It’s very gratifying to see a posse of retailers coming to the rescue of downtown Albuquerque. This article in the New Mexico Business Journal describes how retailers in the historic district are inviting established retailers in the area to a gala event. Its purpose is to expose those attending to a vacant 14,000-square-feet space as well as retail opportunities in the entire district.

This and other projects designed to entice retailers downtown was largely conceived by a storeowner who was frustrated by the city’s slow pace in redeveloping the district. She formed the Downtown Action Team, a coalition of merchants and businesses whose mission statement is “To creatively plan, manage and develop Downtown Albuquerque to become the best mid-sized Downtown in the USA.”

Quite an ambitious plan, and one that retailers of all sizes can look to for inspiration. Wherever your shop is located, there’s bound to be an association you can join that looks out for the best interests of your retail area. Chambers of commerce are good places to start. But groups like the Downtown Action Team, which focus solely on specific areas, might offer you more.

I’ve seen it work in San Diego, where the once-blighted Gaslamp Quarter downtown has become the place to go for shoppers, diners, party-goers and conventioneers. It took several years to complete the transformation, but the Gaslamp Quarter Association has done an amazing job. And the urban renewal continues in the adjacent East Village, where the new Petco Park ball field has spurred even more “fiercely fashionable” development, as Wikipedia puts it.

Bravo to the Albuquerque retailers for taking matters into their own hands. Think about rolling up your sleeves and doing the same.