Downtown assessment results shared

The Red Oak community has a number of options for downtown improvements, according to a recent assessment.
From Nov. 6 through 8, the city hosted five downtown revitalization specialists from the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Downtown Resource Center. The assessment team consisted of Jim Thompson, Jeff Geerts, Kris Patrick, Loren Ditzler, and Dennis Reynolds. The City of Red Oak, the Downtown Urban Renewal Board,  the Historic Preservation Commission, Red Oak Chamber and Industry Association, and the Montgomery County Development Corporation teamed to help coordinate the team, which performed an on-site study of the downtown area and shared its findings in a presentation at the Wilson Performing Arts Center Nov. 8.
Geerts started off the presentation by complimenting the community on its wide variety of amazing architecture and expressing praise for the 273 responses received from community members ahead of the visit. Geerts also said the community had taken steps for improvement already.  
“You developed a strategy plan 22 years ago. And if you look at that strategy plan today, much of it is still applicable. In 2012, you actually had a very well-done master plan for the downtown. Most of what we’re going to talk about has already also been talked about in this master plan. So dust those things off, or continue to implement them,” said Geerts.
Geerts said he and others believe the downtown is important.
“It’s the key catalyst to a community. It is your center of commerce. It is actually a major employer. If you look at all of the small businesses combined together in downtown, that’s a huge impact. Even if you look at the property tax collected in downtown on a per acre basis, that will outperform some of your larger commercial spaces that you might typically think of out on the highway,” advised Geerts. “It’s your meeting place. It’s your social gathering spot as well. And it’s really that place where you can have that sense of gathering, a symbol of community vitality, and can help you recruit and retain those future employers, employees, and residents of the community. There are a lot of characteristics that go into making a successful downtown.”
Among the strengths Geerts listed for Red Oak were its industry, parks, including Chautauqua Pavilion, housing stock and historic neighborhoods, museums, the Wilson Performing Aets Center, the YMCA, and Red Oak’s community pride, civic organizations, and honoring of ancestors. Another surprising strength, Geerts said, was parking.
“This is the first downtown assessment I’ve had where nowhere in the survey did anybody say we don’t have enough parking. That is very, very unique. But you do have plenty of parking, which is just going to help you as the downtown grows in nature,” commented Geerts.
Another positive noted was that the downtown is packed where people can easily walk to everything within the downtown. The courthouse, the post office, and the library are just outside the downtown, though attention was needed on some of the downtown buildings. In fact, it was noted as a weakness in the community survey, with 125 people responding there was a lack of downtown businesses and 93 stating there was not enough to do downtown.
“If you were given $100,000 to invest in downtown, what would you do? Add more businesses, more things for kids, restore the buildings, better electrical service on the square, have more events, and get back to some of those activities for younger people, families, youth, and so forth. What type of new business do you think would be most needed? Clothing, restaurants, shoes. We heard that a lot,” advised Geerts. “What type of new activity would make you want to spend more time in the downtown? Back to those festivals, events, activities, attractions, something for kids. Also, a lot of survey responses indicated that public restrooms were needed. I’ve never seen it as number one in a survey. It was the top item noted with 128 responses highlighting it. Places for kids, and public wi-fi were in the top three.”
Jim Thompson addressed the attendees next, and said Red Oak as a community needed to promote itself more.
I want Red Oak to be here 100 years from now, just like Jeff said. We’ve got to make sure that we’re committed to putting our best foot forward in this town. There’s wonderful examples, wonderful stories to tell. Red Oak, you’ve got to start doing a better job of sharing your stories. You do a good job in town, but there are things that you can be proud of that cover this entire state. If you tell your stories better, people will come and visit because you have stories to tell,” explained Thompson.
Owners were urged to take care of the building envelope, with good roofs, and drainage, properly treated masonry, and windows; maintain good basic design, including good storefronts, and respecting the buildings character and integrity. Finally, Thompson said business owners needed to utilize the entire building including having commercial interiors, as well as usable upper stories.
