How to bring more traffic
At the historic Villa de Cortez in downtown Weslaco, TX
One hundred RGV citizens participated in a 90 minute presentation from two of San Marcos’ greatest downtown catalyst. The first presenter was from the Main Street Revitalization office and the other from KHuck Productions, a private art organization. With many similar challenges and a few degrees of separation the Mid-Valley gained a 20/20 Vision into the future of downtown revitalization and “How to bring more traffic”. We heard examples of similar struggles and stories about lacking support from the city to the influx of big box, online shopping and highways taking shoppers away.
But the message was this: it was about creating a unique experience engaging the will of the people and key leadership that transformed downtown San Marcos to what it is today. Dedicated business owners with big hearts and determination to make their community better was enough to get the ball rolling, thrive and collaborate with public and private entities.
Samantha Armbruster chronologically set forth historical events of San Marcos painting it a once vibrant community. Contrasting with a recent inventory of old, dilapidated and boarded up buildings there was a will to ultimately use strategies formed by Main Street America – a proven model and network for urban revitalization. But like any plan, plans need a vision and the community needs to set that vision.
Taking inventory of current resources, businesses, institutions, infrastructure and other cultural and economic generators is essential and must be accounted for to charter a new course, a new town with a new identity. The 4 tenets of Main Street America are Economics, Design, Organization and Promotion.
A Strong Towns 3D model to evaluating property values was created to understand where the most revenue was generated. It was clear that the peak came from downtown, where mostly investment came from small business. Understanding this dynamic proved a vision to implement the 4 tenets of downtown revitalization especially promotion and bringing the community together at all times to build ownership, a sense of community and empowerment. As we know man power is important and volunteers is no exception. The collection of data and numbers was a key tool to measuring success and constant monitoring of improvements.
“I thought the event was good. I liked the speakers and program. I think we need to continue the discussion and help Weslaco revitalize its beautiful downtown”. Mayor David Suarez
Artist and community organizer Kelsey Huckaby then supported her presentation by outlining ways that art can bring the community together and foster a supporting sense of ownership and belonging. She indicated that leadership and creativity are crucial to spearheading a love for the arts and a passion for developing a local economy. A constant sharing of ideas and a platform to learn and inspire youth through the arts.
Wrapping up the presentation was followed by an enthusiastic discussion from downtown business owners and city officials. They were inspired and offered ideas to Mayor David Suarez, Councilman Jose P. Rodriguez, Weslaco Chamber President Doug Croft and EDC Director Steven Valdez.
“As a new elected official I’m always looking for information and perspective from various groups and individuals on how we can make our town better for our residents and business community, I’m very grateful to Mr. Ayala and all the presenters who shared stories, ideas and more importantly strategies on how to revitalize our downtown district. I will definitely seek more opportunities to learn from Mr. Ayala and BUILDrgv.” Jose P. “JP” Rodriguez Weslaco City Commissioner – District 3
For future events and more information please go to www.buildrgv.com
BUILDrgv (Building Urban & Innovative Land Development in the Rio Grande Valley) started out as a grass roots initiative in response to the demolition of several historical buildings of note in McAllen, TX and other Rio Grande Valley cities. As a result of this effort to bring awareness and educational seminars about the alternatives to demolition, BUILDrgv is now a specialized consulting firm offering old world town planning principles with modern needs to communities struggling with economic and identity crisis.
