 |
|||||
 |
|||||
| Vol. 41, No. 6 -- June 2006 | |||||
Vol. 41, No. 6 -- June 2006
Downtown Harrisonburg: City creating buzz as signs of revitalization take hold
By Miriam I. Dickler
When Eddie Bumbaugh looks up and down Harrisonburg’s Main Street, he likes what he sees. From where Bumbaugh stands, the view encompasses not just what surrounds him now, but the way the city will look in three to five years.
“Harrisonburg is a city on the brink,” said Bumbaugh, executive director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR), a non-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of downtown. “This is a time in our history when everything is coming together, and downtown is beginning to take the shape that we hope it will have for many years.”
Over the past five years, Harrisonburg has made great strides toward redeveloping the downtown sector as a welcoming and exciting place to visit, work and live.
Visit
The year 2005 was full of major accomplishments for downtown. After gaining a Virginia Main Street designation in late 2004, the 30-block district earned recognition as a national and state historic district. One of the most impressive accomplishments was the reopening of the Hardesty-Higgins House. The circa 1840s house was home to the city’s first mayor, Isaac Hardesty, and had accommodated many different businesses before falling into massive disrepair. In 2003 the City of Harrisonburg purchased the structure and began restoration work in 2004. The house, which now features an addition, contains the offices of HDR as well as Harrisonburg Tourism and Visitor Services. A private café, Mrs. Hardesty’s Tea Room, leases space in the building, and a small museum dedicated to the history of the Valley Turnpike, otherwise known as Route 11, occupies one of the front rooms.
Along South Main Street: (l-r) the city Municipal Building, city School Board Offices, the Smith House (future home of the Arts Council of the Valley) and the Virginia Quilt Museum.
The city’s Department of Economic Development manages Harrisonburg Tourism. Economic Development Director Brian Shull oversaw the renovation of Hardesty-Higgins House. “Restoring an 1840s structure and adding 2,000 square feet of new construction at the same time makes for an interesting project,” Shull said. “Accommodating four distinct but related tenants certainly added to the challenges. In the end, I think it turned out pretty well.”
“Pretty well” may be an understatement. Since the tourism operation has relocated, traffic in the visitor’s center has quite literally doubled. The former visitor’s center, in a cramped building at the north end of the downtown area, was difficult to find and removed from the center of activity. The Hardesty-Higgins House sits on Main Street just two blocks from historic Court Square. It is in a cluster of renovated historic buildings now serving as museum and art space, including the Virginia Quilt Museum, the 150 Franklin Street Gallery that showcases African-American art, and the future home of the Arts Council of the Valley. A large garden patio area features seating for visitors and customers of the tea room.
The Hardesty-Higgins House is a jewel in the crown of downtown, but it’s just one of many. Before summer is over a second urban park will be completed in the district. Denton Park, like the already completed Liberty Park, will be fully accessible to visitors with disabilities. Both parks were funded through private donations, and the City of Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation Department will maintain them. The Harrisonburg Children’s Museum is scheduled to move into a new building, having outgrown its current space.
Court Square Theater, run by the Arts Council, shows first run independent films and hosts numerous concerts and shows throughout the year. Downtown merchants partner with nonprofits and each other to cross promote events and products. In addition to the day-to-day attractions provided in Harrisonburg, the city also is host to myriad events designed to bring residents and visitors downtown and keep them there. (See related story below.)
The district also has a good number of retail shops, many of which are members of the Merchants of Historic Downtown Harrisonburg. That group, along with Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, was instrumental in encouraging the city council to remove parking meters in the area, creating an entirely free public parking system. The change is meant to erase concerns people had about added costs in heading downtown to spend time, and hopefully money.
Work
“We want downtown to attract tourists, of course,” Shull said. “It’s very important that Harrisonburg be visitor friendly. But it’s equally important to the future of downtown that there be a good environment for sustainable business.”
Main Street, USA is a popular part of any visitor’s trip to a Disney theme park, and real downtowns across the country have been trying to live up to that ideal, an ideal that developers in suburban areas are tapping into with “main street” developments. When people involved in those projects speak of a downtown there’s a lot of talk of quaint storefronts and shopkeepers, but small mom and pop stores are only a part of a much larger picture. In the vision of the Harrisonburg of the future, downtown is not a theme park; it is a real, livable, workable and enjoyable part of the city as a whole: an old-fashioned, but up-to-date, city center.
