Marty: Synergism on San Benito Street

How did the apricot orchards of northern California develop into
the center of the semiconductor and computer industries? There was
some design, some luck and a phenomenon called synergism. Synergism
means interaction that produces an effect greater than the sum of
the individual parts.
How did the apricot orchards of northern California develop into the center of the semiconductor and computer industries? There was some design, some luck and a phenomenon called synergism. Synergism means interaction that produces an effect greater than the sum of the individual parts.

According to one history of the area and industry, several critical things converged to make Silicon Valley. These included engineers and scientists, a network for venture capital and the early leadership of Stanford University. The synergism took effect when these essential elements started working together and reinforcing each other.

I like the word synergism. I like the concept even more, so I’ve expanded the definition to describe almost any economic or government interaction whether positive or negative.

Economic synergism ranges from sneaker endorsements by famous basketball players to Starbucks in Safeway. You go in to get a cup of coffee and end up buying donuts too – and scotch tape and bread and potato salad – and they have your business.

Every study shows that there are hundreds of millions of dollars of retail “leakage” from Hollister to surrounding areas. That’s a fancy way of saying that you and I shop a lot in Gilroy and other parts of Santa Clara and Monterey counties. Leakage means we lose the economic benefits these sales generate. 

Synergistically, we lose the taxes, the jobs and the benefits of circulating money. Conservatively, it’s a factor of 1.5 – every dollar spent results in a $1.50 of economic activity, and most promoters use a significantly larger figure.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be no outlet center in downtown Hollister. We do not have the population or the commercial traffic to support it, but if we are to save the downtown, we must have a way to generate economic synergism. The most important factor is the initial step – people have to have a reason to go downtown. Once they have that reason, the rest will take care of itself. Without that reason, we will continue to have a good-looking, but economically hollow, town center.  

Up to now, we have had only short-term solutions to this problem like festivals, but time is not on our side.  Someday, these miserable economic conditions will be over and if we are not up and running by then the opportunities will go elsewhere.

First, no one is going to invest without reliable infrastructure. The city needs to fix the water mains downtown and they should have done that before opting for a new firehouse. Next, they must to pressure Gavilan College to get as close to the downtown as possible – the public has poured billions into the education system, the college’s customers are here and they should be here, too.

The downtown must become pedestrian friendly. It needs some shade, places to sit down and an indoor-outdoor venue. All that can be solved with the correct open-air structure at the 400 block.

Finally, they the city must attract some anchors, reasons to go downtown – using economic incentives if necessary. The best answer would be entertainment venues and specialty shops, especially national brands. Small local owners have been playing chicken and egg, they can’t afford to stay open when the shoppers don’t come and shoppers don’t come because they are not open.

The city can only pour so much into façade improvements while reaping many millions in redevelopment funds. Downtown was never intended to be a city piggybank; it is supposed to be the economic center of a prosperous community.     

Marty Richman is a Hollister resident.