Option Value: Why Beck’s is a Bad Bet for a Prime Block

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers
This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development through the lens of some of the most influential voices in city planning—Jane Jacobs, Charles Marohn, Christopher Alexander, William H. Whyte, Jim Heid, Christopher Leinberger, and others. Each installment examines how their ideas apply to Streator’s future and what we risk losing when we trade vision for short-term fixes.

By The Streator Standard Staff

Christopher Leinberger isn’t just a theorist — he’s a real estate developer who has built and advised projects in dozens of U.S. cities. His research focuses on what he calls “walkable urban places” (WalkUPs) and “drivable suburban” places, and the economic gap between them.

His findings? WalkUPs consistently generate higher property values, more tax revenue per acre, and greater resilience in the face of economic downturns. The reason is simple: they’re flexible, layered, and adaptable over time.

One of Leinberger’s most important concepts is option value. In the language of finance, it’s the value of keeping your options open. In urban development, it means designing and using land in a way that preserves flexibility for future uses and market shifts.

And that’s where the Beck’s proposal falls apart.

A Block with High Option Value

Not every piece of land in a city carries the same strategic potential. This block — bounded by Park and Kent Streets — has unusually high option value because:

• It’s adjacent to City Park, the town’s civic green space and venue for major events.
• It’s functionally part of the downtown district, with clear pedestrian connections to Main Street.
• It has visibility from multiple approaches and is within easy reach of neighborhoods, public institutions, and local landmarks.

This is the kind of location Leinberger would call a “catalyst site” — a place that can elevate everything around it if developed well, or depress its surroundings if developed poorly.

The Risk of Locking It In

Leinberger’s research shows that drivable suburban patterns — big parking lots, single-use buildings, wide curb cuts — have a short economic shelf life. They’re optimized for a narrow range of uses, and once they decline, they’re hard and expensive to repurpose.

Walkable urban patterns, by contrast, are inherently flexible. A building with street frontage, mixed uses, and human-scale design can house a shop today, a café tomorrow, and an office next year without major reconstruction.

By approving a Beck’s gas station, Streator is saying:

“We believe the best and highest use of this block for the next 30 years is selling fuel, lottery tickets, and fountain drinks.”

That’s a decision that ignores trends in retail, transportation, and urban economics.

The Opportunity Cost of Low-Value Development

Leinberger’s data shows that land in walkable mixed-use districts is worth two to ten times more per acre than land in auto-oriented strips. It’s not just about charm — it’s about financial productivity:

• Multiple tenants mean multiple property tax accounts.
• Round-the-clock uses (housing, dining, entertainment) mean more sales tax.
• Smaller, adaptable spaces reduce vacancy risk.

A gas station, no matter how busy, produces far less per-acre tax revenue than a mixed-use block — and often comes with long-term environmental liabilities. When its underground tanks need replacing or the business model falters, cities are left with brownfield remediation costs that can delay reuse for years.

Option Value in Practice

Leinberger’s career is filled with examples of communities that preserved and leveraged their option value:

• Pearl District, Portland, OR – Former rail yards and warehouses adapted for housing, retail, and cultural uses. Property values have risen steadily since the first conversions in the 1990s.
• Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, OH – Once a disinvested neighborhood, its intact historic buildings became the foundation for a mixed-use renaissance that has quadrupled land values in parts of the district.
• Warehouse District, Durham, NC – Old tobacco warehouses redeveloped into offices, apartments, and restaurants, doubling assessed values in under a decade.

Each case avoided the “single-use trap” and kept the land adaptable for decades of changing demand.

What Streator Could Do Instead

The Beck’s site isn’t empty — it’s rich with assets that could anchor a phased, option-rich redevelopment:

• Flink Building – Industrial character, open plan, and high ceilings make it perfect for a food hall, maker space, or brewery with park-facing patios.
• Parish Hall – Could become a year-round market, small performance venue, or co-working hub.
• Rectory – Suited to offices or boutique lodging.
• St. Mary’s Church – An architectural landmark that could house a cultural center, concert hall, or even a restaurant in the sanctuary space.

This approach keeps multiple paths open. If one use falters, the others remain. That’s the essence of option value.

Beck’s is the Opposite of Option Value

Once Beck’s tanks are in the ground and the concrete is poured, the site is locked into a single low-intensity use. The underground fuel infrastructure will make it expensive to adapt in the future, and the building’s layout won’t suit anything but another gas station or convenience store.

When the day comes that fuel demand drops, the city will face the twin costs of lost tax potential and site remediation — right next to its park and downtown.

Why This Matters for Streator’s Future

Christopher Leinberger’s work is ultimately optimistic. He believes that walkable, mixed-use districts are not only more valuable but also more resilient — and that towns can choose this path if they resist short-term temptations.

The Beck’s proposal is the opposite: a short-term “win” that sacrifices decades of potential. Once the option value is gone, it’s gone — and the city will be left wondering why it gave away its most strategic block to a use that can’t grow, adapt, or inspire.