Published: May 20, 2008 10:49 pm            

STEPHANIE SALTER: Demographic snapshots of North-enders can benefit Plaza North

TERRE HAUTE — First things first: Politicians aren’t the only folks who say things they intend one way, but which land on some people quite another way. Sunday’s column about Plaza North, I am told, “really offended” a number of the very people I am part of — Terre Haute North-enders who want our local shopping center to be the best it can be.

My description of surprise at hearing that a new call center and 600 jobs would be located in the oft-dissed Plaza North gave several people the idea that I think the shopping center is crummy and the area it serves is equally bad.

Not remotely true. I grew up in North Terre Haute. When I came back to town in 2004, I could have chosen anywhere in the county to live, but I chose the north end because I love it. If anything I wrote conveyed the opposite of that, I apologize for not expressing myself better.

Now, to what I’d planned to share today — a fascinating (to me) demographics study of the areas within a one-mile, three-mile and five-mile radius of Plaza North. The “snapshot” report was done by Claritas Inc., for Coastal Equities, a Florida company that bought Plaza North in March 2007. It is based on Census estimates from 2006.

National retail chains use reports like these as if they were divining rods. Millions of dollars will or won’t be invested in an area because of the portrait that emerges after all the demographic slicing and dicing is completed. The snapshots include dozens of breakdowns of the populace. Among them are income, age, gender, education level, marital status and esoterica like how many non-blood-related children live at home.

Here are just some of the “pictures” of the north-end and how it stacks up against the larger Terre Haute zone and largest county metro zone.

Think of three concentric circles with the middle of Plaza North as their common compass point. The smallest, Zone 1, runs a mile north to about Dexter Avenue, east to about 30th Street, south to Maple Avenue and west to the Wabash River.

A larger Zone 2 is bordered by Roselawn Cemetery, the far-west edge of Hawthorn Park, Crawford Street to the south and U.S. 150 to the west. The largest circle, Zone 3, runs north to about the Vigo County line, just east of Chamberlain Road, about a half-mile south of Interstate 70 and west to near the state line.

In a metro area that is very white (89 percent), more female than male (about 52 to 48 percent) and adult (70 percent over age 21), the area nearest Plaza North is whiter (95 percent), even more female (54 to 46 percent) and more adult (74 percent is over 21).

Compared to metro Zone 3’s percentage of people over age 65 (just under 15 percent), our north-end Zone 1 is more senior, too: Almost 20 percent of our folks are over 65.

Not surprising, racial and ethnic minorities are sparse. If you’re thinking of opening a Cuban restaurant, for example, you should know that only two Cubans are in Zone 1. In Zone 2, which includes most of Terre Haute, the number is 16; in Zone 3, it’s 35. As for Hispanics or Latinos, in general, the one-mile, three-mile, five-mile breakdown is 38, 414 and 836, respectively.

After the USA, the primary nation of ancestry for all zones is Germany. Near Plaza North, nearly 13 percent of folks claim German ancestry. Within three miles in Zone 2, it’s nearly 14 percent; within five miles, it’s about 15 percent.

For people over age 15, we in Zone 1 lead the metro area in percentage of widows and widowers (more than 10 percent vs. 8.5 for Zone 3) and in divorced residents (nearly 17 percent vs. about 12.5). We trail in never-marrieds (19 percent vs. 31).

Education snapshots vary. We in Zone 1 have a lower percentage of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but we have a higher percentage of folks with doctoral degrees than in Zone 2, which includes Indiana State. Nearly 43 percent of the population over age 25 in Zone 1 did not go beyond a high-school diploma or GED. For the greater metro area, it’s about 35 percent.

We North-enders are family types, to be sure, leading all zones in percentage of family households (66 vs. 60 in Zones 2 and 3). We also are pretty solidly middle-class. Our largest income segment — nearly 20 percent of households — earns between $50,000 and $74,999 annually. For Zones 2 and 3 that percentage is about 17.

A figure that might surprise some: The largest economic segments in Zone 2 and 3 — 23 and 21 percent — are made up of households that earn less than $15,000 a year. In Zone 1, nearest Plaza North, not quite 17 percent is in that income bracket.

We have a smaller percentage of one-person households in the north end than in the other zones and the largest percentage of two-person and four-person households. We lead the city and county in married-couple households, whether or not they include children.

We’ve got a few more cars and trucks, too, leading the other two zones in two-vehicle and three-vehicle households, but averaging nearly the same overall with 1.65 vehicles per home to 1.56 and 1.60 for Zones 2 and 3.

As for employment, we in Zone 1 have a larger percentage of folks in the military as well as officially out of the labor force. But we have a smaller percentage of unemployed than the rest of the city and county. We have a higher concentration of blue-collar workers (31.5 percent to 26 and 24 for Zones 2 and 3) and a larger percentage than the other zones of people who drive solo to work or take the bus.

We lead everyone in owner-occupied homes — nearly 78 percent of us to the city and county’s 63. More than 40 percent of those homes are valued between $80,000 and $149,999. In Zones 2 and 3, that bracket’s percentages are 30 and 34.

At the time of the survey, no one within a mile radius of Plaza North lived in a house valued at $500,000 or more. In Zones 2 and 3, there were 22 and 85 such homes, respectively, with 26 valued at more than $1 million.

What’s all this mean? I can’t say for certain, but I have to believe it can at least help us get any vacant spaces rented in Plaza North — a family clothing store, please — before the end of this year when those 600 new workers start filling up the parking lot near Applebee’s.

Stephanie Salter can be reached at (812) 231-4229 or stephanie.salter@tribstar.com.

        

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