Thank you, Dandy!

thank you Miss Becky.

Cheerz

dandy*
Philippines

Shannon, you bring up a good point: It’s important for communities to retain and embrace their unique character; that’s what draws visitors and makes your community stand out in the crowd. We wanted the MV buildings to be a compliment rather than a discordant note in our downtown. There were some residents who thought we were going to ruin the downtown with “sheds” and “shanties” and voiced their opposition to the plan. Many of those people are now some of our greatest supporters! I am looking forward to seeing what “spin” other communities put on this concept!

“This is brilliant – what better than to encourage entrepreneurship with low-risk opportunities while also dressing up an otherwise ugly area? More bonus points: any town with a sense of its own heritage could celebrate that heritage very boldly by making the false fronts reflect the architecture of the town’s origin. My small hometown (Soldier, Iowa) is a Norwegian settlement and this could be reflected in architecture and brochures, etc. Very very impressive!”

Carla, the website for the Market Village is http://marketvillage.forestcounty.com/
On it, you’ll find a list of all the current businesses. For 2014, looks like a variety of arts, crafts, jewelry, pottery, baked items, snacks, produce, wines, and even maple syrup. Mmmmmm….

Also, I noticed the farmer’s market is right next door. Even better!

Julia shared some photos with me, and I knew you’d want to see them, too.

Here’s the empty lot before:

And here’s the after:

Huge bonus points to Tionesta for adding benches and picnic tables! That’s the way to make it a community-friendly space.

Julia, I love this! Such a terrific example of getting creative rather than spending a lot of money and also of bringing down the barriers to entry. Beautiful!

We had a lot that was vacant for 10 years after a fire in our downtown. Developers had no interest because of our seasonal tourism, low population (500+/-) and declining downtown. Our Industrial Development Corporation bought the lot and created a micro-retail incubator…..but it’s really a pop-up facilitator.

We called it “Tionesta Market Village”. We designed 1800s style false fronts for standard outdoor sheds. The buildings have no heat, so they are seasonal. They are leased annually, so people can try their business idea with minimal investment (about $500 start-up) and no long-term commitment. We are renting them for just $50 – $70 per month plus electric and the tenants share the cost of collective advertising. We have had a waiting list for these buildings from the very beginning of the project!

We invested only about $40,000 with site work, furnishings and buildings and opened in June 2013. This year two-thirds of the tenants renewed their leases and we are adding two more buildings, for a total of eleven individual artisan shops.

The goal was to create healthy traffic in the downtown that would help boost sales at our existing businesses, spur new businesses, encourage façade improvements, and attract a developer to the site. It’s working! Our coffee shop and art gallery extended their hours and saw a boost in sales. A vacant building was purchased and is being renovated for mixed-use. No developer yet……but we have a lot more traffic in our downtown and that depressing vacant lot is now vibrant and attractive. The original intention of the project was that it be a temporary solution, but the community loves it! Artisans are selling their products; tourists are coming to see “the Village”; residents and seasonal residents are coming back to the downtown; a couple of the shops have hired part-time help. This project shows that “pop-ups” work and are good for a community!