County Leaders Hear Details on Walkable Downtown Study

LISBON, Ohio – A vibrant business district strengthens the entire community, according to information shared this week with officials from several Columbiana County communities during a meeting at the county port authority offices.

Town Center Associates representatives outlined details of a study being conducted of the county’s seven walkable downtowns, with the aim of putting together information that can be used when seeking funding to help improve those downtowns.

Mara Dowdy, project director for Town Center Associates, and Mark Peluso, a company principal, spoke at length with community members about the study.

“We have really been enjoying the last few months talking to all of you and seeing your towns, trying to understand the current day dynamics and what is happening in Columbiana County and what we can do to support and bring business in,” Dowdy said.

She reported that a database has been compiled for each community involved in the study, as well as an online system for each.

Information about each participating community, as well as Columbiana County as a whole, can be accessed at a website unveiled during the session. The website provides pictures of available and undeveloped commercial property and other information about the locations.

The study has shown there are 484 total storefront units in Columbiana County, with 124 vacant, or 26 percent. There are 25 units available, with two available but not vacant and 99 vacant but not available, meaning 80 percent of vacant properties are not available for new business.

“This is a way to get a handle on the community and track new and lost business. You have to keep a handle on that to really know what’s going on,” Dowdy said.

The study has shown that what people want to find most in a downtown is restaurants, entertainment, shopping, retail and personal services (such as beauty salons), but not so much what Dowdy deemed “miscellaneous,” which could mean businesses such as car dealerships or gas stations.

The next steps local communities need to take toward enhancing their downtowns’ vibrancy, according to Peluso, include reviewing the current business mix and considering priority areas; considering the current vibrancy index for their downtown and reasonable three- to five-year goals for increasing vibrancy; reviewing the vacant property list and making Town Center Associates aware of any changes; and promoting their available properties by adding a link to their community websites.

An issue that was addressed during the session is property owners who want to hold onto their buildings without caring for them, and East Liverpool city Councilman John Mercer said the council two years ago enacted legislation imposing restrictions on vacant buildings.

Mercer said although the city has had issues with having enough manpower to enforce the new restrictions, it has nonetheless resulted in some improvements, and he offered to share that information with other communities.

Pictured at top: Mara Dowdy, Town Center Associates project director, explains what has been accomplished to date in the walkable downtown study.

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