Main Street Viewpoint

Transcription

1 MAIN STREET WOOSTER, INC. Main Street Viewpoint WHAT IS MAIN STREET? Perhaps after 28 years, it would be wise to re-look at what the Main Street process and program does for a downtown and its community. Sandra C. Hull, Executive Director THE MISSION OF MAIN STREET WOOSTER IS: TO ENHANCE THE COMMUNITY OF WOOSTER BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF ITS DOWNTOWN BUSINESS AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT THROUGH ORGANIZATION, PROMOTION, DESIGN, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. A Main Street program will: create a comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization; create widespread community support; create a strong, community- based organization with a board of trustees that represents the community, not just a small constituency; focus efforts of economic development and preservation of a traditional downtown; create a strong public/private partnership full time management of the downtown process; create an annual work plan with goals and objectives; address downtown issues on an incremental basis using the individual community s individual resources. With its public and private partners, A Main Street program can provide for the community: downtown properties brought up to code; downtown properties façade improvements; new, compatible construction; increased tax base; increased downtown property values; increased occupancy rates; storefront and upper stories New Orleans Jazz Parade at the 11th annual Wooster Arts Jazz Fest! increased rent/sale stabilization; increased number of jobs; upgraded infrastructure; reduced vandalism; cooperative downtown maintenance; service availability and unique retail businesses; encourage local entrepreneurial businesses; marketing the downtown, all media, to enhance downtown image; events to bring people to the downtown and celebrate its unique vitality and visibility; positive perception of downtown and community; tourism opportunities; healthy downtown economy; address quality of Life and sense of place issues. The sustainability of a vital downtown is a community project; the Main Street process and program are the implementation tools for success, now and for the next 28 years!

2 P AGE 2 Economic Development Committee Matt Long, chair About once every decade, Main Street has the opportunity to contribute to the City s efforts to update the Comprehensive Plan, which is the document that will guide community and economic development priorities of the City and its local non-profit partners. This process was a fresh reminder of all that we have accomplished, as well as all that can still be done to enhance downtown Wooster. The Comprehensive Plan calls for our community to enhance connections between the downtown and other destinations, areas of commerce, and points of interest; promote new opportunities for arts and entertainment through carefully planned public spaces; and, enhance the gateway into downtown along East Liberty Street. The following quote from the Comprehensive Plan is very telling of the importance of downtown for Wooster residents. Downtown Wooster truly serves as the cultural center of the City and a regular destination for the majority of citizens. Over half of residents report going downtown all the time and over 81% of them visit downtown at least a couple times a month. Citizens primarily visit downtown to enjoy the restaurants, retail stores, entertainment, and the library. Not surprisingly, residents want more of the same. 73% of residents report that more retail, entertainment, and restaurants would encourage Buildings at 120 & 124 E. Liberty St. purchased by Weaver Custom Homes them to more frequently head downtown. Over the next several years, we will continue to work with the City on the execution of these priorities. This year, downtown welcomed the following new businesses/expansions: Poppy by PurseSnickety (114 E. Liberty St.) Clothes Minded Boutique (140 S. Market St.) Studio Pink (Liberty Street Commons) Luckyporcupine Co. (Liberty Street Commons) Meg Bowman Photography (Liberty Street Commons) Broken Rocks (119 E. Liberty St.) expansion Gathering Grounds Coffee Shop (131 N. Market St.) Jimmy Johns (131 W. Liberty St.) Oak Grove Eatery (151 S. Market St.) Bespoke Hair Salon & Barbering (228 S. Market St.) Blaine Carmichael Sports (135 N. Bever St.) Harbor Hill Antiques (503 E. Liberty St.) Faithful Little Cupcake (135 W. Liberty St.) expansion Republican Headquarters (131 W. Liberty St.) expansion As well as the purchase and renovation of the 236 & 242 South Market Street properties, the purchase and renovation of the 120 & 124 East Liberty Street properties, and the renovation of the 149 N. Walnut Street property. We look forward to the opening of the Weaver Residential Construction showroom, Birdeye Consulting, Gionino s Pizza, and five new lofts in Entrepreneurialism is infectious, and we benefit from the creativity, determination, and perseverance of our local business owners who continue to find new and unique ways to enhance our downtown. Over the next year, we will continue to support the efforts of these entrepreneurs by continuing to target and eliminate barriers to development, target and recruit new businesses to locate in downtown Wooster, and execute community development initiatives to enhance the attractiveness of target areas such as East Liberty Street and South Market Street. Stay tuned, and keep supporting downtown Wooster!

