer. For example, if you want to take a stroll in Bisset Park, you might need athletic shoes, shorts and maybe a jacket to really feel comfortable while exercising. Let’s say you might want to go fishing on the New River. With a Dick’s right in town you can have a nicer quality fishing pole than other stores and be able to purchase it less than a mile away from where you want to fish. It will also provide customers with a wider range of fishing poles considering that Dick’s specializes in outdoor products.

                With everyone in need for a baseball bat for their high school team, or a pair of running shoes for the running club at Radford University, or even a canoe to paddle around on The New River, Dick’s Sporting Goods would be a great investment to add into what the town of Radford already provides with us. Putting in a Dick’s will provide Radford with a larger target market meaning everyone will be able to find something they need at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Check out these articles to see what Radford could be.

Dick's Sporting Goods

Bisset Park

What does Downtown Radford Need?

I believe that downtown Radford needs an area that better suits their culture and society. In Radford there are a lot of young people between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two because of the college. There are also local families who some of which are looking for jobs. We need business that can provide to all of our Downtown Area.

I believe that Downtown Radford specifically needs an affordable clothing store especially for the college students. In town there are not many stores where college students would be able to shop to update their wardrobe. The closest shopping area is about twenty-five minutes away. For college students on a budget and local families that are currently looking for a job, this doesn’t help out Radford. If a TJ Maxx was put in Radford, it would provide everyone with the new style they are looking for plus an increase in jobs to employ those who love Radford and would do anything to stay in here.

I think another successful business would be an outdoor center. For example Dick’s or Sporting goods would do really well in our area. With all the hiking trails, canoeing, biking and every other outdoor activity that can be done on our mountains, it would be great to have an affordable outdoor activity supply store. Without the space to build a huge commercial Dick’s we could always have some sort of express shop where it has a little of everything. With the closest Dick’s at twenty-five minutes away we could chain with them and make the business more likely to succeed. Radford’s locals would love to have a store that could provide them with the products to accomplish what they have always wanted to do in their beautiful, mountainous town.

Another business that would do well in Radford would be a day care center. With college students who might have newly born children and can’t be home to watch their kids during the day while at school, they could drop them off for a lower cost facility that would safely watch them. With a day care in Radford, not only would college students benefit but also the local families who might be looking for a job, but can’t leave their children alone at home. Having a day care facility would allow the young kids of Radford to meet other kids and enjoy the company of others while their families are working or attending school.

Successful Downtown Areas

     Attracting people to a certain area seems to be a hard thing to master. You have to think about who you want to attract, how many people you want to attract, and what you’re going to offer those people who are attracted.
    Small towns tend to have a harder time attracting a good amount of people therefore resulting in a struggling economy. Looking at the most successful downtown areas in the U.S. we first look at New York City, New York then Washington DC. Both of these cities have a massive population and people with money to keep it thriving. Having such a limited population, small towns are forced to not run as successfully, and only maintain a select few businesses.
    I think that if we create a more diverse strip of businesses, Radford would quickly rise back up. I think most of the stores we have now focus on such a specific target market that not everyone can purchase exactly what they want or even purchase anything at all. Creating more shops, more job opportunities, and a better economy in general for the people of Radford will boost what we already have going. Radford needs to be kept alive and we can start by giving the people, who have worked very hard to live in the city of Radford, a job. More opportunities means a healthier economy.

Check out the links below for cool sites about the top 10 downtown areas in the US!

 New York City, New York

 Washington DC

Top 10 "Downtown's"
New York City: Top Downtown Area

Radford's Target Market

    Not only in downtown Radford is there a university, but also a high school.  With so many students in the area, the recreational park, Bisset Park, is always used. Sports such as soccer and baseball always have events happening with all the locals there to watch. The park also happens to be right on the river. The New River is a great place to go kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and wading which seems to be very popular in Radford.
    The park is mostly designed for children from the age of five and older. With all the sport fields to play on, it provides an environment for younger adults to play on. Some of the college students also practice sports down at the park. There also is a small playground for kids at a very young age to play at. With such a wide range of practice fields for different sports and a playground for younger children, a broader range of people can now play or practice down at Bisset Park in Radford, Virginia.
    On the shopping strip in Downtown Radford there are stores mostly targeted to adults of all ages. They have sophisticated stores providing wardrobes for the professional world and sports bars for people twenty one or older to be entertained. Further down the strip is the Radford Theater that provides a place for all ages to gather. They play all types of movies targeting to no specific crowd. Everyone is welcome and no one is left out.
    So with places like the Bisset Park on the New River where a family can have fun, to the the theater where more families can have fun, to the sports bar and retail store with the targeted market of adults, everyone can enjoy the beauty of Downtown Radford. There is always something for someone to participate in. Whether it’s simply seeing a movie, buying new clothes, or playing a few sport games, everyone has something to be entertained by.

    Don't forget to check the links out below for activities to participate in!

 Canoeing on the New River

Fishing on the New River

The New River
Fishing
Sports

What Radford, Virginia Offers

In downtown Radford there are only a few shops that target a certain market. There is a clothing store for women between the ages of thirty and older, a theater for any audience, a restuarant/bar, and a few other random shops. When looking at downtown Radford, it seems to me that there is not much to do for the younger adult between the ages of 13-20. I would like there to be a shop where teens could buy either clothes or shoes. With this shop, a lot more people could be targeted, creating a more diverse environment in downtown Radford, also creating more of a business.

            One of the stores already in the downtown area is called Garrett’s and Meg’s. This store sells a more sophisticated wardrobe targeting mostly women and men thirty plus years old. Being the only clothing store on strip means that more people are now going to be drawn into the store that has such a specific target market, only suiting a select few.

            Another very popular restaurant right on the strip in downtown Radford is Sharkey’s. It is a bar/restaurant that everyone seems to rave about. They are always a full house with a wait, and don’t even try to go on game day. Sharkey’s is definitely the place to be to have a drink, hang, and watch the game with a few of your closest friends.

            Another business on the trip is the Radford Theater, which by the way is the cheapest theater I’ve been to. The movies there are only five dollars! It is also probably the smallest theater I have been to with only one room to show movies in. Let me tell you, you feel like you’re watching a movie at home with the design of the actual theater. It is such a comfortable design instead of the now traditional, industrial, and big movie theaters most people are used to.

Main Street Radford

Radford Farmers Market

New River Valley History



Downtown Radford, Virginia




Garrett's and Meg's




Garrett's and Meg's



Radfor Theater



Sharkey's