Shull knows that quaint shops only go so far. “There are many benefits to having a strong retail presence in downtown, and we already do in many ways, but there are even more benefits to having an area where people work and live their daily lives,” he said. “We want downtown to be an everyday destination, not an every so often outing.”
In many ways, the large judicial presence in the center of the city is a benefit; with a circuit court, district court and federal court, the area has a great number of law offices that remain constant downtown forces. More than 3,000 people come into the district for work daily. The city municipal building, several banks and a number of other offices guarantee that downtown is bustling during the day.
Several hundred of those workers are headed to Fairfield Language Technologies, creators of the Rosetta Stone Language Learning Software. Fairfield’s headquarters are in a renovated warehouse building, but the company has an international presence and receives multi-million dollar contracts. It is the kind of business that the City of Harrisonburg seeks to attract and grow.
In 2004 the city designated a six-block area in the core of downtown as the Harrisonburg Downtown Technology Zone. Eligible businesses that locate in the zone qualify for incentives like tax relief and fee waivers. Those businesses also may qualify for incentives offered to all businesses in the downtown district. (See related story below.)
“The Harrisonburg Downtown Technology Zone is a good fit for many area businesses,” said Assistant Economic Development Director Jim Barnes. “The future of Harrisonburg is in technology; James Madison University is making tremendous efforts toward expanding its tech research. We want those students to feel like there’s a place for them here when they graduate.”
One company that found a place downtown is Digico Media. Co-owners Joey Groah and Ryan Berry decided to move downtown after learning about tax incentives for technology companies through the downtown tech zone designation.
Groah, an alumnus of JMU, said that there were a lot of reasons to move downtown, not just the tax break. “The incentives really influenced our decision, but being downtown sets us apart from other production companies in the area,” he said. “We were able to take an old, beautiful space and put a tech and client-centered business in it. That’s great. Plus there are plenty of places to walk for lunch.”
The benefits of the tech initiative aren’t limited to technology firms. The city has recently entered into an agreement for a company to establish a wireless franchise throughout Harrisonburg. This will let residents, visitors, students and anyone else log-on to the Internet anywhere in the city.
“We’re not going to be left behind by technology,” Barnes said. “We may be a beautiful little city in the Shenandoah Valley, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace the future.”
Once the largest poultry fattening facility in the world, the City Exchange Building will be renovated and combine upscale apartments with professional and restaurant space.
Live
“It’s exciting,” remarked Bumbaugh, looking up at one of the city’s banners hanging from a light pole. “When you set out with a plan, every new piece of the puzzle that comes together is as exciting as the first. What we’re discovering is that private developers are as eager to find ways to preserve and enrich downtown as we are.”
While private companies are investing in business space downtown, private developers are the main force behind the final piece of the downtown puzzle: housing. In 2005 two local developers purchased the former City Exchange Building, also known as the Wetsel Seed Warehouse. Taking advantage of state and federal historic tax credits and a good bit of imagination, Barry Kelly and Andrew Forward are turning what was once the largest poultry-fattening plant in the world into a combination of luxury apartments and professional space, with an upscale restaurant on the first floor.
The City Exchange project has been a catalyst in the development of downtown housing. Developers have purchased other buildings over the past few months with the intention of converting at least part of the space into living areas. Some are former office buildings and others, following in the footsteps of the City Exchange Building, are warehouse and industrial spaces.
“The City of Harrisonburg is making great strides in shaping downtown into a thriving, livable community,” explained Ron Davenport, HDR board member and co-founder of Blue Ridge Design Studio, a Harrisonburg based architecture and design firm. “The installation of our first historic district has opened the door to the availability of revitalization tax credits. All over our downtown, there is a construction project underway. The buzz is exciting … our office alone is currently conducting four feasibility studies for upper story housing or mixed-use development projects. We’re very happy to be right in the middle of the action.”
