My downtown stories have a lot to do with renovation. How to get started and how to be successful. Today, I want to post what I think is a critical part improving your town. It’s planting. Many times it’s overlooked, but I think downtown renovation begins with a commitment to plant. That’s right. Planting something is the best value for the money spent and planting trees, shrubs, or even potted plants will create more of an impact than costly sidewalk streetscapes.
I’ve had a little background on downtown renovation. Downtown El Dorado, Arkansas was a ghost town when my wife and I started buying buildings and renovating them some 25 years ago. However, it wasn’t just the work on the storefronts and bringing new businesses downtown, a big part of it was the planting of over a 1000 street trees and the instalation of some 50 + planters…large and small.
Actually, there’s not a magic pill you can give a downtown and expect it to bloom overnight. We had to set a course and add to El Dorado’s downtown mix every year. It’s the steady adding until you have enough “stuff” and businesses to achive success. We made it last year…an ovenight success… after 25 years. Downtown El Dorado was named America’s Best Downtown.
If you have a sad, rundown center of your city, plant something and then next year add to what you have and on and on. Renovating a decaying downtown isn’t something that happens overnight, but it can happen.
I want this blog to be full of helpful ideas that focus on the heart of your city. Remember this: If the center of your town is precieved to be a failure, then your whole town is seen as a failure by others.