Main Street Momentum

Wetumpka nonprofit continues to advocate for downtown district

STORY BY AMY PASSARETTI PHOTOS BY JENNY ENSLEN STUBBS

The small, historic town of Wetumpka has faced its struggles and challenges but is transforming into an up-and-coming area with the help of community organization’s working together for beautification.

Main Street Wetumpka is one organization that has its hand in steering some of that change in a positive way, especially for the downtown district and local business owners.

While Main Street director Jenny Stubbs said the coronavirus pandemic slowed momentum some, she’s stayed busier than ever finding new and unique ways to showcase the community-spirited area.

“We’re starting to pick up again,” Stubbs said. “Not that things ever went dormant by any means but we were busy canceling events there for a while and now we’re busy getting some set up again.”

Some of Main Street’s biggest events occur in the spring and have been canceled for the year or postponed to a later date but the downtown streetscape has been the largest focus for the city in the last year.

“Last year, and ironically since the tornado, has been our transformation design-wise and aesthetically because of the streetscapes and the cultivation projects like the alleyway, which we have since completed,” Stubbs said.

Merchant’s Alleyway was an ongoing project that converted an alley in between downtown buildings into a shared community space with brick walkways, benches and a spot to cultivate events.

“We won’t be holding a ribbon cutting yet for the alleyway because we really want to do it right,” Stubbs said. “That was over a $100,000 project and we as a company with one employee and a 501(c)3, we were able to partner with the community organizations, businesses and individuals to raise all the funds ourselves by working with different entities to bring that about.”

The residents chipped in their time and expertise to carry out the project including help from a volunteer architect and a lot of pro bono work by Pete Powers Construction.

The streetscape project continues to work on foundational elements such as completing sidewalks, seeding and potting plants and additional elements that are eye-catching so hopefully people will want to linger downtown longer, said Stubbs.

“The next phase of the streetscape includes the remainder of Company Street, which also includes a roundabout and the city is working on a new parking lot,” Stubbs said. “We usually try to find areas that are larger in space and scope so there’s plenty of maneuverability.”

While the streetscape is organized through the city and uses federal funding, organiza-

tions such as Main Street work along- side city officials to help the cause. Stubbs recently launched a virtual downtown historical tour providing narratives for areas around the town to highlight the area’s character.

“Because such a large focus of our mission and identity has been our his- tory, a good fit was to start up a historic tour to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes,” Stubbs said. “After about three episodes, my son was kind enough to create a jingle for a more consistent look. There are 12 total.”

The two to four minute episodes essentially juxtapose historic photo- graphs with what that area looks like today guided by facts and information by Stubbs.

The project then took a turn to focus on helping out downtown businesses as small, local business owners were hit hardest during the pandemic restric- tions.

“The struggle of downtown busi- nesses is our focus,” Stubbs said. “We wanted to use videos to spotlight busi- ness locations and in turn help with foot traffic. We always want to be sure we focus our efforts on getting people in their stores.”

Local businesses seem to be fairing well all things considered and Stubbs credits the community for that good fortune.

“We haven’t had any businesses close and all are very community-minded and passionate about what they do; that’s really helping to carry them through,” Stubbs said. “I think they’ve adapted in different ways such as online sales being a factor to continue to move forward. Eateries mostly stayed open for curb- side and pickup and thankfully we’re to a point where people can enjoy meals indoors.”

There are also some new, exciting businesses opening in the downtown district and Stubbs feels the momentum of the city’s success just continues to insist upon itself.

“It’s certainly disheartening not just for us but every downtown consider- ing how strong our momentum had gotten and to see the amount of foot traffic increasing daily,” she said. “It was remarkable and one again to get hit by this, it has been deflating but we don’t give up. It’s not what Wetumpka does. We experience something and get back up and keep going.”

Phase 1 of the streetscape project is complete and another phase will start shortly