“This is what will make downtown a neighborhood in the truest sense,” Bumbaugh said. “People are beginning to think of a neighborhood as a place where you can live, work and socialize; once the opportunity to live in the urban center is there, we expect that many other pieces will fall into place.”
What’s next?
Harrisonburg is a city on the brink of something extraordinary. Every day new opportunities are being identified and new plans are being enacted. The city has a new streetscape plan set for the downtown area. The plan will not only help the district aesthetically, but takes accessibility needs into account. Through a combination of attention to the diverse uses of a downtown district and the needs of all of the people who use the area, Harrisonburg will have a vibrant, successful and sustainable downtown far into the future.
About the author: Miriam I. Dickler is public information officer for the City of Harrisonburg.
Downtown incentives
- The Downtown Historic District designation means that up to 45 percent of eligible renovation costs can be returned to the owner through a combination of federal and state tax credits.
- The city has an Arts and Cultural District. Businesses that fall within this district are eligible for several incentives if they include art elements (art galleries, dance studios, etc.). If the value of the property is increased during rehabilitation, the increased value will not be taxed for three years. Such businesses are also eligible for full or partial exemption from business, property and occupational license (BPOL) taxes for five years. They are also eligible for exemption from admission taxes.
- The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority offers a loan guarantee program designed to reduce bank risks in making loans.
- Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance offers façade enhancement grants, matching grants to assist businesses with new signage, landscaping and other exterior upgrades.
- Harrisonburg Downtown Technology Zone (HDTZ) offers a three-year BPOL tax exemption to qualifying businesses, as well as water and sewer connection fee exemptions.
- Partial tax exemptions are available for certain rehabilitations, renovations or replacements of downtown commercial and residential real estate that is at least 25 years old.
- The Department of Economic Development and the staff of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance are available to assist businesses looking to move into the downtown district.
… Dickler
Special events spice up downtown atmosphere
By Jamie Shaver Marsh
Bicycle racers speed along the streets of Harrisonburg as part of the Tour of Shenandoah 2006.
A calendar of vibrant, engaging events is vital to any downtown revitalization program. This is especially true when the events are focused on specific audiences that either don’t seem aware of the changes taking place around them or that for whatever reason feel uninvited.
College students are one population that tend to fall into the latter category. Harrisonburg, home to James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University, is no exception. In 2005, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance created “Block Party in the ’Burg,” an event designed to welcome students home. It offers students a chance to go downtown, hear local bands, sample local restaurant food, learn about the community, and hang out with friends all in one place. The event quickly gained momentum, and Block Party is now part of the freshman orientation programs of both universities. Students spend one day seeing what’s happening on Main Street, and keep returning for (at least) four years to come.
Audiences today, especially young audiences, are looking for unique experiences, which downtown is ripe to provide. In Harrisonburg, Tour of Shenandoah attracts national, up-and-coming talent to a bike race right on Main Street. MACRoCk (the Mid Atlantic College Radio Conference) is a weekend of non-stop indie rock concerts. Mennofolk is another unique music festival featuring folk artists from the local Mennonite community.
Harrisonburg is well placed as a premier arts and cultural center for the area and many events incorporate artistic elements. The city offers Fridays on the Square, a free summer film and concert series; it is host for the biannual Museum & Gallery Walks; and rings in the New Year with a gathering of artists at First Night Harrisonburg.
Finally, larger festivals that attract the community-at-large and honor the city’s unique heritage, anchor the events calendar. Valley 4th, Holidays on Main Street, Halloween on the Square, and the new Court Days Festival, a re-creation of Rockingham County during the 19th century, are all opportunities for families to celebrate American holidays and Shenandoah Valley flair.
Harrisonburg strives to involve many different groups in planning unique and cultural events. As more people witness the excitement taking place downtown, the calendar is filling up with events from different organizers. Constant activity is a welcome sign of revitalization.
About the author: Jamie Shaver Marsh is public relations manager for Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.
What's new | Marketplace | VML Insurance Programs | About the League | Calendar | Sustaining membership
Legislative activities | Publications | Conferences | Affiliate organizations | Links
©2006 Virginia Municipal League. Comments and questions about this page or the data provided may be addressed to Manuel Timbreza.
Special thanks to the Virginia Institute of Government for hosting this site.
