Management group would make downtown Gainesville a better place to live, work, play

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Plan 15: Sort a spot-management firm.

On one of their frequent strolls, Ken and Linda McGurn took a couple snapshots of their neighborhood’s unique, um, charms.

Improperly patched sidewalks. Peeling streets. Uneven curbs that invite broken ankles. Grime-encrusted bricks underfoot.

“Do you know the ailment of your downtown?” Ken McGurn asked in a subsequent e mail to interim Metropolis Supervisor Cynthia Curry.

Photos taken by Ken and Linda McGurn of sidewalks and streets in disrepair and other shoddy conditions in downtown Gainesville. — Photos taken by Ken and Linda McGurn of sidewalks and streets in disrepair and other shoddy problems in downtown Gainesville.

The McGurns are no everyday observers. They don’t just are living downtown — they practically invented it.

Beginning in the 1980s they restored the old Sunlight constructing, the Opera Household and other historic buildings, put up downtown’s first parking garage, constructed Union Avenue Station and more. Their ongoing support has assisted The Hipp survive some terrible times.

There is no issue we need extra private financial investment in downtown. But when you contemplate the investments presently made in Union Road Station, the Hampton, the Hyatt Position, the advancement that will rise on the Southwest Initially Avenue parking whole lot, the terrific restoration of the prolonged-decaying Masonic Lodge, one could argue that it is not the personal sector that’s been faltering.

No, the city’s failure to exercise downtown stewardship is the more substantial offender.

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Which delivers me to Idea 15.

MKSK, the consulting company doing work on a new downtown learn approach, has released a draft total of practical concepts for revitalization — 16 of them all informed.

And I’m not confident why they saved what is arguably most critical idea for upcoming to final.

Plan 15: “Form a position-management group.”

Slash as a result of the consult-communicate and that usually means we need to have men and women who wake up every early morning and ask by themselves, “What will I do currently to make downtown a superior position to live, do the job and engage in?”

Downtown needs a management entity possessed of specialist personnel and backed by a potent alliance with enterprise. And it demands means (certainly, income) to get that job carried out.

A map from Gainesville's downtown strategic plan, which strives to connect a host of business, neighborhoods and popular destinations to one another. — A map from Gainesville’s downtown strategic plan, which strives to connect a host of organization, neighborhoods and well-liked places to just one an additional.

Absolutely nothing groundbreaking about that. There are hundreds of downtown administration districts scattered throughout the county. I’d be hard pressed to identify a productive American downtown that does not have some sort of skilled management.

Boulder has one to keep people today flocking to Pearl Avenue. So does our Southeastern Meeting rival metropolis of Lexington, Kentucky.

DeLand, house of Stetson University, crafted the most thriving downtown in Florida (in my viewpoint) on the Principal Street The usa design adapted by lots of towns. And if you haven’t seen downtown Ocala currently (also a Major Street procedure) you definitely should to go consider a glimpse.

My daughter life in Bethesda, Maryland, a “bedroom” local community in the D.C. orbit. It’s obtained a flourishing downtown chock total of flats and condos, accommodations, retail, corporate offices, leisure venues and a lot additional.

A pedestrian mall in Bethesda, Md., where the busy downtown offers upscale retail stores and dozens of interesting restaurants. — A pedestrian mall in Bethesda, Md., where the fast paced downtown offers upscale retail stores and dozens of interesting dining establishments.

Very little occurs there that doesn’t have BUP’s (Bethesda City Partnership) fingerprints on it. And Bethesda is not even a metropolis. BUP operates underneath contract with Montgomery County.

Sure, I know, downtown has paid incremental taxes to the Neighborhood Redevelopment Agency for a long time. But the CRA is not a supervisor, just a disburser of Tax Increment Funding cash for infrastructure advancements.

A sidewalk is definitely an infrastructure enhancement. But if somebody isn’t fixing its cracks and routinely washing away the crafted-up grime, gum and cigarette butts, that sidewalk finishes up looking like the types the McGurns photographed.

Gainesville Sun columnist Ron Cunningham — Gainesville Sunshine columnist Ron Cunningham

Listen, City Hall is in downtown, but it is not of downtown. We need to have a “place-management organization” that is all in on downtown.

Ron Cunningham is former editorial webpage editor of The Sunshine. Study his blog at www.floridavelocipede.com. E mail him at [email protected].

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This article initially appeared on The Gainesville Solar: Ron Cunningham: Downtown Gainesville requirements a administration team

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