Business View Magazine | August 2020

228 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 neighborhoods and close-by amenities. “As we’ve dived into the project, we’ve seen the potential and the difference in what our young professionals want,” he discloses. “So, we’ve adapted our thinking and we are certainly trying to promote growth as far as living in our downtown area and providing things for them to do. That’s been our motivation. And we’ve seen a lot of movement in the downtown; we’ve got new businesses; there are folks living downtown, now; so, there’s opportunity there.” “It is strengthening our quality of life for the area, and as we’re looking at Millennials who are interested in maybe moving out of a big city and finding a place where they can raise their family, we can point to our low cost of living and our safe environment as a benefit for them, as well,” Jamison adds. Kelly W. Hall is the City’s Former Director of Community Development, which is in charge of inspection, planning, and code and zone enforcement. He weighs in on some of sidewalks, new streetscapes, and lighting,” he explains. “That will complete the fourth leg and, hopefully, that will be done by the end of the year, which will only leave one more leg left. We anticipate doing that over the next couple of years.” “There’s been $50 million in public and private investment, just in our downtown, and there’s been an 85 percent reduction in vacancy rates since 1999,” Jamison reports. “So, we’ve definitely seen a lot of effort from our volunteers and our stakeholders’ work to make the downtown area attractive and a destination for our community members as well as for travel and tourism.” Ezard says that over the last 20 years, the City’s vision for downtown has expanded to include providing opportunities for the younger generation of workers, who unlike their parents, seem to be less interested in living in a big house in the suburbs with two cars in the driveway, and tend to prefer more urban environments with walkable, bikeable