Centralia Downtown Association Formation ~ Opportunity Knocks!

The formation of the new Centralia Downtown Association is a major step of progress for the developing downtown sector.  This past spring several business owners, investors and City Economic Development Director, Polo Enriquez, attended the overview workshop at the National Main Street Convention being held in Seattle.  We were among the attendees at the NMS Conference.  It was interesting to hear speaker after speaker from NMS speak directly to the need for a cohesive downtown association group.  The most successful testimonies from cities that had made major economic recoveries and went on to become sought after tourist destinations all had one thing in common - - a committed group of downtown business owners that were bonded together through their association and devoted to breathing new life into their historic downtown centers.

We found the most impressive part of the NMS program is that there is a track record of success documented throughout the nation with city after city that made a come back after seriously embracing and committing to the NMS program.  It is yet to be determined if the new CDA will formally adopt the NMS designation – however, adopting the step by step plan that the NMS established and working through the steps will be a charge in the right direction.  The NMS program revolves around “Guiding Principles” and specific action steps are outlined to achieve those markers of success.  In our opinion, the great thing about the NMS program is it is tried, true and proven.

One of the most exciting elements of the NMS program is the ability to use the CDA as a venue for continuing business education.  Once established the individual committees can sponsor workshops and training events that benefit the greater good of the individual business owner, building owner, investor and city officials.  A downtown association group allows greater cohesiveness and ultimately brings a greater sense of community. Cost effective business education in marketing, economic and community development, successful event planning, writing for grants, long term planning and merchandising are only a few of the educational opportunities that the CDA can sponsor.

Interestingly, today I had the opportunity to chat with Centralia City Manager, JD Fouts, extensively about the continuing renaissance of the downtown sector.  He informed me that there is over $100,000 in the fund to promote the Centralia Historic Downtown once the CDA gets formally established.  These are dollars that can be designated to promote the downtown through all means of advertising and to support events held in the downtown core.  $100,000 goes a LONG way toward advertising to attract visitors who contribute to the bottom line dollar of every business in the downtown area.

The Centralia City Council has pubically shown their commitment to the revitalization of the downtown by investing over $5 million dollars into the infrastructure of the street scape, utilities and Historic Train Depot rehabilitation.  In addition, they have established the Centralia Downtown Revitalization Plan, setting specific goals to restore the downtown to a vital growth focused economic center.  More information about the Centralia Revitalization Plan can be found at http://www.centralia.com

The first general membership meeting of the Centralia Downtown Association will be on the announced soon.  We are looking forward to becoming a part of the growth movement of the CDA and plugging into a community where caring people are involved in creating the lifestyle that makes Centralia such a special place.  This is a great time to be a part of the effort to fully realize the potential of the Historic Downtown – a super successful CDA is the starting point!

More information about the National Main Street Program can be found at http://www.mainstreet.org