By Lee Elliott New Boston SIDC/ CDC Executive Director
Why is downtown important?
When people think about your community, they often think about your downtown. It reflects how your community sees itself, what it values, and how it wants to move into the future. This sense of identity attracts visitors, entrepreneurs, and investors. Further, identity leads to stronger place attachment. Those communities where there is a stronger place attachment have higher levels of community appreciation, a sense of well-being and economic growth.
Downtowns are the lifeblood of our communities. In small towns across the country, downtown plays a critical role in bringing residents together to shop, socialize, and share the collective experience of living in rural America– whether it is over a cup of coffee at the local gas station or lunch in the café. In an increasingly digital age, downtowns play a critical role in connecting residents and creating a sense of community.
Downtown is your central business district. People are employed there, businesses operate there, and new ventures are seeded there. Independent businesses bring people downtown, keeping profits in town and generating taxes that fund the community. Downtown commercial districts offer the connectivity start-up businesses require for success and generate more business per square foot than a sprawling box store. This makes downtown optimal for creating sustainable community wealth.
Your downtown is an indispensable shopping and service center. It offers unique shopping opportunities and other key services, such as offices for attorneys, doctors, accountants, insurance providers and others. In many communities, the government seat is downtown, drawing people to offices where they can meet their representatives or pay bills. New Boston is fortunate to have city hall, library, museum, and the school administration offices downtown.
Your downtown is the historic core of your community. The district contains historically significant buildings, sites, and stories that help highlight your community’s heritage and culture. Your downtown today connects your community with the downtown of yesterday and tomorrow. Maintaining your historic downtown is also a smart use of resources; over the decades, vast amounts of public and private investment has gone into the existing infrastructure that makes up your downtown’s-built environment.
The New Boston Special Industrial Development Corporation’s (SIDC) economic development plan lists improvement in our downtown as a key component for our community’s success. The following are some areas the plan recommended our community to perform: “The downtown area of New Boston is home to several local businesses and restaurants. However, the appearance of the overall downtown area needs improvement to ensure the success of businesses in the area. While New Boston has explored participation in the national MainStreet program, it is not currently a Main Street community. This program provides access to resources and ideas to better support downtown merchants and improve the downtown area of a city. New Boston should reconsider participation in the Main Street program or become a Main Street America Affiliate. Affiliates are programs that demonstrate a commitment to the Main Street model and plan to achieve meaningful improvements in their downtown area. Main Street America will provide access to a variety of resources, including a knowledge hub, professional development opportunities, and advocacy support.
New Boston is home to a number of historic structures, both residential and commercial. Some buildings in New Boston – both historic and some just needing an update – would benefit from exterior renovation. The City and the SIDC should explore the creation of a façade grant program that would assist building owners in improving the exterior look of their buildings. This program, which would help improve businesses’ opportunities to thrive, might cover signage, building access, and landscaping, in addition to any structural improvements. The grant program could be funded and administered by the Community Development Corporation.”
With the downtown area being a priority for SIDC and Community Development Corporation Economic Development Plan, the following are some best prac- ice ideas or ideas shared by community members to make our downtown even more cool: Generate successful downtown grant and/or loans specifically for downtown businesses or structures (As mentioned in the economic development plan).
Remove weeds from around the sidewalks.
Frequently, paint safety areas bright yellow.
Paint railings. Provide free Wi-Fi for all of downtown.
During the school year, fly lion banners and paint the windows maroon and gold.
Provide flowers on the sidewalks or hanging baskets.
Nice trash cans on the sidewalks.
Make sure service hours with most businesses align and complement each other.
Decorative signage for the downtown district.
Murals. Banners for all seasons all year.
No broken windows. If there is clutter or trash, pick it up and throw it away!
Vacant buildings, provide murals or cover vacant appearance.
Use decorative lighting- people like bright areas.
Shop and visit downtown. If all organizations concentrate on improving the downtown with these ideas, very quickly we can take our downtown to an even higher level.
Have an awesome day and remember, help improve your community by Shopping New Boston 1st!
