Ideas emerge from workshop to attract businesses, residents

Delaware State News

DOVER — A workshop on revitalizing downtown Dover generated a wealth of ideas Tuesday, along with optimism that the prospects for attracting more housing and generating more business soon may improve.

The city could benefit from a national trend in which people seek homes in walkable downtown areas, Joseph R. Molinaro, a development specialist with the National Association of Realtors, told a gathering of nearly 50 people at Wesley College. Not only do more people want to live downtown, he said, but the Obama administration appears willing to help pay for development that enables people to walk more, drive less and thereby reduce air pollution.

He was among a panel of experts presented by Kent County Association of Realtors in what was to be a discussion of downtowns in general. But talk quickly turned to downtown Dover — and stayed there.

"You need to do what strip developers are doing on Route 13" — giving consumers what they want, Philadelphia City Councilman William J. Green said. He recommended holding large community meetings to see what people want in downtown Dover and what they are willing to see government help pay to provide. He also called for conducting market studies on the feasibility of the suggestions that emerge from those sessions.

Michael S. Purzycki, executive director of Wilmington’s Riverfront Development Corp., cautioned, "You’ve got to be realistic. Everybody wants Manayunk," a trendy, arts-rich section of Philadelphia, but you can’t create a similar area simply because you want to do so. "Manayunk happens. You don’t force it."

His organization has overseen the transformation of a blighted portion of Wilmington into a major site of jobs, dining, entertainment and new housing, After the group started in 1996, he recalled, it often was told it should focus first on housing — drawing new residents would draw new businesses. But reality proved otherwise, with business development leading the way.

The housing-first argument would not pass a "daughter test" — "Would you want your daughter to live there?" he said. But the presence of businesses made the area attractive.

"You need skeptics," Mr. Purzycki said. "You need guys who have made money, lost money, who will say, ‘That’s not gonna make it.’"

You also need government to kick in money, he said. Otherwise, developers will move on to communities where the local governments are more generous.

Panelists stressed that government also must be flexible. A decades-old zoning code may not accommodate imaginative downtown revitalization.

"Codes have gone from being comfortable to being the size-10 pair of pants that no longer fits," Patricia A. Maley, a senior planner for Wilmington, said.

As desirable as new buildings may be, saving valuable old ones is vital, Mr. Purzycki said, though he acknowledged that preservation can spark intense debate.

"Preservationists can get really difficult at times," he said, but failing to save historic structures can undermine the character of an area. "You can look like a strip mall in a hurry if you tear those buildings down and replace them."

Following the panel discussion, the audience broke into four groups to develop suggestions sparked by what they had just heard. Their ideas included:

• Using a trolley to shuttle state workers, Wesley College personnel and others downtown for lunch.

• Focusing mainly on drawing Kent Countians, leaving tourists as a secondary market.

• Creating business-friendly zoning rules in a district that would run from Loockerman Street to Division Street and perhaps beyond.

• Establishing standard downtown store hours, as malls have.

Local Realtor Philip McGinnis, who led the workshop, said a report on the event will be made to City Council and Downtown Dover Partnership in the hope that they will engage the public in creating a clear plan for downtown.

Downtown revitalization focus of June 23 talks

Delaware State News

DOVER — Downtowns — and downtown Dover in particular — will be the focus of several hours of discussion Tuesday, June 23.

And anybody who cares about the subject is invited.

"It’s open to the public. It’s free. You can come and go as you please," said Philip J. McGinnis, who is organizing the event.

Sponsored by Kent County Association of Realtors, it will feature experts in urban planning and politics talking about how to pull more people and more money to downtown "Anytown U.S.A.," Mr. McGinnis said. In the last hour of the event, the talk will turn to Dover and how the lessons of the afternoon might be applied here.

"Hopefully, we will provide the city a framework around which they can put some plans — and we can get something going," said Mr. McGinnis, who runs McGinnis Commercial Real Estate Co. and chairs the realty association’s Smart Growth Working Group. "Right now, downtown Dover seems more a drain on the economy than a positive."

Better planning could change that, he asserted.

"If you call and say, ‘Can you send me the plan for downtown Dover?,’ there is no plan," he said, asserting that the city needs a comprehensive plan for downtown similar to the one it adopted this year for the city as a whole.

But he conceded the event may prove him wrong. "Maybe," he said, "the result is you don’t need anything — keep doing what you’re doing."

City Council President Beverly C. Williams welcomes the discussions, but questions whether more-detailed planning is the key to revitalizing the Loockerman Street area.

"I think the comp plan is as detailed as it needs to be," she said, adding that the city should remain flexible to deal with downtown development proposals that may emerge when the recession wanes. "We’re just waiting like everyone else for these economic times to improve."

The afternoon panel assembled by Mr. McGinnis will offer varied points of view:

• Philadelphia City Councilman Bill Green represents urban politics. "We wanted the political perspective," Mr. McGinnis said. "It’s one thing to say, ‘Let’s cut taxes’ (to attract growth). But how do you pay for things like infrastructure improvements" to accommodate that growth?

• Michael S. Purzycki, as executive director of Wilmington’s Riverfront Development Corp. since 1996, can speak from years of experience in transforming a deteriorated area along the Christina River into a collection of modern homes, offices and restaurants, a boardwalk, a baseball park and a festival site.

• Pat Maley, senior planner with the city of Wilmington, Mr. McGinnis said, specializes in preservation of historic properties, of which Dover has many.

• Joe Molinaro directs the National Association of Realtors’ Smart Growth Division, which provided $5,000 for the event. "Smart growth" generally is defined to include, among many other things, a mixing of homes and businesses that ensures shopkeepers have a ready clientele — and residents spend less time driving to and from suburban stores.

Such "mixed-use" development is what the city wants for downtown Dover, Councilwoman Williams said.

Members of a second panel, which will focus on Dover, may be more familiar to local residents: City Councilman Timothy A. Slavin, state planning chief Connie Holland and two representatives of prominent development-related firms, Arden Bardol of Becker Morgan Group and Jack Corrozi of Robino Builders.

A report on the day’s discussions will follow — within 30 days, Mr. McGinnis hopes.

"We’ll make the report available to anybody," he said.

And then what?

Mr. McGinnis isn’t sure. Perhaps, he said, the event will end with so many unanswered questions that a second one will be needed.

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