Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Downtowns Important To Communities
DIRECTOR APPLAUDS CHAMBER FOR BEING PROACTIVE
PRAIRIE GROVE — The director of Main Street Arkansas showed photos Thursday on how some communities in Arkansas are revitalizing their historic downtowns.
Greg Phillips spoke to the Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce about two programs with the Department of Arkansas Heritage — the Arkansas Downtown Network and the Main Street Arkansas program.
He applauded the chamber for being proactive in thinking how to preserve its main street in light of a new highway that will bypass the downtown area.
Phillips pointed out that what makes a community “unique and different” are features in the middle of town, not strip malls or retail centers.
“Many years ago, downtown was the gathering place,” Phillips said. “Down- towns were a wonderful hub of activity in our communities.”
Through the years, many downtowns have deteriorated because of a “disinvestment” in the area and because of a lack of care of historic structures, he said.
A downtown is important for several reasons, Phillips said.
Research from the Small Business Administration proves that a downtown is important from a financial standpoint, he said. Statistics show that for every $1 spent in a big box store, only 6 cents is retained and recirculated in the community. For every dollar spent in a chain store, 20 cents is returned to the community.
By comparison, for a local business, 60 cents of every dollar spent benefits the community, Phillips said.
“Historic preservation is economic development,” he added.
Since Main Street Arkan- sas was created in 1984, he said $126 million has been invested in downtown areas, with a net gain of 946 new businesses and a net gain of 5,000 jobs.
In Arkansas, towns interested in the Main Street program, first come in as a member of the Arkansas Downtown Network, which was started to help smaller communities revitalize their downtowns. Then, if it desires, a city can move into the more intensive Main Street Arkansas program.
Eighteen cities are part of the Main Street Arkansas program and 12 cities, including Clarksville and Fort Smith, belong to Arkansas Downtown Network,
Both programs use a fourpoint approach to meet their goals. These include organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring or economic development.
Organization is needed to get everyone involved and working toward the same goal. Promotion seeks to enhance downtown through its image, retail businesses and special events. Design is the physical elements of a downtown and economic development works with businesses to make them the best they can be and also to bring in new businesses.
A community can apply to become a member of the Arkansas Downtown Network and Phillips said the next application process would probably be in January.
Chamber president Dale Reed said one of the plans for the new bypass is to install signs to continue to draw people to downtown Prairie Grove. He noted that he believes the bypass will allow the city to open up downtown for other events.
Reed said he’s interested in the Arkansas Downtown Network but did not know if it is something the chamber would pursue.
Mayor Sonny Hudson said he would want to talk to business owners downtown to gauge their interest in applying for the program. He said he understands that Prairie Grove considered the Main Street Arkansas program many years ago but did not apply for the program.