Community involvement is the key to a successful downtown, said
Main Street Manager Diane DeWalt on Wednesday.
And a prime example of that is the upcoming Summerfest.
“It’s really just the only way things are going to happen in our
small little town is every group works with the others,” DeWalt
said.
“I try to be a connecting thread,” she said. DeWalt maintains
memberships in downtown organizations, such as the Downtown
Bradford Business District Authority, the Bradford Area Business
Group and the Historic Architectural Review Board.
“It’s just a matter of working with all the groups. Much of what
is done is done through those who volunteer,” she said, mentioning
groups such as the Street Dreams Car Club that puts on the Autumn
Daze Car Show.
“Events take a lot of manpower, they take a lot of time and
energy to organize,” she said. Referring to the Summerfest and all
the groups working together, she said, “it’s going to be a
wonderful event because of all the participation.
“That’s the message that we like to get out there – really
nothing happens without community involvement,” DeWalt said.
The Main Street Approach – a methodology that combines historic
preservation with economic development to restore prosperity and
vitality to downtowns and neighborhood business districts – has a
four-point approach to increase commercial activity or enhance the
attractiveness of the real estate.
“We have people working with the four different points,” DeWalt
said. For design, there is the HARB, “and all the wonderful things
that can happen through historic preservation.”
The second point she mentioned is promotion, which is all the
events that take place downtown year round – Summerfest, Festa
Italiana, the Scarecrow Contest in the fall, Living Windows at
Christmas time, First Night, Lunch in the Square and more.
“These wonderful things are happening and we want the word out
to make sure the public’s aware,” she said.
“The economic development piece (of the approach), that’s
different people who work with that.” DeWalt explained she makes
referrals to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford for help with
business plans, to the Chamber of Commerce for seminars or working
with the Small Business Administration, or to agencies if they are
seeking low-interest loans.
“It’s just a matter of knowing where they can get answers and
help for whatever they are looking for,” she said.
The last point of the approach, organization, is where the
Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp. comes in. “It’s actually
made up from members of the chamber, members recommended by the
city and through the Business District Authority.”
The DBRC is a not-for-profit organization that underwrote the
Main Street Mercantile by signing the lease for the building and
backing the project, she said. They also backed the Main Street
Moviehouse project, and have hired Dipson Theater to manage it.
“They’re there really just to be someone that helps bring
private investors into the picture,” DeWalt explained. They are
looking to be owners, but are looking to help businesses grow, she
said.
“It’s important that we have sustainable development,” she said.
And that’s what they’ve found with the theater and the Mercantile,
both of which have been very successful. “They’ve both been
undertaken in a way that fits our market. You have to know you can
make enough money for the business to be successful.
“The Mercantile … it fits a niche. There’s a lot of variety in
the store. It seems to be an attraction for travelers and tourists.
They seem to really enjoy it.”
And from the point of view of the business owner, the
small-business incubator is a great place to find out if this is
the choice.
“The little businesses in here, this is a way for them to get
their feet wet,” DeWalt said. “Some of these folks will probably
stay in the Mercantile. Some of them with a passion for having
their own business will probably graduate out. Those people will
have had enough under their belt that it will be a sustainable
venture.”
She explained that Main Street in Bradford, the same as Main
Streets in other communities, are experiencing the same problems –
one of which is having buildings with tremendous available
space.
“A lot of Main Streets need smaller retail spaces,” she said.
“It’s difficult to rent larger spaces. Two-thousand-square-feet may
not seem like a lot, but it’s a lot of inventory to fill.”
Creating the Mercantile is a “proactive attempt to grow some
retail,” she said. “Change is what we need in the downtown. Change
is going to happen to us if we don’t make it happen.”
While recruitment of businesses is an option, it’s not as easy
as people seem to think.
“Some of the things people are looking for would never have
enough customers here for it to succeed.”
It takes more than just asking someone to come to Bradford to
get a store here, she said. “They want to know how many customers
they are going to have. That’s a challenge. We’re a small
town.”
However, she said, tourism and all the efforts of Linda Devlin
at the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau have been paying
off. “There are a lot of doors opening to us with regards to the
increased tourism traffic.”
With the construction on U.S. Route 219, many travelers are
taking a scenic route through Bradford instead. “We need to grab
their attention while they are here. People passing through stop in
to buy lunch. We do get a lot of traffic through our downtown in
the summer.”
And with celebrations still to come, such as Summerfest, the
2006 Zippo/Case International Swap Meet, the Italian Festival and
the 125th Anniversary Celebration at American Refining Group, the
opportunities will continue.
