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Refresh Opelika

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Filling A Need

Filling A Need

this following, [ADMA] is able to give these businesses more exposure through marketing on social media.”

Opelika Main Street:

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Opelika Main Street is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1987 as an effort to revitalize the downtown area and turn it from, as Opelika Main Street Executive Director Ken Ward put it, “a sleepy, empty area, into a vibrant commerce and entertainment district.”

The organization works with businesses to promote them, uses beautification efforts to maintain the downtown area and puts on events to promote the downtown area. Ward said that all of

See CORE, page 14

Story By Wil Crews

Main Street Alabama visited Opelika in July 2020 to review the state of the city’s downtown area and provide recommendations for a five-year plan to refresh Opelika.

Main Street is a nonprofit organization that stresses public-private partnerships, broad community engagement and strategies that create jobs, spark new investments, attract visitors and spur growth.

The organization sent a resource team that spent three days exploring Opelika’s main street and downtown; it presented its findings and recommendations in a press conference in July.

Each member presented on one particular aspect of Main Street’s four-point approach to refreshing main streets across Alabama — organization, promotion, economic vitality and design.

“Economic development in the context of historic preservation, that is Main Street,” said Jay Schlinsog, a member of the team from the Downtown Professionals Network.

Main Street surveyed 75 citizens to determine the strengths and weaknesses of downtown Opelika.

Citizens expressed strong support for Opelika’s bars, restaurants parking and the walkability of downtown.

However, the city has a lack of diversity and accessibility, as well as empty and consolidated buildings, inconsistent business hours, closing too early and a lack of residential areas, citizens said.

To positively address these weaknesses, and to reinforce the strengths, Main Street organized a general five-year plan.

The plan envisions downtown Opelika with more diverse, independent, small retail businesses and restaurants, a market or grocery and more art and music related businesses.

Main Street recommends more live music,

See OPELIKA, page 15

CORE >> this is “in the name of the growth of downtown Opelika.” the growth of downtown reverberates throughout all the different neighborhoods, commercial districts and other FROM 13 Ward became the executive director areas throughout the city.” of Opelika Main Street in the summer Opelika Main Street also has a talent of reviving old of 2019, after graduating from Auburn University with his buildings and transforming them into new businesses. For master’s degree in public administration. example, there are breweries that were formerly textile

“Being the executive director of Opelika Main Street mills and an event center that was formerly a bottling plant is a good opportunity to work in a thriving environment for Coca-Cola. due to the many businesses and restaurants that become a Ward said that the organization’s motto “where part of downtown,” Ward said. “I am grateful to have the preservation meets progress,” is actively enacted due to the opportunity to play a small role in all of that and for the encouragement of revitalizing old buildings to adapt to new opportunity to contribute as a leader in the community.” uses over time.

Downtown Opelika has also seen a noticeable amount of The reimagining of old buildings is encouraged in the growth throughout the past several years and it’s all thanks downtown area because it preserves the historic nature, the to Opelika Main Street’s efforts to revitalize the area while quaintness and the beauty of the downtown area, he said. maintaining its classic charm that attracts visitors to its “While many communities in East Alabama have been, shops and eateries. sadly, tearing down a lot of their historic places and

“I think the downtown’s growth has been amazing and replacing them with high-rise buildings, we have been has made Opelika a better place to live, work and visit,” able to avoid that while ensuring growth for downtown Ward said. “The downtown is the core of the city and Opelika,” he said.

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Opelika Main Street puts on different events to appeal to the different demographics and interests in the city including the family-friendly Christmas in a Railroad Town and the adult-friendly event, On Tap.

The organization not only puts on great events for the community to enjoy but helps promote businesses in the downtown area.

“Opelika Main Street is really the businesses’ advocates, and we do everything in our power to help them in any way possible,” Ward said. “For example, during the COVID-19 timeframe, we were constantly informing the businesses of different grant opportunities, different government programs that gave funding and we hosted digital webinars that talked about the effects the pandemic had on businesses.

“We also have our weekly eNewsletter that we send to nearly 800 people, billboards throughout the East Alabama area that promote our businesses and the events that are held in the downtown area. We also try to help fill the void for any needs the businesses may have whether it be advertising that the business offers curbside pickup or working with the city to give curbside parking spaces.”

The Opelika community has been a strong supporter for the local businesses in the downtown area. The community held the “shop local, buy local,” attitude which helps the businesses grow and thrive, Ward said.

“The community has been amazing for downtown,” he said. “Opelika has one of the oldest, and one of the most successful, main street programs in Alabama, and it’s because of the people in the community that’s investing their time, talent and hard-earned dollars into our downtown.”

If you would like to keep up with Downtown Opelika and Downtown Auburn, follow their respective Instagram accounts @ downtownopelika and @ downtownauburn.

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OPELIKA >> opportunities to exercise, more events that appeal to diversity, FROM 13 trails and accessible connectors to downtown, a farmers’ market and public art.

However, in order for Opelika to see these positive changes within five years, Trisha Black, a member of the team from Main Street Alabama, spoke about the need for promoting the downtown area.

Opelika’s city logo and the main street logo should look continuous and cohesive, she said.

Additionally, downtown should rethink events and provide resources and business help on the Opelika Main Street website, she said.

Schlinsog then spoke about the economic vitality of Opelika’s downtown.

“Even as we think about the future, when it comes to economic development, it’s really important that we hold on to those memories, those stories, that make this place special,” he said.

Schlinsog implored Opelika Main Street to focus on supporting businesses, promoting opportunities and catalyzing investments.

Downtown Opelika can support business by maximizing public spaces, promoting small business assistance and recovery programs and providing customer friendly parking practices, he suggested.

Opelika should catalyze investments by promoting downtown housing and exploring partnership opportunities through state and federal tax credits, he said.

Randy Wilson, a member of the team from Community Design Solutions, spoke next about downtown Opelika’s design, with hopes to take it from “good to great.”

Wilson recommended Opelika develop a common vision with a clear, collaborative goal between the private and public sector.

One recommended way to do so was for the city to address critical issues by refreshing the streetscapes, parks and open spaces. Plans for doing this are already in the works.

Finally, Opelika should view downtown as the next major development in the city, he said. This starts by providing businesses with urban planning that is streamlined, incentive based and safeguarded.

To accomplish all of this, Wilson eluded to a strategy employed by English pop-girl group, The Spice Girls. “If you want to be my lover, you got to — abolish parking minimums and exclusionary single family zoning,” he said.

That might seem like simplified solution to a grandiose plan.

But, it’s true that downtown Opelika is an already booming area that’s full of swiftly-achievable potential.

Downtown

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Downtown

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a r t w o r k b y y a t e s c l a n t o n

Downtown

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