UPTOWN MARYSVILLE REVITALIZATION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary I. Introduction .................................................................I-1 II. Purpose, Scope & Guiding Principles ........................................... II-1 III. Uptown Background & Data...................................................III-1 A. History of the Uptown ....................................................III-1 B. Demographic Profile .....................................................III-2 Exhibit 3-1 Uptown Revitalization Timeline Exhibit 3-2 2000 Census Data IV. Organization..................................................................IV-1 A. Organizational Development ..............................................IV-1 B. Membership Development................................................IV-8 C. Financing Options ..................................................... IV-11 D. Marketing Assistance .................................................. IV-19 E. Training Opportunities.................................................. IV-20 Exhibit 4-1 Existing Organizational Chart Exhibit 4-2 URT 2005 Accomplishments Exhibit 4-3 Program Manager Job Description Exhibit 4-4 Easement fact sheet Exhibit 4-5 Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit fact sheet Exhibit 4-6 Proposed State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit fact sheet Exhibit 4-7 Marysville Community Reinvestment Area Brochure V. Streetscaping & Design ........................................................ V-1 A. Vehicular Traffic Circulation & Calming...................................... V-2 B. Signage ................................................................ V-4 C. Lighting ................................................................ V-7 D. Street Furniture & Landscaping............................................ V-8 E. Pavement Treatment.................................................... V-12 F. Sidewalks & Pedestrian Traffic ........................................... V-13 G. Greenspace............................................................ V-16 H. Gateways.............................................................. V-17 I. Parking ............................................................... V-17 J. Design Standards....................................................... V-20 K. Historic Resources...................................................... V-23 Exhibit 5-1 Uptown Map Exhibit 5-2 Uptown Traffic Circulation Map Exhibit 5-3 Average Daily Traffic Maps Exhibit 5-4 Uptown Parking Map Exhibit 5-5 Design Review Guideline Boundaries Map Uptown Marysville Revitalization Plan VI. Economic Restructuring........................................................VI-1 A. Survey Summaries.......................................................VI-2 B. Positioning ........................................................... VI-24 C. Business Inventory & Cluster Analysis .................................... VI-26 D. Niche Markets ........................................................ VI-29 E. Retention & Recruitment Strategies...................................... VI-30 UPTOWN MARYSVILLE REVITALIZATION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Exhibit 6-1 Market Analysis Executive Summary Exhibit 6-2 Market Analysis Survey Instrument VII. Promotions ................................................................. VII-1 A. Brand Development..................................................... VII-1 B. Target Markets......................................................... VII-3 C. Positioning ............................................................ VII-9 Exhibit 7-1 Uptown Promotional Events Calendar Exhibit 7-2 URT Alert: Volume 2, Issue 2 Resource List Uptown Marysville Revitalization Plan E XECUTIVE SUMMARY Overview Marysville’s Uptown Renewal Team (URT) has established itself as a well- respected leader in the efforts to revive the Uptown economy and preserve its architectural heritage. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s trademarked Four Point Approach to Downtown Revitalization was used as the template for Uptown’s planning process, with the resulting observations, suggestions, and recommendations arranged in a format that could be easily imported into a Main Street organizational format in observance of Marysville’s and URT’s intentions to pursue designation as an Ohio Main Street Program at some point in the near future. This Executive Summary generally describes the recommendations made in much greater detail in the full Plan, which is organized in six basic parts: an overview of the planning process (Chapter I) and the Main Street Approach (Chapter II), a brief history of Uptown Marysville and community demographic information (Chapter III), then chapters devoted to making recommendations to increase Uptown’s strength in each of Main Street’s Four Points: Organization (Chapter IV), Design (Chapter V), Economic Restructuring (Chapter VI), and Promotions (Chapter VII). Organization For any downtown program to succeed, technical and financial assistance and incentives must be available to encourage and entice property owners to increase investment in their properties. Sufficient financial, technical, and human resources must be gathered, organized and properly managed to achieve success. In order to mount a successful revitalization effort, immediate attention should be given to the following activities: 1. creation of a Special Improvement District (SID), for financial support of programs directly benefitting Uptown, 2. creation of member benefits specific to Uptown and URT, 3. pursuit of CDBG Tier II Downtown Revitalization Grant Program dollars, 4. regular submission of press releases and press coverage of URT and its activities, and 5. creation of local training opportunities to assist property owners, merchants, volunteers, and other Uptown stakeholders in their efforts to improve Uptown. Streetscaping & Design Streetscape and other design elements visually tie Uptown together, even sections with difference periods of historic significance and architectural style. Each streetscape element contributes to the broad “sense of place” that defines Uptown Marysville; URT and the City’s careful planning will result in a more “user-friendly” space that meets the needs of modern merchants and property owners as well as delivering a quality experience for consumers. Uptown Marysville Revitalization Plan Uptown is, by its very nature, a space that is shared equally by pedestrians and vehicles. There are a variety of ways these spaces can be enhanced, with the end goal being an attractive space that allows for efficient, safe, and enjoyable navigation for all who travel through, whether on foot or in vehicles. Recognizing that Marysville has already invested heavily to make Uptown’s physical environment more attractive by installing historic light fixtures and improving sidewalks, curbing and gutters throughout much of the Uptown district, the Plan offers these suggestions about further improvements: 1. develop and implement a comprehensive wayfinding signage system that visually enhances the historic built environment while effectively pointing consumers toward various Uptown destinations, 2. develop and implement an historic building and business identification signage program, 3. combine and/or bury electric and utility lines in all public areas, both on the street and in alley ways behind businesses (beginning with those adjacent to public parking areas), 4. introduce street furniture, banner and minimal landscaping at strategic locations to create pedestrian gathering spaces and soften the harshness of the urban environment with color and movement, 5. consider alternate pavement treatments to better define pedestrian areas such as cross walks and in larger parking lots, 6. repair or replace worn sidewalks throughout Uptown to make it both safe and aesthetically more pleasing, 7. choose a redevelopment action plan for the Town Run and begin building community and financial support for improvements, 8. celebrate gateways into Uptown with some sort of special treatment (i.e. signage, landscaping, banners), 9. enforce parking time limits to encourage merchants and employees to use off-street parking spaces and leave the most convenient spaces open for consumers, 10. re-visit architectural review standards regularly and adjust guidelines to meet the needs and expectations of the Uptown and larger Marysville community, and 11. encourage private and public property owners to make sensitive renovations and additions to Marysville’s historic built environment. Economic Restructuring Though Uptown Marysville no longer single-handedly serves the retail and commercial needs of its resident population in the same manner as it did 100 years ago, it is widely recognized that it is still a vital part of the community, and can still be a vibrant commercial district. In order to achieve this however, the economic environment must be systematically and regularly surveyed, then shaped or “restructured” to reflect and meet the needs of its modern constituency. The Market Analysis, condensed in this chapter and included in its entirety in the Appendix, is intended to help the City and URT better understand local and regional economic trends affecting Marysville, and how to position Uptown to capitalize on opportunities presented by a changing world. In a world of limited time and shrinking budgets, the observations and recommendations made by the consultant team are intended to help URT work smarter and thus react faster to emerging opportunities. 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