Downtown Revitalization: A Collaborative Process

Downtown revitalization requires a balanced, multi-stakeholder approach to be successful, as evidenced by the thriving downtowns across Greenville County. Today we interview Craig Scharton, an experienced downtown and community revitalization professional, who shares the key elements of the Main Street revitalization framework, roles of different community partners, and examples of downtown renewal done right in South Carolina and beyond.

Links:

Craig Scharton LinkedIn

Main Street South Carolina

Ten at the Top website

Upstate Downtown Academy sessions

Palmetto Project website

Transcript

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Palmetto Project. Forty years ago, South Carolina leaders championed the idea that every social and economic challenge in our state could be solved through innovation. They believed in the power of new ideas to fulfill the promise of our home. Since 1984, the Palmetto Project has listened to and partnered with community leaders and members to transform our state through 330 public-private partnerships. Today, our programs address early literacy for more than 23,000 children through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, civic engagement, and equitable access to health care through the only statewide nonprofit health insurance agency in the country, and more. Learn more at palmettoproject.org or at our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Katy Smith: There are many things to love about Greenville County, but one of the most appealing to both residents and visitors is our downtowns. Each of our six municipalities has vibrant downtowns, with Greenville having led the way when it took the first steps to revitalizing in the late 70s and early 80s. A downtown doesn't magically become revitalized, though. It takes careful thought, planning, and collaboration among partners in the public and private sectors. But that's the good news. There is a tried-and-true process for downtown revitalization, and today we'll talk about it.

I'm Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and on this episode of Simple Civics: Greenville County, we feature Craig Scharton, an expert in the topic who has served as the director of downtown and community revitalization for the city of Fresno, California, as a local elected official, a real estate entrepreneur, and a nonprofit executive director of two Main Street programs and a regional business incubator. We'll link his bio in the show notes. Today we'll talk about the history of downtowns and why they sometimes need revitalizing, the framework for revitalization, and some things Craig has seen that lead to success or not in a downtown revitalization. He mentions lots of resources and opportunities that we'll also link on the episode page.

I'm so pleased to be joined today by Craig Scharton, who is a downtown revitalization expert, and he's doing work with Ten at the Top and our upstate downtowns, and is also working in particular with Laurens on its downtown. Craig, thanks so much for being with us today.

Craig Scharton: It's always a pleasure to see you, Katy.

Katy Smith: I've learned so much from you, and I'm excited for our listeners to learn from you today, too. I think that probably a lot of folks recognize that the revitalizations of downtown happened because at one time in America, many downtowns were not so vital. Can you kind of cover a little bit of American history in a nutshell for folks to understand why revitalization of downtowns is even necessary?

Craig Scharton: Well, if anyone who's watched the movie Cars, it's a really good revitalization story. You might not have thought of it that way. But, you know, we had healthy downtowns and then we put zoning on our cities, which separated uses. So in many downtowns, it wasn't legal to live above a store anymore. And we started putting things where residential was in one part of the city, industrial, commercial, freeways. So the great suburbanization of the United States after World War II really doubled the amount of commercial space, which then hit the existing businesses that have been around for so long. And people were further away, and once it deteriorates, then your parents tell you you better not be caught going down there or those kinds of things. And it just fell apart.

But, you know, there's a real soul to downtowns. And so over time, really starting about in the 1980s, cities started taking it seriously and figuring out how to do it, how to uncover some of the bad that had been done for so long. And now we've seen really thousands of cities across the country flourish.

Katy Smith: It's really exciting. And honestly, when I lived here as Greenville's revitalization began, I became familiar with Greenville in the early 90s when everything was just getting started. But I had not really thought about the kind of framework or steps that are involved in creating what we enjoy here in Greenville, South Carolina. And so I think lots of people might think it just kind of happens that people's appetites change and thus they are drawn to downtowns. But there is a framework that cities can use as they think about it. Can you talk a little bit about how cities go about thinking about revitalization successfully?

Craig Scharton: Well, a couple of things. One is that no one part of a community can revitalize downtown. And so it becomes an exercise more in group psychology than it is about brick and mortar. Because the city and the county have to work together and the different departments have to work together and the businesses and the property owners have to figure out how to work together. And so ultimately the revitalized downtown is a result of a whole bunch of people coming together to make something happen. What's great about that is then when the next problem comes along, people have figured out how to work together. That's why it's a really good signal to businesses and potential residents or people that are considering whether to stay or leave. When they see that happening, they have almost an unconscious sense that, "Oh, this place has figured it out. We know how to work together to solve our problems and we also know what our priorities are."

