The Value of Vision, Part 4 - The Results

And here we are.  The Downtown Visioning Session was by all accounts a smash success, but now it was time for the hard work to begin.  After all the kudos were shared and high fives all around, we were left with a ridiculous number of poster size sticky notes of ideas and 66 pages of raw, handwritten data from the evening. With a deadline to present our initial findings to City Council on the horizon, we decided to tackle the giant sticky notes first.  These were the notes that each table completed with their Top 3 answers to each of our Visioning Session Questions and we felt that these would give us a general temperature of what the attendees were thinking.

Question #1 -
What Redevelopment Opportunities Do You See Downtown?

•  Movie Theater/Live Theatre/Entertainment
• Connections of Trails/Waterways to Downtown
• Town Square/Gathering Places

Question #2 - What Would Bring You Downtown?

• Entertainment/Theatre/Music/Cultural Activities
• Enhanced Retail Mix
• Expanded Store Hours

Question #3 - What Is The Asset That Makes A Downtown Vibrant?

• Sense of Community/Identity
• Diversity - Cultural, Economic & Inter-Generational
• Gathering Spaces/Town Square

Clearly, there are a lot of common themes throughout the questions.  Additionally, we have dug into the 66 pages, breaking the data into categories by question and the results confirmed much of what is listed above.  Without oversimplifying things, people like our downtown and they enjoy coming here, but they need more reasons to come here.  That's what we needed to hear, and now we can get to work.

So what's next?  Currently, the Steering Committee (our amazing Community Development Committee) is putting together a master document, a Gantt Chart of sorts, of all of our findings from the Top 3 Answers, the 66 pages of notes and an analysis of the fantastic video of the event, captured by our local cable network.  While I find the video fascinating, not everyone might have two hours to watch this cinematic masterpiece, so we also created a 6 minute synopsis video that captures the flavor and essence of the evening.

Downtown Visioning Session - Full Video
Downtown Visioning Session - Synopsis Video

Most importantly, in hosting this Visioning Session, we have an obligation to the attendees and our community at large to take this data and make something happen.  We didn't do this because it was fun or a great way to spend a Wednesday night.  We did it because we believed (and still do) that it was vital for our community.  I'll be the first one to say that we have a pretty great community.  I'm also the first one to say that we can always be better.  And looking towards the future, seeking to maintain the vibrancy that we currently enjoy is the best way to put Rochester on that path.

Stay tuned...

Kristi
The Downtown Geek

PokemonGo...What Can Downtowns Learn?

I can honestly say that in the long and winding list of unexpected things that I have dealt with in my job, never in my wildest dreams did Pokemon ever enter into the equation. But I always say never say never when it comes to downtowns, so here we are.  We heard about it at our office and decided to download the app and go exploring.  I have to admit, it was kind of fun, very engaging and borderline addicting.  And while it was super cool to discover PokeStops and capture Pokemon, what struck me was how it was able to draw a mostly teen crowd to downtown.  Yes, many have described them as "zombies staring mindlessly at their phones", but I think that's missing the point.  How many times have we all agonized over ways to draw teens downtown with marginal success?  Along comes PokemonGo and here they all are which, in my mind, begs two questions:  Why are they here and, more importantly, how do we engage them?

While I am a self-proclaimed geek, I am not a tech geek, so the science of how it all works is still a mystery to me, but that's for people much smarter than me to figure out.  But what I can tell you is that the most interesting part of the app for downtowners are the selections of the PokeStops, many of which are historic markers.  Interesting, huh?  And certainly much more engaging than the old QR codes that have gone the way of 8-track tapes and pet rocks.   So what did we do? 

First, let's go back to why they are here - it's a game and they want to play it, earn points, choose teams, battle and most importantly, capture Pokemon.  So how do we help them achieve that goal?  We did what any self-respecting downtown people would do, we created a PokemonGo event.  It was pretty simple, down and dirty really.  We already had our Sidewalk Sales going on, so we piggybacked on that. We figured out that you could purchase coins to set "lures" on the PokeStops downtown that would draw additional Pokemon to the sites for people to capture.  We advertised the event exclusively through our social media channels and let people know that we would be setting lures.  So we could really track how many people the event attracted, we added a call-to-action component. People had to stop by our Information Booth and show us that they had captured at least 20 Pokemon.  As a reward, they could pick a piece of Pokemon swag out of our treasure chest and enter to win a Pokemon Prize Pack.

How did we do?  At the end of the night, we had over 300 people stop by the booth to show us their Pokemon spoils and enter the drawing, including a precocious little teenybopper who assured me that I was going to be "so jelly" when he showed me how many Pokemon he captured.  Priceless.  What was most interesting was that the crowd was not just teens, but people of all ages that were really enjoying getting out and exploring around our downtown.  And they truly appreciated us recognizing and rewarding their efforts.  PR mission accomplished. 

