Downtown: A living museum

By Danica Baker
Herald Staff Writer

January 27, 2007 12:43 am

— While recent growth has primarily been focused in the west end, there remains a solid group of downtown business owners committed to preserving and restoring Clinton’s commercial past.
Ric O’Leary, owner of Banner Home Furnishings, spoke at Thursday’s chamber luncheon to explain the results of an assessment of the Downtown Business District.
The state provided the assessment at no cost, owing to Clinton’s 2005 selection as an Iowa Great Place. The assessment took place on July 11 and 12 and was conducted by Thom Guzman, director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center, Iowa Department of Economic Development; and Janet McCannon, of Burlington, a downtown consultant and certified main street manager.
Guzman and McCannon began the assessment with a review of material about Clinton, took a driving tour of the city, took a walking tour of the downtown area and conducted interviews with approximately 81 community leaders, individuals and groups representing the public and private sectors.
O’Leary said the report stated the downtown serves as a symbol of the economic health of the community and its viability is important to public and private sectors.
He noted the report showed it is in everyone’s best interests to form a partnership to address its viability.
The report advised that young workers will change their employment many times and many will base those decisions on where they prefer to live. He hinted the report described the downtown as a functioning, living museum and called it unique, with its own character and history. He said the health of the downtown has a direct impact on the entire community’s economic well-being.
The purpose of the assessment, O’Leary said, is to assist with the continual improvement of the downtown business district. The report showed a need for a continued call to action to save the downtown area for future generations.
Regarding the assessment findings, O’Leary said, “Some don’t particularly make me very happy or very proud.”
The report warned of a conflict in Clinton between advocates and so-called CAVE people, or “Citizens Against Virtually Everything.” He said it was a sad commentary that the naysayers relish in the failure of others.
“One of the things is, we need to play better together,” O’Leary said. “We need to support each other. When a decision is made in the best interests of the majority, we need to support it.”
The report said it is imperative that important general uses such as the library, city offices and the police department remain downtown. It showed that when any business leaves the downtown area, it becomes harder for other businesses in the area to operate. Further, the report expressed a need for adaptive reuse of vacant properties.
Recommendations made by the assessors included investigating tax abatement and incentive or grant programs for building improvements. The assessors suggested an expanded use of tax increment financing money, more streetscape improvements, increased communication between city leaders, more long range planning and the city taking a more proactive role in design.
O’Leary said the report noted significant successes in large building renovations, citing the adaptive reuse of the Armstrong, Howes and Van Allen buildings, and more than $12 million invested by the private sector for improvements over the last five years.