3 M AIN STREET V IEWPOINT P AGE 3 Chairman s Message Becky Foster, chair The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong. Thomas Carlyle This past year, Main Street Wooster has not let any blocks of granite stand in our way. Our strong Main Street team of Board Members, Executive Committee, Committee Chairs, our Executive Director Sandra Hull, and Project Coordinator Beverly Chrapowicki have used every stepping stone we had to make decisions to guide businesses and make downtown Wooster a destination. This past year downtown Wooster has had an outstanding year. Ten new businesses (see Economic Development Committee report) have opened in the past year with three additional expansions. The old Napa Building, one of the original downtown buildings, is being renovated for Weaver Custom Homes and Birdeye Consulting which will add two new businesses, new employees, and five new lofts to the downtown community. Gionino s Pizza will be opening on Buckeye Street and the wonderful Wayne County Court House, on Public Square, will undergo a complete exterior restoration. Main Street Wooster in its 27 th year and is the oldest of the Ohio Main Street Communities. As the Chair of Main Street Wooster this year, I was able to proudly honor our Executive Director, Sandra Hull, Photo by Matt Dilyard. A glimpse inside the Gault Schoolhouse. as the Heritage Ohio, Main Street Director of the Year, at an award ceremony of her peers in Kent, Ohio this fall. Sandra Hull is the longest serving Executive Director in the State of Ohio and the award was well deserved. There have been many great changes to downtown Wooster in the past 27 years and it has been my pleasure to serve as the Chairman of Main Street Board for just one of them. I would like to thank the 2014 Board of Directors, Executive Director, Sandra Hull, and Project Coordinator, Beverly Chrapowicki, for their hard work and dedication during the past year. It has been an honor and privilege for me to be part of this dedicated team! Downtown Wooster continues to thrive and remain a viable and visible part of the Wooster/Wayne County community.

4 P AGE 4 Design Committee - Rich Danby & Michael Dowd, co-chairs The highlight of the Design Committee s year is recognizing the Downtown Wooster businesses and activities that made a special effort and investment in new development, remodeling, or significant improvement to their building(s) or structure(s). We are delighted to announce the 2014 winners on this page! The design award selection process includes but is not limited to respect for the structure s historical significance, preservation, or contribution to the Downtown appearance. This year s unique, handmade, ceramic design award plaques are again produced by Downtown Wooster s own Brigid O Connor of Artfind Tile. Although the 2014 design award winners deserve special recognition, sincere appreciation for the attractive overall appearance of our city goes to many support organizations, businesses, and volunteers. They have generously contributed numerous hours toward the Downtown Wooster area. We cannot acknowledge them enough! Special thanks are again extended to Buchwalter Greenhouse and Green Thumb Floral for their continued dedication in their respective beautification efforts. They provide colorful, healthy flowers during the spring and summer, and gorgeous wreaths and greens in the holiday season. The winter months would not be the same downtown without all who support the lighting of the trees with their contributions. Residents of the city of Wooster are not the only ones who notice our hard work. Numerous accolades from local and regional visitors continue to attest to the results of many appreciated community beautification efforts. Several regional publications have taken the time to recognize Wooster s charm, community spirit, challenges, and achievements. Article content has included a myriad of subject areas: long-term development locations, home restorations, the best uses of vacant properties, parking issues, work plans, key individual personnel profiles and, most importantly, success stories. Beyond 2014, Main Street Wooster continues to support the Downtown Beautification Fund, which will help to keep Downtown Wooster a special Ohio showplace in the years to come. Congratulations 2014 Design Awards The Design Committee is pleased to recognize the following businesses for adding o the visual design process in Downtown Wooster. Boreman Financial Building Chad Boreman, Owner Exterior renovations Taggart Law Firm Jeff Musselman Exterior renovations C & C Wellert Properties Craig & Carrie Wellert, owners Exterior beautification Bespoke Hair Salon & Barbering Angela Steiner, Owner Interior & Exterior Renovations Poppy by PurseSnickety Becky Sipe, Owner Interior improvements/exterior signage George & Sherri Grande For the beautification of their Victorian home located at 446 N. Buckeye The Gault Schoolhouse College of Wooster Interior/Exterior renovation Design Committee Members: Rich Danby & Michael Dowd, co-chairs Peg Cornwell Becky Foster Mike Mariola Joel Montgomery Lance White

