Frank LaTorre remembers when the price tag for the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge was just $3 million. It was back in the 1990s, and the idea was to turn the Route 195 span over the Providence River into a walkway connecting the urban core. By the time the project was finally completed this summer, the…Continue reading
In Battle Creek, MI, generous incentives are attracting tenants to the downtown district. Battle Creek Unlimited Inc. offers subsidies of as much as $200,000 to breweries and restaurants. New Holland Brewing Co. landed the first incentive; it used the money toward a $1 million renovation of an 18,000-square-foot building. The total project is worth $5…Continue reading
Valerie Marmone once ran a clothing boutique in Sacramento, so she knows firsthand how hard it is to operate a retail business in an era of tight margins and online shopping. In her post-entrepreneurial career, Marmone works as vice president of business development at the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. In that role, she runs the annual…Continue reading
With many smaller cities struggling to lure skilled workers, a few downtowns are trying something new: They’re offering to help people pay down their college loans if they move to town. Last year, Hamilton, OH, launched a Talent Attraction Program that offers up to $10,000 to workers who earned college degrees within the past seven…Continue reading
In the annals of cultural assets, a quilting museum and a public mural project might sound like an unremarkable pair of attractions. But Paducah, KY, has combined those two resources with local pride and a relentless place-building campaign to turn itself into a widely recognized arts hub. "The city really sees the value of creativity…Continue reading
Many cities set downtown parking rates and then forget about them for years. A few of the largest cities have embarked on ambitious parking plans that rely on wireless sensors and real-time data to adjust prices throughout the day. Seattle chose a middle route. The city carefully studies parking patterns and then updates rates once…Continue reading
The expression of public art and its purpose is evolving as artists and downtown leaders expand the definition to encompass new formats. Underfoot or overhead, a treat for the eyes, ears, or all of the senses, public art is an integral part of many successful downtowns. Barbara Goldstein, a placemaking and public art planning consultant…Continue reading
Atlanta’s post-war boom has positioned it as the archetypal sprawling Sunbelt city. Now, some in the city aim to make downtown friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists by converting some one-way streets to two-way thoroughfares. The downtown business group Central Atlanta Progress has proposed turning six blocks of Baker Street into a two-way street. However, many…Continue reading
Add little Whitefish, MT (est. pop. 7,070), to the growing list of municipalities worried about an influx of 5G wireless antennas marring picturesque downtowns. Mirroring a national pushback against the new generation of "small-cell" wireless antennas, officials in Whitefish aren’t keen about the prospects of new devices popping up in a downtown known for its…Continue reading
In a bid to keep small retailers from being priced out of its resurgent downtown, St. Petersburg, FL, is experimenting with new rules regarding its merchant mix. The city’s "storefront conservation corridor" offers an unusual approach to regulating retailers in two busy business districts. Rather than limiting chains or banning them outright, St. Petersburg created…Continue reading