Between the Pokemon swag, prize pack and lures, we probably spent about $200, but the public relations value far outweighed that.  We engaged the teens (and everyone else), made them feel welcome and invited them to come back.  Pretty good return on investment if you ask me!

Oh, and my personal favorite part of the app? The ability to take photos of the Pokemon you encounter within their surroundings. I might have 2 or 3 (or 45) photos of assorted Pokemon characters all over Downtown Rochester. 

See you downtown!

Kristi
The Downtown Geek

All About The Experience

Fresh off the Main Street Now Conference in Milwaukee, I was thinking about what my takeaways would be for this year.  I wouldn't say that I left with any killer ideas that are going to change my downtown forever.  But I did gather quite a few "sparks" that will definitely make an impact on how we do things, and what we do downtown.  But if I had to pick one defining or a-ha moment, it would have to be Kopp's Frozen Custard.  Yes, the food was awesome, but it's not about that.

So I arrived in Milwaukee with my intrepid crew on Sunday afternoon.  Typically, we would find a nice white tablecloth local restaurant to treat ourselves before the conference hustle and bustle began.  In doing my research for our visit, one name kept coming up search after search - Kopp's.  Founded by Elsa Kopp in 1950, this local joint specializes in burgers and frozen custard.  The reviews were off-the-charts positive so I decided that we would zig instead of zag and check out what all the fuss was about. 

We arrived about 7 pm on Sunday night, and we were floored.  The place was packed.  And I don't mean a little bit busy, I mean "OMG, where in the world are we going to park" kind of packed.  After the initial shock of the parking lot, we ventured into the building, and the shock and awe continued.  The building was wall-to-wall people, with several lines snaking around the building, each line with a specific purpose.  And you did not want to get in the wrong line, because they would make you go to the back of the correct line (this happened to one of my people and it was not pretty).  So we got through the line, ordered our countless numbers of burgers and deep fried delights and then we were on our way to play the ever popular game, the waiting game. 

We were number 699.  So as you might imagine, we were slightly concerned, borderline vexed, when they started calling numbers like 725 and 6.  It became clear that the registers all produced their own numbers, so that's super fun.  Now that we are all ordered and waiting, it begins to occur to all of us that there are absolutely no tables or chairs in this restaurant.  I don't mean that they were all full and unavailable, there were literally NO places to sit inside the restaurant.  When our number was finally called, we made our way outside and followed everyone else's lead and took up residence on the concrete steps in the parking lot. 

Here it was, the moment of truth, first bite of the legendary Kopp's Burger...and it did not disappoint.  Even though the first segment of our visit was confusing and chaotic, that turned into all of us hanging out, sharing food and stories and each other's company.  We even made the bold decision to go back in and do it all over again in the custard lines.  We ended up spending well over two hours at Kopp's just enjoying the experience.  On the surface, it would seem that a business model like this could ever possibly work. But after experiencing it, I couldn't imagine it any other way. Okay, now here's the part where I connect it back to downtowns.

When I arrived downtown this morning famished, I walked over to the bakery to get my favorite sweet.  On my way, I picked up some trash off the street and noticed a flag of sidewalk that needed to be replaced, and I also enjoyed the sweet scent of lilac in the air, and the smile on my face when I was greeted by name when I opened the bakery door.  I think all too often, we get caught up in making sure that our downtown is pristine and perfect, and miss that sometimes it is the imperfections and quirks that make us who we are, and create those memorable experiences that our visitors carry with them.  I will never forget my experience at Kopp's.  And more importantly, I will try to apply that lens when I looking at our downtown to make sure that we are always balancing the capital improvements and economic development with ice cream socials and pet pageants. 

Kristi
The Downtown Geek

The Value of Vision, Part 3

The Value of Vision, Part 3 - The Visioning Session
(Part 3 of a 5 part series on Downtown Visioning.  Check out Part 1 & Part 2)


When last we left our Steering Committee, they were highly motivated and working hard to get the right people in the room.  Through personal invitations, social media pleas and some serious working of the local media, we were able to attract 140 attendees to participate in our Visioning Session.  Members of City Council, Planning Commission, the Downtown Development Authority, Principal Shopping District, property owners, business owners, community leaders, residents of Rochester and the surrounding communities and students from Rochester College. Each table had ten people, including a moderator to keep the conversation on track and a student "scribe" to take notes on each discussion topic.  Now it was time for our moderator and downtown revitalization rock star, Ron Drake, to make it happen.

