Downtown Digs
As we continue to study successful downtown areas that have adopted the National Main Street Program we continue to be impressed with our findings. Historic downtown areas just like Centralia have broken through blight conditions and have become vital, economically vibrant downtown city centers. Here are some bullet points shared by the state of Colorado in an economic report documenting their success with the NMSP about why their “downtown” areas are of value – I thought these points applied beautifully to historic Hub City.
- Many downtown businesses are independently owned. Independent businesses support local families and keep profits in town.
- An active downtown attracts tourists who are seeking unique, authentic places to visit, spend time and spend money.
- Downtown is an active public forum for community events.
- Downtown provides a unique sense of community and place and reflects local heritage – important factors in attracting new residents and businesses.
- A strong downtown creates jobs and is often an ideal location for new small businesses to “start up” which leads to additional tax revenues for the community.
- By concentrating density and uses, downtowns are a wise use of community resources.
- A healthy downtown is a stabilizing influence that can protect property values in surrounding neighborhoods.
People come to a downtown historic city center with a much different “experience expectation” than they do when they go to a ‘commercial strip center’ or ‘mall.’ Patrons expect malls to have certain retail stores and many of the malls across America have become ‘copy cats,’ in that they are filled with the same stores regardless of what city they are in. The ‘mall shopper’ is expecting the mall to have a certain main stream mix of retail businesses. Commercial strip centers are also similar – they may vary in size and location, however, strip centers comprise a similar mix of businesses and the patron expects to find those businesses located in them. With exception of certain “mega malls” like the Mall of America in MN, malls are not really “tourist destinations.” For the most part retail malls and commercial strip centers are patronized by the local public who is within a 50 mile radius of their location.
Historic city centers, however, are completely opposite, as they attract both patrons that are local as well as the traveling public because they are a “destination.” The public is expecting a completely different mix of businesses in a historic city center. They are expecting a unique blend of retail shops, boutiques, restaurants, art galleries, museums, historical points of interest, bakeries, cafes, entertainment venues, hotels, interesting historic architecture/buildings and pubs & bars. The traveling public is expecting that the destination will be comprised of ‘one of a kind’ experiences unique to that city location. There is a definite desire for character or ‘independent identity’ that is expected when you visit a historic city center, a certain ‘personality’ if you will. These are all driving factors in why the public is willing to travel a considerable distance to visit a historic downtown area. The destination traveler is looking for an ‘experience’ that will be unique and memorable.
This may explain why some businesses fail in historic city centers and why some flourish. The patrons that are available may or may not be looking for that ‘type’ of business. The heritage tourist is looking for something to do to be entertained while visiting the destination. The community resident is looking for much the same. Both groups expect a different ‘experience’ than visiting the local mall or commercial strip center. In Centralia the business mix is just now beginning to form its own ‘personality.’ Each new business that successfully establishes itself in the city center will add to the developing personality creating a unique, one of a kind historic city experience. It is an exciting time to be a part of shaping the budding personality of Historic Hub City on the GROW!
