Downtown group holds design workshop

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Main Street directors from around the state visited Van Wert on Thursday for a design workshop provided by statewide Main Street organization Heritage Ohio.

Nearly 50 community Main Street directors gathered Thursday at Wassenberg Art Center in Van Wert to learn about various aspects of design in a downtown setting. The two-day workshop began Thursday with registration, followed by presentations from speakers Kevin Wright of Yard & Company, Van Wert County Foundation Executive Secretary Seth Baker, and former Main Street Van Wert director Dan Baisden, who now works for the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Wright talked about the split among Midwestern and post-industrial cities, both large and small, between those holding onto antiquated development philosophies and those looking a better way to foster development.

The session provided a look at the Demand Discovery model of community development that tries to tie together a number of development elements to provide a new framework for growth in areas that have not seen much investment in a generation or more.

Wright shared the experiences of communities such as Memphis, Fort Wayne, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh that are using the tenets of the new Demand Discovery philosophy to leverage growth in those communities. He noted that the philosophy is not only relevant to slow or no-growth communities, but to those struggling with fast-paced change with challenges that threaten to stymie growth and investment.

Following Wright’s presentation, those who attended the workshop went out on the town, so to speak, as they participated in a hands-on “creative crosswalks” project that included painting downtown crosswalks in vibrant colors, while dodging raindrops from a couple of spring showers that hit Van Wert on Thursday. 

After eating lunch on their own at various downtown restaurants, Main Street directors heard from Baker on his foundation’s decision to get involved in creation of a new city park on the site of the former Franklin Elementary School.

Baisden then spoke about the importance of enhancing a community’s public spaces and provided an example with the creation of a multi-function space in an alley in downtown Van Wert in 2017.

Today’s activities center around round-table discussions by Main Street directors on various ways to enhance their communities.

Main Street Van Wert Director Mitch Price noted that the workshop not only provided a chance for him to show off the improvements made in the downtown area over the past few years, but also brings in revenue to local restaurants and hotels from those attending.