From the moment he took the mic, you could feel the positive energy radiating throughout the room. People were genuinely excited to be a part of this Visioning Session, and they were ready to get down to business.  Of course, we wanted to set some ground rules to ensure and maintain the positive atmosphere throughout the event.  Ron told the group to think big, and believe every idea was a great one. He asked them not to try and solve problems, but to come up with ideas and vision. To keep the group productive and on track, we had three questions for the tables to work on, with 30 minutes spent on each.

Question 1:  What redevelopment opportunities do you see downtown?  

The minute we revealed the first question, people went to work.  I think they were so excited to be there, that they started throwing out every idea they have ever had for Downtown Rochester.  And, human nature being what it is, there was quite a bit of "That won't work" or "We already tried that" and a fair share of people trying to solve problems.  The table moderators worked hard to get people on track and Ron encouraged people to just record the ideas and move on, stop trying to figure out how to do it, just do it!

Question 2:  What would you like to see downtown?

The second round is when things really started to take shape. The crowd was getting a better feel for what we were trying to accomplish, and they could see some congruence with ideas from the first round. They started acting more like a community, one in which they all share. Ideas ranged from new business and event ideas to creating more gathering places and simply brainstorming more reasons to come downtown. Ron circulated around to all the tables during discussions, participating in discussions and helping to develop thoughts and ideas that he heard. And he decided on the fly that there was still more we could get out of this group, but we needed to change the third question!

Question 3:  What is the asset that makes a downtown great and vibrant?

  

During the first two questions, people created laundry lists of things they would like to see happen downtown, so we needed to flip the script and ask a pointed question - What is the asset that makes a downtown great and vibrant?  Ron asked people to think of other downtowns they had visited and enjoyed.  And he also acknowledged that Rochester might already have some of the assets, and there were many others that it didn't.  It was a fascinating discussion and really made people think of the big picture.  

By the end of the night, people were more excited about Downtown Rochester than they had been in some time, and many were impressed at how well so many of the community leaders interacted with each other. While each table had people from all different backgrounds and ages, there was a camaraderie that developed that night.  Some said if only one or two projects come from the Visioning Session, the unity that the event created will do far more than the projects will for the future of Rochester. And most importantly, they wanted to be a part of writing this new chapter for downtown.

Tune in next time for The Value of Vision, Part 4 - The Results

Kristi

The Downtown Geek

The Value of Vision, Part 1

The Value of Vision, Part 1 - Why Are We Doing This?

Why are we doing this?  Yes, that's a question I ask myself almost daily.  As it is always best for any good story to start from the beginning, I should probably set the stage for this discussion.  In January, our organization, in partnership with City Council, decided to host a Downtown Visioning Session to gather input and ideas from the community at large.  Once the word got out, the same question came up over and over again - why?

Downtown Rochester, Michigan (about 40 minutes north of Detroit) with a population of about 12,000 people has been in the downtown revitalization business since 1983.  From facade grant programs and farmers' markets to lightpoles and that little light show of ours, we've done it all and everything in between in our 30+ years.  So it obviously begs the question, why hold a Downtown Visioning Session?  Great question, with many different answers. 

First, and specific to our organization, we've had a lot of challenges over the past several years.  But with new leadership, stable funding, motivated volunteers and a fresh sense of purpose everyone is looking to "right the ship" and start defining the direction for downtown. 

Second, input is always welcome. Heck, in this job, we get it whether we want it or not every time we hold an event or put up a street sign, so why not be proactive by initiating the discussion and engaging the community in the process. Any time you have an opportunity to get people involved in your organization or your efforts is a good day. 

And last, but certainly no less important is something that has been my professional mantra for years - you can always be better.  The moment you think that your downtown is the best it can be and there is nothing left to do, you're right, and it's time to step aside and let someone else take the lead.  And if you truly are at the top of your game, what better time to start to plan for the future?  Proactive trumps reactive any day of the week.

So there we were, we knew wanted to hold a Downtown Visioning Session.  Sounds cool, right? But what did that really mean?  Who was going to do this?  What was our goal?  Again, more questions in need of answers, and we found those answers, along with a few passionate volunteers and a charismatic downtown visionary to take us on the journey.

Stay tuned next week for The Value of Vision, Part 2 - Assembling the Dream Team

If I Won The Lottery...

I know we have all played that game, "If I won the lottery...".  My answer has been the same for years - to restore the Michigan Central Depot.  Yes, I know I'm supposed to pick something crazy like a trip to Tahiti or a new Ford GT (which is definitely on the list), but I'm a realist.  I am never going to quit my job just because I won the lottery.  But with that kind of money, the opportunities to do good on a larger scale certainly are enticing.

