Repair 05: What to Do When Property Owners Will Not Respond
How to move forward without waiting forever
The Problem
You call.
You email.
You follow up.
And nothing happens.
A key building sits empty. A project stalls. A conversation never starts.
Meanwhile, the downtown keeps waiting on one unresponsive property owner.
This is common.
It is also one of the fastest ways momentum dies.
Why This Keeps Happening
Unresponsive property owners are usually dealing with one or more of these realities:
They do not live nearby
The building is not their priority
They are unsure what they want
Past experiences made them cautious
No one has clearly shown them the upside
Silence does not always mean “no.”
But waiting forever is still a problem.
The Fix
You cannot force a response.
You can change how much power silence has.
Here is how to fix it.
Step 1: Stop Treating One Building Like the Whole Downtown
It is easy to let one stubborn property freeze everything else.
Do not do that.
Name the reality:
This building matters
It does not control all progress
Shift energy to places where movement is possible.
Step 2: Change the Ask
Generic outreach gets ignored.
Instead of asking:
“What are your plans?”
“Can we talk?”
Try:
“Here is one option we are exploring”
“We are moving forward with or without this space”
“Here is what similar owners have done”
Specific options invite responses. Open-ended questions often do not.
Step 3: Use Information, Not Pressure
Owners respond better to facts than persuasion.
Share:
Market interest
Comparable rents
Temporary use examples
Improvements happening nearby
You are not selling.
You are reducing uncertainty.
Step 4: Design Around the Silence
If the owner does not respond, plan as if that will continue.
That might mean:
Activating nearby spaces
Adjusting event layouts
Highlighting occupied storefronts
Redirecting investment
Progress next door often creates a response later.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Letting one property stall multiple projects
Repeating the same outreach over and over
Taking silence personally
Waiting for permission to move forward
Downtowns move when momentum builds, not when everyone agrees.
What to Do This Week
Use this short checklist:
⬜ Identify which projects are waiting on one owner
⬜ Rewrite your outreach with a specific option
⬜ Gather two local data points to share
⬜ Make a plan that does not rely on a response
⬜ Redirect energy to one movable opportunity
One shift will change the tone of the work.
How We Help
This issue often surfaces during Real Estate Redevelopment Support work, which helps communities identify where progress is being blocked and where momentum can be created without waiting on a single property.
Keep Going
This post is part of The Downtown Repair Manual, a field guide to fixing common downtown problems one issue at a time.
You do not need every door to open.
You just need one that will.