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Downtown Digest News • Web Extras

Makerspace Gives Fresh Spark to Downtown

January 24, 2019
Downtown Lexington, VA, is home to an ambitious business incubator and makerspace that’s drawing interest from entrepreneurs in surrounding areas. Lexington Collaboratory & Makerspace is a 1,300-square-foot lab that lets startups tinker with their products. The Collaboratory also provides a team of mentors to dispense advice about legal matters, marketing, real estate, finance, and professional…Continue reading

 

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Downtown Idea Exchange – Web Extras

January 1, 2019
Makerspace gives fresh spark to downtown —  Lexington Collaboratory & Makerspace is a 1,300-square-foot lab that lets startups tinker with their products. The Collaboratory also provides a team of mentors willing to dispense advice about legal matters, marketing, real estate, finance, and professional development. Read an online article about maker space business models from makezine.com. ...

Engaging the public smooths planning process —  In Delaware, planners have used video games and board games to engage residents in the planning process. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Dots & Dashes game let residents participate in complex transportation planning. ...

Stimulating residential development —  The city of Elgin, IL, has awarded its first grant to install a sprinkler system in a downtown building. See the complete grant program information packet. ...

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The Year in Downtown Revitalization

December 27, 2018
Every other week we post the summary of an article from Downtown Idea Exchange. Over the course of the year we’ve covered everything from business recruitment to streetscape improvements to placemaking. To wrap up the year, we’re highlighting five of our favorite posts. Creative, informative, and adaptable, they showcase some of the best work in downtown…Continue reading

 

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New Zoning and Land-Use Rules Encourage Downtown Retail

November 29, 2018
South Orange, NJ, had a business-recruitment problem. There was no shortage of tenants interested in setting up shop downtown — but the village’s rules didn’t allow for many of the types of experience-based tenants that are taking space in downtowns nationwide. The municipality’s rules were "very, very restrictive," says Bob Zuckerman, executive director of the…Continue reading

 

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Cities Turn to Lighting to Draw Visitors

September 20, 2018
Cities large and small are using public light displays to spark interest in downtowns. In one of the splashiest and most expensive new displays, Memphis, TN, is in the midst of a $14 million project to re-light the Hernando DeSoto Bridge across the Mississippi River. At the more affordable end of the spectrum, Melbourne, FL,…Continue reading

 

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To Woo Brewpubs, Downtowns Offer Incentives, Change Rules

September 6, 2018
After years of begging brewpubs to open in downtown Marlborough, MA, the city’s marketing effort is showing results. The Marlborough Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) began targeting microbreweries in 2014, says Executive Director Meredith Harris. It was only after the city began dangling incentives — and advertised them in Beer Advocate magazine — that brewers came calling. Harris…Continue reading

 

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