Rejuvenated downtown worth the inconvenience
Over the next 18 months, there is sure to be substantial griping about the full-scale construction work taking place downtown.
That complaining was in pre-season form Friday afternoon and expect it to hit full stride beginning tomorrow morning. That’s when portions of downtown’s two busiest streets will be closed for an estimated four months.
For motorists, the detours will be a traffic nightmare. For downtown businesses, closing the streets will make it more difficult for them to survive. For nearby residents, especially on High Street, their neighborhood just became a thoroughfare for detoured traffic.
All the elements are in place to make Main Street revitalization a major headache. Construction work won’t be pretty and it will be an inconvenience. No one can debate that.
But what must be remembered through these growing pains is the ultimate gains McMinnville and Warren County will reap from this $5 million renovation. If the project proceeds as planned, our community will have a gleaming downtown area that will make us all proud.
City leaders should be applauded for pushing for positive change. The alternative – to passively sit back and watch downtown continue to crumble – is not at all palatable. It’s a stance city officials have taken for years and the strategy has not worked.
Downtown has become a shell of its former self with vacant buildings and a less-than-glamorous image. It’s retail district is mostly an afterthought.
That’s why city officials rightfully came to the conclusion it is in the community’s best interest to completely overhaul downtown. This means more than a fresh coat of paint and a few awnings. To give downtown the look it needs to draw businesses to Main Street and be a source of local pride means a complete overhaul is in order. That overhaul, five years in planning, will finally begin Monday.
The improvements are being touted as an economic development project because a lively, vibrant downtown has a direct relation to a community’s ability to recruit industry and retail business. When high-ranking company officials scout an area of potential expansion, the first place they want to see is downtown. It’s a quick snapshot of the heart and soul of an area.
For years, the heart and soul of Warren County hasn’t looked inviting. That’s why it’s come as little surprise our county has also floundered when it comes to recruiting industry over the last 15 years.
A glistening new Main Street will lead to a better McMinnville and, eventually, a better quality of life for all of Warren County. It will be an ace in the hole for this community when it comes to attracting quality jobs, retail stores and restaurants.
More stores and restaurants mean more people from surrounding counties will flock to McMinnville to spend their money here. That means more sales tax dollars the county can funnel toward local schools.
A thriving downtown district will energize this county in more ways than one. For the next 18 months, that needs to be the chorus this community sings. We must remember the ultimate benefits Main Street revitalization will bring.
That must be emphasized because Main Street construction, as we are about to experience, will not be fun. It will create traffic problems and inconveniences. It will make people mad. But when the proverbial dust settles, downtown will once again be a hotbed of Warren County activity.