Downtown Revitalization Effort December 2006

The future of Chillicothe's downtown has been in the news lately. You may have read the article in the December 7th Chillicothe Gazette entitled "Group looks for help to revitalize local downtown." A coalition of downtown business and property owners, city officials, and the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce is considering hiring a consulting company, which has offered a proposal of its services.

A 1948 aerial photo of the downtown - with almost no parking lots - is centered at the intersection of Paint and Main streets.

A promising statement in the article was made by Chamber CEO Marvin Jones: "We are blessed with a downtown that is unique and remains a jewel for the entire community." The coalition group is meeting 6pm January 3rd in the former Central School for a final discussion of the proposal and discussion of possibly funding it.

An Adobe Reader file of the proposal from the solicited consulting company is on the Chamber's website. The following information is taken from that document.

The company is HyettPalma of Alexandria, Virginia, who has worked for 22 years exclusively to develop "economic enhancement strategies for Downtowns." They are the "nation's leading firm" in that, and coined the term. "Downtown economic renaissance is all we do." The two principals of the company have masters degrees in city and in urban planning, and their résumés and the company résumé is available on the company's website.

What are "economic enhancement strategies"? The best description I can find is that they are "market driven strategies for the further enhancements of Downtowns and older business districts." Of course, that begs the question of what is "enhancement." But in furthering that, HyettPalma will, among six efforts, will be "focusing on and addressing the assets and needs that make Downtown Chillicothe unique."

The project will take five months and cost $55,000. It will be an "inclusive process" which will include "visioning, interviews, community meetings, issue sessions, focus groups, resident and business owner surveys, and solid economic research." At the start they will review all existing plans, studies, and analyses of the downtown.

The first step will include interviews with "key" leaders, which might include a major downtown property owner, business owner, lender, developer, and others. Then a "Vision Session" will ensue in which the public will be encouraged to attend. "Major constituents" will also be invited, including business and property owners, city officials and staffs, downtown residents, and preservation groups. Questions asked will focus on what the downtown will ideally be like in 5 years. "Issue sessions" will also be conducted, structured as work sessions, with the mayor and city council, city staff directors, and downtown business organizations.

HyettPalma will complete a retail market analysis for the downtown, which will include a definition of the "trade area," assessment of competing shopping areas, inventory and assessment of downtown development and business climate, random telephone survey and survey of downtown business owners, calculation of retail sales potential, and potential business expansions and openings. They will also conduct downtown office and housing market analyses.

Based on all that, a recommended course of action will be offered. This will include strategies for business enhancement and recruitment, real estate development, public space enhancement, traffic flow and parking enhancements, property maintenance, and marketing.

All this will culminate in a written report and a presentation.