Downtown Revitalization Targets Residential and Commercial
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The term “pioneer” often brings to mind visions of covered wagons and dusty trails, but pioneers are what downtown Newark is seeking.
Urban pioneers, that is.
“We’ve got a lot to offer here,” says Steve Herb, a local developer/broker interested in Newark’s downtown revitalization, especially as it relates to trendy residential loft development. “Our downtown is large enough to offer a lot of opportunity and small enough for downtown revitalization to be achievable.”
Dave Brenner, tapped by the Licking County Chamber of Commerce to chair the steering committee charged with formulating a revitalization strategy, agrees.
“Newark is poised for rapid growth, mainly because of the transportation improvements on Highway 16 and 161, which connects us with Columbus,” says Brenner. “Our downtown, which has so much potential, can take advantage of that growth.”
Downtown revitalization is a process, Brenner stresses, and the tendency to expect instant results can be disheartening. “We’ve made the commitment that we are going to resist the temptation to get impatient and cynical,” he says. “We want to be celebratory in our small accomplishments and small successes. It’s more than us coming up with a plan; it’s a comprehensive strategy that will yield tangible results.”
While the committee is working with the city of Newark in terms of some professional assistance, the group is currently functioning on its own financially, depending upon the strengths of its business members to perform the fundamental due diligence during this initial period.
Once the committee was established in 2007, Brenner explains, the group used its own resources to immediately analyze and map the conditions of 794 commercial and residential properties in the downtown area. What they saw was that the downtown area has an impressive stock of historic buildings, and most of them are in good condition.
“We have several architecturally significant buildings downtown,” says Brenner. The Licking County Courthouse, built in 1879 in the French mansard Victorian style, is at the very top of the list, considered to be one of the finest in the state.
Other strengths include the potential for residential development in the upper stories of many of the buildings around the courthouse square and the fact that a strong residential core exists in the western area of downtown. “In my opinion, that will enable redevelopment to take place,” says developer Herb. “You can’t reproduce this feeling and these buildings out in suburbia.”
Possible candidates who will be targeted for downtown living include Newark’s Ohio State University students and young professionals.
Anchors in the downtown, other than government, include The Midland Theatre, a turn-of-the-century theater that serves as both a performance and movie venue, and The Works, a Smithsonian affiliate featuring museums, art studios and other cultural activities. Founded by philanthropist Howard LeFevre, the facility is housed in a 19th-century former steam engine plant on First Street.
Newark is no different from many other mid-sized American cities dealing with the flight of businesses and residents to the outlying areas, and Brenner says they know the challenges. The biggest is risk-taking, he says.
“There is no question that it is a risk for a developer to come in and do residential units, but the highway-widening project is going to be key in the success of that.” Other challenges include traffic flow, parking solutions and infrastructure improvements.
One local businessman, Jerry McClain, has grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and begun physical improvements at Newark’s front door.
“You only have one time to make a first impression,” says McClain, a general contractor/developer and Newark native. He and Newark attorney Gib Reese have demolished identified eyesores at the corner of Fourth and Locust streets, and McClain hopes that Fourth Street can become a welcoming venue in the city with decorative lighting, customized sidewalks and an improved bridge. “We are trying to develop this into something very nice,” says McClain.
Story by Betsy Williams
Photo by Staff
