When determining the size of retail stores and retail shopping centers for the Town of New Scotland, the terms “community” and “neighborhood” centers are used to justify building big boxes here. 

Unfortunately, the terms “community” and “neighborhood” are used differently in the development world than in ordinary English usage.

We think of a  “community” as a limited number of people who share bonds.   Voorheesville is a community. A “neighborhood” is smaller than a community - a few blocks of homes near each other. .

Yet, in the real estate world, “community” and “neighborhood” mean a much larger area.  In New Scotland, when developers talk about building a “community” shopping center here, they mean a mall which would draw customers from as far as Rensselaer County.

So, why are these terms used? Words like “community” are warm and fuzzy.  They mean your friends, next-door-neighbors, and your local school and team. 

To determine what’s best for our Town, let’s forget the real estate lingo and talk in regular English.

Commercial developers use a formula to gauge whether their project will be a success at the site they are considering locating: 

Drive-by traffic + Population = Retail Success Outcome