“You have buildings that need to be occupied. It’s really hard as a building owner to get a return on investment if it’s not occupied. If portions of it are vacant, you get lower return on investment, and guess what? The taxing bodies always take it on the chin when you’re not getting the highest return on investment because we want your assessed values to go up, and we want to create parking problems in your downtown. If we’re doing our job right, we’re creating a destination that people want to go to,” Thompson said. “Some of the nicest, busiest downtowns I work in are filled with upper story housing. Whether it’s owner-occupied, renter-occupied, now and today, a lot of people are doing Airbnb’s, I love all those opportunities. If you’re going to do Airbnb, just make sure it has a kitchenette. If it doesn’t have a kitchenette, you can’t rent it on a monthly basis.”
Thompson said the Iowa Economic Development Authority of the Downtown Resource Center had a website, iowaeda.com/downtown-resource-center/networking/ that was full of helpful tips for downtown business owners to improve their buildings and get the most out of their investments, as well as become more eligible for assistance.
“If you adhere to these suggestions and you apply for something like a Catalyst grant, you’re going to score better. Are there tricks to what we do? Yes. We want appropriate rehab. This document shows you how to get appropriate rehab. It covers other things than buildings. It also talks about place-making and other parking, way finding and signage, business signage, all those kinds of things. The reason we put it together is because the State of Iowa is wanting to give you an example. When cities adopt this, and that’s what we’re going to recommend, how substantially you comply with the guidelines can determine the amount of local incentive you can receive. If you don’t do it appropriately, you’re not going to get funded. It’s really, really simple,” stated Thompson.
Thompson also praised the community for the efforts it had made to keep its downtown up-to-date.
“You have the best building bones of any town I’ve worked on in Iowa. If you do nothing, have a great life, they’re going to fall down, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re appropriately improving them. That’s why we want you to adhere to appropriate guidelines,” Thompson said.
• Also suggested was cooperative advertising to get the word out. Options included cross promotion coupons, combined radio ads, a Welcome to Red Oak business map, punch car promotions with prices, newspaper group advertisements, and Red Oak Living magazine. Shop Iowa and Travel Iowa were also suggested to extend the community’s reach.
• The team suggested the community create a destination with events, such as interactive events, sidewalk painting, a community band, and impromptu entertainment. The community was urged to add value to current events like the farmers market, coordinating multiple events into one large event, window painting during homecoming, a farm to fork dinner, and sidewalk displays.
• Pop ups were also a suggestions by the team. Pop ups allow for experimentation with new retail ideas, new uses for public space, and drawing new retailers.
• Business owners were urged to conduct upper story tours of downtown businesses. Not only would they allow for the spotlighting or the unique history and opportunity in upper levels, they would allow for collaboration with local historical societies, connection with other events, an education partnership with community schools, and incorporation of historic designation plaques.
• Window displays, it was noted, could allow for cross-promotion, student art displays, and would allow businesses to expand their presence. Display workshops could also be conducted, allowing Red Oak residents to work with a trainer, collaborate with a professional display consultant, and mentorships for new retailers.
• Vacant buildings could also be utilized in the downtown. They provided free billboard space, encouraged pedestrians to explore further, publicized rehabilitation, and showcase the buildings possibilities.
• A key component noted was wayfinding, making it easier to navigate the town. The right scale of sign would be needed for traffic speeds, parking and restroom signs were needed, and signs that supported the community’s brand were noted as a must.
• Public restrooms, public art like the murals, more trees, pedestrian lighting, outdoor dining and improved planters were also noted as effective ways to assist in revitalizing the downtown. Businesses could also participate in activation, and host themed-event nights to draw in business.
Above all, a collaborative mindset was stressed. The community was urged to avoid “stay in your lane” thinking. Everyone should have ownership in the downtown. Collaborate early and share credit generously. Communication was a key actor.
Now that the initial report has been shared, in a bit over a month, officials will follow up with a more detailed report that will dive more deeply into the recommendations, suggest some prioritization, and identify some resources and examples for the City of Red Oak to refer to.