The other part of it is the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized that they couldn't just save a building. Because then it would go right back into disrepair, they had to create an economic ecosystem around it so that they weren't just saving one building. Now they were saving 40 because there was an economic reason for them to exist. So they looked across the landscape and said, these are the things that downtowns are doing to revitalize. It can't just be one thing. It needs to be a balanced approach.

So you have to have an organization that's focused on revitalization as its mission. You know a lot about organizations and their missions. You have to think about design, the well-being of the physical place. You have to think about having a new economic reason for that place to exist. So, you know, why are people going to come there? How many rents are there? How many vacancies are there? Who's going to invest and why should they invest? Those kinds of things. So we call that organization, the mission that's focused. Design, taking care of the physical place, which can even include zoning. Economic restructuring, the old economy didn't work, what's the new economy going to be? And then promotions, which gets down to web pages, social media, events, those kinds of things that tell everyone there's a reason to come.

Katy Smith: Wow. I'm thinking back to Greenville's history and how I witnessed all of that without realizing that's what I was witnessing. I wonder if you could give us some examples, either from here in Greenville, South Carolina, or one of the other many cities you've worked with.

Craig Scharton: I can give you bad examples, like what was happening across the country was they didn't know what else to do, so they would throw a big annual event, and it would burn out all the volunteers, and it was a big financial risk if the weather was bad. And what we would ask is, "Okay, you had 40,000 people here last Saturday. How many came the following Saturday?" They'd go, "Oh, it's one of our worst Saturdays of the year." It's kind of like the Sunday after Easter.

You get everyone there at once, and then they go like they don't have to come back. Or they would put booths out in front of the existing businesses, so businesses wouldn't even get a true benefit from the event. So thinking about how do you do an event that also is supportive of your businesses and is bringing new customers and gives returning customers a reason to go in. In Laurens, we really are finding that the in-store events work really well rather than the big out on the street street closure events. So we had a mocktail night where everyone walked around and tried different mocktails and we've had a couple of different sip and strolls with wine or craft. We did a South Carolina craft beer night to try to support the state's brewery industry. So just doing things like that where it's getting people there, but it's also an economic boost to the businesses short-term and long-term.

I first heard about Greenville from Mayor White at a conference in Denver in 2003. And when he was laying out the difference between the old bridge and putting in the Liberty Bridge, he got a standing ovation in the room.

And, you know, I was across the country and I said I'm going to keep my eye on this place because they're doing really interesting things. They're using their natural resource. They're creating a great pedestrian experience. They've narrowed the road so that it was more of a walkable downtown than it was when, you know, it's wide and it's cars and you can't really cross the street safely. So the other thing that really impressed me about the physical space in Greenville is they put in one set of street trees and a few years later decided they weren't the right tree. And they took them all out and put the right tree in. And I could tell you there just aren't cities that would be willing to do that. They would live with their mistake.

Katy Smith: And the trees are such a fundamental part of the downtown experience here.

Craig Scharton: Absolutely. That canopy and the green makes you feel good and you have shade when it's hot and you have sunlight when it's cold. And they've just done a magnificent job. But then we also have Greer, who really invested a lot in their downtown's physical appearance and their infrastructure. And now it's a fantastic place to go visit. And we're seeing that in downtowns. Fountain Inn is another one that really is making it the soul of the community again.

Katy Smith: Well, I assume that lots of our listeners are in some of our wonderful downtowns here in Greenville, like you've mentioned, and I'd add Travelers Rest to the list and the great work they're doing in Mauldin and in Simpsonville. But if there are folks that are in a city that they would like to see get some love elsewhere in the upstate or in the country, and they want to be part of change, what are things people can tap into to learn this skill of revitalization of downtowns?

Craig Scharton: Well, when I started back in 1987, there were only three cities being talked about in the country. And now there are thousands. So there's a well-worn trail, so follow it. You know, you don't have to make stuff up on your own. It's like learning a new language or a new instrument. You start with the basics and then you can get creative down the road. But the national and the state Main Street programs here are filled with knowledge and resources. We meet quarterly so that we can have really good information sharing between communities. So don't go it alone. Use the well-worn path and then plug into a network of people. Because a lot of downtowns, as they're trying to revitalize on their own, they find themselves fighting battles and you know, us old timers can tell you those battles have been fought and tried. You don't need to do that. You know, follow the simple steps that get you where you want to go until you build up enough momentum that you can really start customizing.

