7.1. HRSR 01-27-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Another important link is with Constitution Square State Historic Site that anchors the eastern 1 part of downtown and is a tourist destination. Theme s site's executive director has been extremely active � .~ � .th the Heart of Danville,serving as an officer and „ ---.., airing several standing committees over the � ' ;::;;::.Z,44':4:;:i.?::4: :117;77..j:''::;,Fu71!r'':!i.,::'' ° years. It is extremely valuable to have these two � i °' institutions, each anchoring opposite ends of �f � sic s a w _ 4444E ^ - :: : m downtown, so deeply active in the downtown -.� � " i organization. _ �b g s a , e °� ? $,::,-.„7,:::,.: a1 Finally, the Chamber of Commerce, housed in � r" � the same building as the Heart of Danville,has been � 1� a long time supporter. It played a key role in estab- r lishing the Main Street program in Danville in the �� as€�:�t3:rr rya .� 1980s and the two continue to work together pn l .�.11 numerous downtown events and promotions. 1 i Partners at Work .. .+ .. _1 ,�-�;, a, Special situations arise in which downtown part- .--- nerships are put to the test and must mobilize. Two buildings on Main Street were recent recipients of facade improvement grants provided by Such a situation emerged in 1997 when the United the Heart of Danville. States Postal Service (USPS) announced plans to relocate the post office from downtown t o t he out- skirts of Danville. Anticipating the possibility of Filling this building was identified as the number this relocation, the Heart of Danville, the CDC and one issue facing Danville at a community-wide the city began planning two years prior to the CDC forum held in 1999. announcement. They were therefore prepared for Over the years, the Heart of Danville has teamed action when the official notification came down with its partners to incrementally address this from USPS. The Heart of Danville and CDC gener- major challenge. The city successfully purchased ated ample publicity and public support for the the parking structure in 1997. Then in 1999, the st office issue, leading to a standing room only state provided $1 million to purchase the remain- oblic meeting with USPS held at City y Hall. der of the Hub Building. The building would be wring the meeting, citizens spoke with emotion temporarily owned by the newly formed 3rd Street and conviction about the importance to the corn- Development Corporation, co-administered by munity of keeping the post office downtown. CDC and the Heart of Danville,until a buyer could After the meeting, a USPS official from be secured. These two organizations are actively Washington D.C. told Mayor Stevens "you really looking for buyers and tenants. One strong possi- got our attention." Subsequently,community lead- bility is nearby Eastern Kentucky University,which ers worked with the USPS to a) scale back their would use a large part of the building for a branch original requirements for five acres of land for their campus facility in Danville. The plan is for retail, new facility, b) find a three-acre downtown parcel office and restaurant businesses to occupy the on the eastern edge of downtown, c)negotiate with remainder of the building. The goal is to have this several private property owners to assemble the key downtown building occupied again by 2005. parcel, d) purchase the land and sell it to the LISPS Given the high level of partnering in downtown and e)work with the USPS on issues such as place- Danville, it was somewhat surprising to observe ment of the building and parking on the property that the relationship between the Heart of Danville and building design and materials. When the new and the city's Planning and Zoning Department was post office opened for business in January 2001, it not very well developed. In many cities,including showed how strong partners could work together St. Charles, Illinois, it is recognized that the plan- to preserve an important downtow asset. department can be an instrumental n li teammate Another example of these partners at work is the in the downtown development process. In ongoing effort to address the problems presented Danville, however, the only time the two worked by the long-vacant Hub Building, strategically closely together was when zoning changes were located at downtown Danville's peak land value required as part of designating the downtown his- intersection. The 79,000-square-foot structure was tonic commercial district. home to Hub Department Store—the retail anchor The Planning and Zoning Department has not of downtown — until 1995. Other parts of this been involved with either the Post Office or Hub 4111kPmlex web of connected buildings once housed a Building projects, and it has little to do with the ovie theatre, a hotel and a parking structure. Architectural Review Board. Part of the explana- tion, admits Planning Director Paula Berg, is that Economic Development Journal / Fall 2002 55