5 M AIN STREET V IEWPOINT P AGE 5 Promotions Committee Allan Churchmack, chair Promotion Committee members: Allan Churchmack, Cheryl Davis, Karen Voorhees, David Wiesenberg, Mary McMillen, Jennifer Shatzer, Dennis & Paula Tafoya, and Randy Wilson. Bringing people downtown to meet, greet, shop, and eat has become a year-round mission for Main Street Wooster. Once again this year, Main Street Wooster promoted many activities designed to bring in Woosterites and out-of-towners alike, to check out our thriving downtown. The kick-off of the year s events came in February with Chocolate Daze. This successful event saw 34 downtown merchants participate and offer sweet treats and great deals to shoppers and diners. At the end of May when the weather was just warming up, we launched the Sounds of Downtown music series. This monthly summertime event brought street performers and a musical buzz to the downtown streets on weekend nights. Diverse groups like a barbershop quartet, a string trio, a steel drummer, a clogging group, and a folk musician were situated around downtown delighting passersby with their talents and giving the downtown a big-city vibe. The kick-off to our busy summer schedule began with Kid s Day on June 7th. Kid s Day once again included the presentation of the All American Kids awards by Mayor Brenneman, and included activities such as face painting, an obstacle course, inflatable bounce houses, and a petting zoo. That same day, the square came to life with the start of the weekly Saturday Farmer s Market giving locals and visitors a chance to browse and buy fruits and vegetables offered by nearby farmers. June got even busier as we presented our first Cruise-in of the summer and continued our tradition of Ladies Night, which gives local and visiting women a chance to shop all the downtown stores and get a taste of what the downtown restaurants have to offer with discounts and special offers, just for them. Next was the newly named Taste of Downtown (formerly Artfully Delicious) where downtown restaurants offered up tasty bites and samples from their menus as patrons strolled Market Street. A tasty and fun time was had by all! Music was aplenty downtown in July, as the USAF Band of Flight performed on July 3rd to the largest crowd in concert history. Immediately following on Independence Day, the Ohio Light Opera Orchestra and Chorus performed to an enthusiastic crowd on the square. The Wooster Arts & Jazz Fest on September 13th, brought street food, local artisans, and great music to the square, and made for a festive and fun time for everyone. New this year was a Chalk Art Gallery. MCTV filmed the entertainment portion of the night, and conducted interviews to air later this winter on local cable TV. Another fun new program this Fall was our Merchant Scarecrow promotion. Downtown businesses were asked to be creative and decorate a scarecrow to put out in front of their store/restaurant. We then encouraged visitors to take #ScarecrowSelfies to share on social media. We have an album of Scarecrow Selfies on the MSW Facebook page check them out! Speaking of social media, Main Street has over 2,200 Facebook Fans, and more than 400 have opted-in as text subscribers and receive text notifications of all the happenings in the downtown area. Once again this year, we Still to Come in 2014 Friday, Nov :30 p.m. Window Wonderland & Lighting of the Community Christmas Tree Saturday, Nov. 29 All Day Small Business Saturday Friday, Dec p.m. Downtown Churches Christmas Walking Tour Friday, Dec p.m. Pictures With Santa at the Wayne County Main Library created Shoppers Guides to assist visitors and promote all the great dining and shopping options our downtown has to offer. On the subject of shopping, #ShopSmallWoo is being promoted for the entire month of November, and downtown businesses will run specials on the 29th for Small Business Saturday. Still to come this year are the downtown churches walking tour, Window Wonderland, with store front displays, the tree lighting on the square, and of course the visit from the Jolly Old Elf himself, Santa! All of these activities, events, and performances would not be possible without the wonderful support of the public and community organizations, business sponsors, the many volunteers, donations from local restaurants, merchants, and businesses, and our partnerships with local media. Together we re all making downtown the place to be. THANKS!

6 Main Street Wooster, Inc. 377 W. Liberty St. Wooster, Ohio Follow us! Text the keyword DOWNTOWN To for MSW text notices! Nominating Committee Becky Foster, chair Matt Long, Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston will serve as Chair of the Main Street Wooster, Inc. Board of Trustees for the years The Executive Committee includes: Chad Boreman, Boreman-Cook Financial Services, Chair Elect, Adam Briggs, Briggs Financial Group, Secretary, Greg Brunn, Western Reserve Group, Treasurer, Becky Foster, Vice President of Construction and Maintenance for Buehler s Fresh Foods, Past Chair, And, John Hall, First National Bank, Past Chair The following Main Street Wooster, Inc. Board of Trustees will be serving a second three-year term: Becky Foster: Buehler s Fresh Foods Chad Boreman: Boreman-Cook Financial Michael Dowd: The Wooster Brush Company Michael Mariola: Owner, City Square Steakhouse and the Rail Restaurants David Wiesenberg: Owner, The Wooster Book Co. Thanks to the Main Street Wooster Board of Trustees who have served this past year. Your time and commitment to Main Street Wooster and downtown revitalization is sincerely appreciated.