But for our downtowns, we aren't going to win the lottery anytime soon.  All Main Street Managers dream of that angel investor that loves our downtown and donates a boatload of money, but the chances of a unicorn playing Parcheesi on Main Street is more likely.  I think that thought sometimes paralyzes us and stops us from tackling some big projects because they are too expensive, too scary or just too darn big, like the Michigan Central Depot.  Check out this video of the Depot.

If you saw the movie Transformers, then you saw the Depot.  Well, at least you saw pieces of it as the Autobots and Decepticons tore through it.  While the movie was enjoyable brain candy, I was most excited that the building was being used, at least for something.  I know, it's an 18-story nightmare of a building that has been allowed to fall into disrepair for years, and there are several political issues that serve as stumbling blocks to a real conversation about restoration.  But then there are glimmers of hope, including new windows, electricity and increased security to prevent future damage.  While they are a start, and nothing is perfect, it inspires hope. And sometimes hope is all we need to get started. 

We all have those projects that we see every day, and put off to another non-specific future day because we don't have the time, the money, the energy or even know where to begin.  But I would suggest that it is that type of project that will generate the most interest, the most community engagement and the most significant impact in your downtown. 

If Main Street were easy, everyone would do it.

Kristi
The Downtown Geek

Valuing Small Business Owners

I'm often asked what I believe is the best part of my job.  As you all know, I am fortunate to have found my dream job, so asking me to pick the best part is no small task.  I could pick the very first night of The Big, Bright Light Show (which is one of my top 5 moments of my life) or bringing the Great American Main Street Award to Downtown Rochester, but those are individual, isolated events that while they have proved to be long-term assets to our downtown, they are not something that I deal with in my job on a daily basis.  Upon reflection, the answer is quite simple. The best part of my job is working with my business owners.

Yes, I just felt the collective eye roll from Main Street Managers far and wide, as many of them
consider working with merchants as the bane of their existence.  This is something I've heard for years as I've done countless seminars about the value of working with your businesses.  Everyone always asks "How do you do it?", or my personal favorite "Why do you refer to them as my merchants?".  Quite frankly, I just don't get it.  Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that I have a hearts and flowers relationship with every business in my district, but you're not going to get along with everyone, no matter what business you are in.  But I know that it is my love for small business owners that is a key reason why I get out of bed every morning.

On those days at work that I'm feeling a little down, and completely unmotivated, I find that more often than not, just taking a walk downtown makes me feel 100% better.  And on that walk, I stop into my businesses.  And we chat - about how they are doing, their family, new items, what's happening with their businesses, etc.  It not only gets me excited to know what's happening in their lives, but gives me ideas for social media posts, press releases, events, business retention opportunities and so much more. 

So what is it that I love about small business owners?  I could say their entrepreneurial spirit, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.  Small business owners are savvy, creative, somewhat aggressive and fiercely passionate about their business.  They are called independent businesses for a reason.  They are independent thinkers, laser focused on making their business the best it can be.  And they could have located their business anywhere, but they chose your downtown and that is a great compliment.  As a Main Street Manager I get that, I appreciate that and I look for ways to support them in that endeavor. 

A few years back, I was speaking at a conference for Heritage Ohio. I arrived a little early so I could catch the other speaker on the agenda, who was talking about Business Relations Downtown.  I remember watching with absolute shock and horror as he talked about how painful it was dealing with his business owners.  He said that his business owners accused him and his board of only stopping by when they wanted a donation or a favor.  Of course, I couldn't help myself, so when it came to the Q & A part of the morning, I asked the $64,000 question, "So, how often do you visit your businesses and why?".  The answer?  "Well, when we're working on something new and need to get them involved."  Wow, can't imagine why his merchants feel he only visits when he wants something.

But in that story lies the opportunity, and it's so darn easy.  Small business owners, just like anyone else, want to feel included.  Think about it, we all have those friends that only call us when they need something.  Doesn't make you feel very good, does it?  So think about when you go to visit your businesses.  Are you taking the time to get to know them and their business?  Or are you only stopping by because you need something?  If you're feeling like this example is hitting home, then maybe you need to take a walk downtown today and really think about what business owners and businesses you really know. 

At the end of the day, it all comes down to establishing value.  Communicating to your merchants that their decision to locate their business in your downtown is valuable.  That you need and will actively solicit their input because their perspective is incredibly valuable.  And only then you will start to build a foundation of trust that they will understand that your organization is valuable to the overall health of the downtown.  And working together in this spirit of mutual benefit and understanding, you will build a stronger, healthier business climate that will pay dividends to your community for years to come.  Visit one business today.  I'll bet you'll learn something new.


Kristi
The Downtown Geek