City must have a plan

Downtown redevelopment must first start with a plan, a Ball State University expert told a local audience Tuesday.
Scott Truex, associate professor of urban planning, stressed to local business owners and public officials the importance of developing a plan to revitalize the downtown area.
Truex and his colleague Michael Burayidi, chair and professor of Urban Planning, described how the university could help guide the city into creating a comprehensive plan for revitalization.
This was the second time recently that an outside source has come to Portland to discuss ways to beautify the downtown. Carrie Tauscher, state, community and urban forestry coordinator for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, came to Portland in late October on ways trees benefit the city.
Truex said Ball State has guided citizens in Indianapolis, Muncie and Goshen. BSU faculty and students can provide data and research from past studies, make suggestions, create a local committee and show how to utilize local businesses to help with beautification.
“We’re not here to make the decisions for you, but we’re here to help facilitate discussions,” said Truex.
The real-world practice benefits students and communities they assist. Students also work on a semester schedule. The next available group could help from August to late November if the city is interested.
The first step involves creating a steering committee to draw up a plan with a group of 15 to 18 individuals, Truex said. Planning has to be in a public setting. Having a committee allows the community know the plan isn’t just in the interest of public officials but also of local residents, he added.
“We end up helping a community get organized,” said Truex. “It all comes down to how well we get the group organized and take ownership. This has to be your plan — this has to be people in Portland wanting this. If it’s a Ball State plan, it will fail …”
Among the businesses proven to redevelop downtowns are microbreweries, Truex said. He noted that they best represent the interests of millennials and have continued to grow in large cities and smaller areas that lack a college or university.
For vacant buildings, the city could take an aggressive approach, Truex said. Municipalities have tagged owners, acquired structures through legal means or found ways to acquire properties through redevelopment commissions. But, he said, there isn’t a definite answer to the problem.
“It depends on the political will of the leaders of the community,” said Burayidi, who provided an example of Wilmington, Delaware.
The Wilmington Vacant Property Ordinance requires a property vacant for more than 45 days to register with the city. If it remains vacant for more than a year, the owner pays an annual registration fee, increasing with the length of time it remains empty. There is a fee waiver when the owner proves he or she is rehabilitating the property or is trying to sell or lease it.
Some of the vacant downtown buildings include the former Tom & Rod’s and the Bailey and the McClurg buildings, all on West Main Street. In early April, the city made temporary repairs to the first two structures, but to revitalize them all would costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The buildings have been vacant for years and have shown signs of deterioration.
Mayor Randy Geesaman mentioned the importance of end-users in downtown revitalization and asked if the university could help bring in developers that would come to the city.
Eric Rogers, executive director of Arts Place, said one of the things the city should do is take the process one building at a time. He said the city seemed to be stymied by several problems when it could start with one.
Truex reiterated BSU does not bring developers with them when it works with a city, but noted having one company invest in the area can create a domino effect of redevelopment.
“If you don’t have a vision, the people will perish. That’s sort of a planning mantra,” Truex said, quoting scripture. “If you’re not looking forward it just doesn’t happen on its own. You want to set the stage.”