Katy Smith: That's great. What also strikes me is that there are so many roles for so many people to play in revitalizing a downtown, I imagine. I mean, certainly the city and the county have a tremendous role to play. But I think about some of those early business owners that opened up places in downtown Greenville that were kind of the pioneers in trying things out. If you followed the City of Greenville's story, you know, we had the Hyatt at one end and the Peace Center at the other end that began the process. But I think about places like Blue Ridge Brewing Company, which is no longer with us, but was the first pioneer kind of in the middle that gave people a destination to go to. And I would imagine that it takes a whole host of partners and entrepreneurs and folks to make it happen.

Craig Scharton: Right. And that first person that fixed up the first two-story building, you know, when the banks will all say there's no, it's not a secure investment in this part of town and someone has to put their own capital into it or get some friends together to do it so that you can show and then it leases up and then it builds the case for the next one and the next one. So it definitely takes those pioneers, just early adopters, just like in technology to get us to the point where it's now normal. But they should be, I mean, there should be parades for those people like the Sobeys and those kinds of folks that came in 20 years ago or so. So I hold them in very high esteem, those people, because it is a huge risk and it doesn't work unless someone can prove that it works.

Katy Smith: Yeah, that's really great. So our listeners, because we're Simple Civics Greenville County, are very familiar with the downtowns of Greenville County. But there are some other really neat success stories that might be a little bit farther behind on the timeline, but are well on their way. Can you share some examples, maybe from Anderson County?

Craig Scharton: Yeah, Anderson was a fun one because I had a walking tour of downtown with Mayor Roberts. And there's a really big, beautiful, historically restored building. And it was lofts. And I asked the mayor who was living there. And he said, and I just loved his answer, he said, "I was really curious about that too. So one day I just stood out in front of the building and said hi to people and introduced myself and asked them what brought them to live in downtown Anderson." And he said that many people, young people like tech workers and entrepreneurs, wanted the urban experience but couldn't afford downtown Greenville. So they're getting their urban experience there and commuting into Greenville. So they're kind of having the best of both worlds. But you know that eventually they're going to start meeting each other and start developing an entrepreneurial culture there as well. But I also just love the image of someone sleepily coming out of their loft in the morning and there's the mayor greeting you and asking you. But I love that the mayor was curious enough to do that.

Katy Smith: Well, Mayor Roberts is a great guy. And certainly, if he handed them a coffee, they'd love him even more. But he definitely loves his city and is doing great work there.

Craig Scharton: Yes. And it really shows when you have this long-term leadership, because it really takes… you can get a dud in the middle and kill the whole process for a good amount of time. I've seen it happen. So having Mayor Roberts and having Mayor White here to be able to see the project through is really key.

Katy Smith: I can imagine people are painting pictures with their minds of cities that they love and know. But if someone wanted to see these principles in action, how could they learn along with you? Are there opportunities coming up for folks?

Craig Scharton: There are. I would direct people to go to the South Carolina Main Street page. There's a lot of good and we have a great state program, really one of the best in the country. And Jenny Boulware is the state Main Street manager, and she is a phenomenal resource and a great human being.

We do have the Upstate Downtown Academy, which is part of the Ten at the Top initiative that I work on. So you missed a few already, but we have plenty more coming up. We're doing 10 downtowns over the course of a year, one in each county of the Upstate, Ten at the Top. And so we have coming up in November, we'll be going to Liberty, which is, we're trying to balance big cities, small cities, rural, more urban. So we're going to Liberty in November. That's the third Thursday, which is the 21st. And you can sign up at the TenAtTheTop.org website and go to their event page. And then in January, we'll hit Spartanburg, February Walhalla, March Gaffney, April Abbeville, May Union. And then we'll finish it off in Greenwood as they're doing their Festival of Flowers, and that'll be a good finish to the year. But we've already done Greenville and Laurens and Anderson to this point, and it attracts really good people. And then if they're interested in downtown Laurens, I'm always happy to give people tours. I've had a lot of different folks from around the Upstate come. And if you like wine and chocolate together, come down to our event the second Friday in December and enjoy our stores. We have some great specialty shops. And wine and chocolate are a beautiful company.

Katy Smith: I totally agree. I totally agree. Craig, really appreciate all the resources you've given us and things to think about. We'll note all of these in the show notes so folks can easily explore and register for upcoming events. But we are so glad you chose Greenville to relocate to from Fresno. So you're bringing all of your expertise and passion to the neat opportunities we have here in the Upstate. So thanks for being with us.

Craig Scharton: My family and I love it here.

Katy Smith: You and so many others. We're glad to have you.

Catherine Puckett: Simple Civics: Greenville County is a project of Greater Good Greenville. Greater Good Greenville was catalyzed by the merger of the Nonprofit Alliance and the Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy. You can learn more on our website at greatergoodgreenville.org.