In response to one or two of the comments here I'd like to say this:

There are tangential and incremental benefits to having more people physically present in a downtown. Not saying this one single place is the silver bullet solution, it's something that gains momentum and grows over time.

Scene: A downtown begins to have increased levels of foot traffic, people coming and going, not even close to Times Square but hey, it's something. Think more like... Downtown Worcester today.

Maybe these people are just doing the mundane like going into an office, or walking to the common to eat the packed lunch they brought from home, or walking back to their car or public transit to go home. Who ever knows where and what any person is doing or going in a city, right? And it doesn't matter.

So perhaps--as the naysayers claim--perhaps these folks don't immediately contribute to the economy of nearby businesses. For the sake of this scene I will grant that maybe these non-contributors come in, and like someone else said, eat food from home, and go back at the end of their day.

Still with me?

But before long--hey now, the downtown is beginning to look lively. And then more places, more businesses like this one here see this new activity, and decide to open a store there (overly simplified, but you get the picture). Which now, in turn, attract more people still.

Insert snowball effect here.

Suddenly (there's no such thing as 'overnight successes'!), you have all these people in the downtown. They may or may not work there. They may have some other business there--City Hall. A restaurant. Medical appointment. Sales visit. Perhaps they're staying at one of the new hotels. Or going to one of the other businesses that have sprung up due to this renaissance.

These things aren't always easily quantifiable.

But one thing that is measurable--as Worcester can sadly attest--is that a dearth of foot traffic in a downtown is a death sentence. No one goes where no one is or wants to be.

In conclusion: I say, take your sad, defeatist, let's-declare-failure-before-we-even-try attitude and keep on leaving the city as fast as you can.