Downtown Digest News • Web Extras
August 16, 2018 — For landlords, developers, and other downtown leaders, food halls have a strong appeal. By combining half a dozen or more eateries under one roof, food halls attract consumers and drive foot traffic. A typical food hall might combine a taco place, a gourmet burger joint, a noodle shop, a cold-brewed coffee…To read more — login/sign up
Downtown under construction? Use this checklist to ease the pain — When Waverly, IA, embarked on an infrastructure project, the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Iowa, and Downtown Professionals Network issued a pre-construction technical assistance guide to help downtown businesses cope with the disruptions. ...
Zoning rules often block the housing market’s “missing middle” — Many millennials want to live in walkable urban areas, yet zoning rules often preclude the development of affordable housing on the fringes of downtowns. Read Daniel Parolek’s illustrated explanation of missing middle housing here. ...
City tackles retail vacancies — A recent report for San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development recommends a number of strategies to fill empty storefronts. ...
New downtown connector seeks active tenants — The city of Middletown, NY, has launched Race 4 Space, a Shark Tank style business competition. Check out the Race 4 Space program guidelines....
August 2, 2018 — As a wave of marijuana legalization sweeps North America, some downtowns are taking advantage of the trend by welcoming — or at least cautiously allowing — pot shops in long-vacant spaces. While voters in many U.S. states have overwhelmingly approved marijuana decriminalization, downtowns wrestle with a regulatory wrinkle: Even as pot…To read more — login/sign up
July 19, 2018 — Two blocks in downtown Iowa City, IA, were under construction this spring and summer as the city worked to upgrade underground utilities; increase the width of sidewalks; distribute parking on both sides of the street; enhance accessibility; create healthier planting areas; and modernize lighting, seating, and other amenities. To reassure shoppers…To read more — login/sign up
Food halls draw diners and restaurateurs, serve up creative cuisine — “Food halls are popping up around the United States at a breakneck pace,” Cushman & Wakefield says in its Food Halls of North America 2018 report. ...
Small city connects with regional trail to draw visitors downtown — The small city of Powder Springs, GA, has an ambitious plan to revive its struggling historic district. The city will break ground in late 2018 on a $5.75 million park that will serve as a trailhead to the Silver Comet Trail. Learn more about similar projects: • Carbondale, PA • Akron, OH...
July 5, 2018 — A trip to city hall in Boston, MA, might also include beer, ice cream, and mini golf at The Patios, a placemaking initiative launched this May at City Hall Plaza. The city has entered into a three-year contract with an event organizer to revitalize the drab and underused plaza with seasonal…To read more — login/sign up
June 21, 2018 — What began as a grassroots initiative pairing vacant storefronts with public art in one Minneapolis, MN, neighborhood has grown into an "urban walking gallery" enlivening key commercial corridors in the city center and beyond, and incorporating live performances, artists markets, and pop-up galleries. The Made Here program aims to highlight local…To read more — login/sign up
Demonstration project educates and engages the public — The Las Olas Boulevard Six-Month Safety Improvements Demonstration Project in Fort Lauderdale, FL, is part of an overall Community Investment Plan that includes safety and traffic calming improvements that will create a safer connection between the central business district, the busy boulevard, and local beaches. Watch videos educating the public about safety improvements and new bike lanes and rideshare zones below. ...
Exploring ways to expand the holiday season downtown — It’s never too soon to begin planning for the holidays. In Chillicothe, MO, Main Street Chillicothe spent one summer polling merchants to discover what worked and what did not in the city’s holiday event calendar. See the Holiday Event survey. ...
Using a “carrot and stick” approach to address vacant buildings — A new ordinance aims to keep better track of vacant buildings in downtown Paris, TX, while also incentivizing improvements and penalizing owners that allow properties to remain empty and/or unkempt. See the Vacant Building Registry ordinance. ...
Study reveals 25 actions to boost downtown — A detailed report from the UK-based Institute of Place Management aims to identify factors which lead to sustainable high streets, or downtowns. Read the full report here....
June 7, 2018 — The Live it Up Wausau program in Wausau, WI, seeks to attract employees to the area and give them reasons to stay. "This fits under a broad heading of employee-assisted housing or economic development homesteading," says Christian Schock, the city’s director of planning, community, and economic development. "These are programs that…To read more — login/sign up
Strong city investment attracts development projects — The demise of the textile industry left the city of Kannapolis, NC, with about 5,000 fewer jobs, a huge, vacant industrial campus, and a lackluster downtown. Thanks to heavy investment by both the industrial site owner and the city, the future is looking bright. See the project timelines, Master Plan, and Demonstration project renderings. ...
Under-utilized upper stories provide opportunities for downtown growth — Successful upper-story residential units can help offset the costs of operating street-level businesses. View Clinton, NC’s Mixed-Use and Second-Story Residential Development Incentive Program guidelines....
May 10, 2018 — Since 2011, the town of Flower Mound, TX, has conducted a Retail & Restaurant Survey every other year. The results are used to ensure that residents have input into the type of downtown they want, recruit new businesses, explore consumer leakage, and educate the public about why certain retail and restaurant…To read more — login/sign up
April 26, 2018 — Because little people usually require big people to drive them, supervise them, and pay their way, children’s events are a popular way to bring families downtown. Cities nationwide are adding an array of children’s programming to downtown calendars in an effort to attract those families. Some efforts include folding children’s activities…To read more — login/sign up
