2022: Andrea’s Version

Holy macaroni, it’s the end of 2022! Is anyone else in denial?! I just celebrated my four year work anniversary with the organization and I realized some of you don’t know my origin story!

My husband and I moved to Indiana in 2007 from our hometowns in Wisconsin and Ohio. Downtown Wabash was a different place before the renovation of Charley Creek Inn and construction of the YMCA. Many storefronts were vacant. It’s almost hard to remember. People often asked us why we moved to Wabash, as if it was a horrible place to be. We saw the trajectory–the arts, the historic buildings, the people. We saw the vision. Since then, we have built a wonderful life in Wabash. We have two kids, a house within walking distance of downtown and a robust network of people that make this place feel like home. 

Fast forward to 2018: Wabash Marketplace, Inc. (now rebranded as Downtown Wabash, Inc.) asked me to join as a temporary part-time employee to help move projects forward with my experience of three years on the Board and 10 years as the chair of the Design Committee. Within two weeks, I was asked to serve as interim project coordinator. After several months, I was hired as the full-time Project Coordinator at the end of 2018. Steve Downs was the Executive Director and we worked together for nearly a year before he retired and the board appointed me as the Executive Director in October 2019.

Since then, we’ve seen a lot of projects come and go: a global pandemic with unprecedented impact on small businesses, new office at Wabash Landing, hiring a second full-time position for marketing and PR, celebrating 40 years as a nonprofit, rebranding to Downtown Wabash, Inc., adding a part-time position and more! I am proud to have brought consistency, stability, professionalism and change to the organization. 

I say all this… but why does it matter? So why is this organization important? Why do we need a vibrant downtown? I think my origin story helps shape this dialogue. Downtowns are important because they provide quality of place.

Place.

Imagine One85, the new county-wide strategic plan, says this. 
The State of Indiana’s READI program says this. 
The Wall Street Journal says this. 

People want a place. 
And we want people. 
We NEED people. 
We need people to grow our population. 

Downtowns across the country are experiencing new investment fueled by demographic changes, remote work capability and desire for walkable, mixed-use places. Wabash is no different with developers, residents and tourists rediscovering Downtown over the past two decades. Since the year 2000, more than $73 Million have been invested in downtown projects. That’s $3 Million per year. Continued growth and development is necessary in Downtown because of the role it continues to play in shaping the city’s culture, identity and quality of place. 

So that brings us back to this organization. Our vision is a downtown district that is vibrant, every day and night. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Where Downtown is the go-to place for arts, shopping, dining, entertaining and living. 

We are place makers. And we do this as a Main Street Organization. We’re not a downtown business association, or a business improvement district, or a chamber of commerce. A Main Street is an organization working day in day out to transform communities, celebrate historic character and revitalize local economies across the country.

We’re one of the 1,200 programs across 45 states with Main Street America. 
Within Indiana, we’re one of 118 programs evaluated by Indiana’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs. 
And of the 118 in Indiana, only 17 are nationally accredited. 
We’re the only nationally accredited program in Northeast Indiana. 
Other communities in our tier include Kokomo, Noblesville and Muncie.
Did you know in Wabash County alone, there are 3 Main Street programs–Wabash, North Manchester and Roann?

So we lean on our network across the state and across the nation. Trends in Main Street include prioritizing housing and doubling the current inventory; championing small-scale development projects under $5 Million; identifying a transformation strategy (in other words picking one topic for a district to laser focus its programing efforts).

So is this revitalization model working?

In 2021, Indiana reports $203 Million in investment. We contribute $3 million dollars of that.

594 new jobs. We contribute 19 of those jobs. 

At the national level, Main Street America reports on the investment of $5.7 Billion and 6,600 jobs as a whole network. This is our work as a single community in the network of nearly 2,000 communities doing the same thing. 

Did you know every $1 to support our mission leverages $19.24 in new investment in our community? $1 becomes $19. That’s our return on investment in Downtown Wabash. 

We could never do this work alone! We need our Board of Directors to vision-cast; our volunteers to turn big projects into bite size portions; our donors to amplify the investment; our downtown business community to bring smiles to customers; our partner organizations to share the impact with stakeholders. We need a community and the Wabash community sure is a beauty.

My, how the conversations have changed in 15 years! Now, people see Downtown Wabash with beautifully restored buildings, so many storefront options and they wish they could live here! They tell us why we are lucky to be here. 

Our next phase is growth which means it is new, challenging and a little scary! With our deep roots in the community and support from our network, I know we can accomplish big dreams. I see beautiful things on the horizon.  

Lots of love from Downtown Wabash,
Andrea