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Planners envision a livelier downtown Crossville By Jim Young / jimyoungreporter@gmail.com Originally Printed in the Crossville Chronicle September 4, 2007 Downtown Crossville may never be quite as busy as it was in the 1940s on a Saturday, but if a group of local people have their way, it could attract more shoppers and tourists to the original business district of the community. From the early days of Crossville to the 1960s, Main Street was really the only place to shop locally, but when the bigger chain stores started opening in the shopping centers away from the old section of downtown, shoppers, then businesses left Main Street and many of the store fronts became empty. The trend starting reversing itself some 10 years ago and with the restoration of the Palace Theatre opening in 2001, many property owners began to work on their downtown properties and once again there are retail stores, offices and more downtown. The group has reactivated the Downtown Crossville, Inc. 501(c)3 corporation (DCI) that originally was formed to spearhead the restoration of the Palace Theatre. DCI has a new and expanded scope to improve and grow the economic development of Main Street. A large turn out of supporters attended the work session with the Crossville City Council last Thursday night, a majority who identified themselves as either property owners or business operators in the downtown area. Frances Carson, a DCI member, addressed the council saying, "Often Downtown Crossville is the first thing people see of our community and we feel like it should reflect our priorities. While it is nice to have Wal-Mart, mom and pop businesses define who we are. Downtown is a place for small businesses to incubate and grow and we want the profit to stay in town." The group is interested in pursuing certification through the state of Tennessee as a Main Street program. With the certification comes the possibility of grants and other kinds of support for the efforts at improving the area. DCI has divided up into several committees, each handling an aspect of the groups plans and goals. Carolyn Jozwiak talked about what is being called hard scapes, the infrastructure of Main Street from street lights to sidewalks. One of the goals of the committee is to install a "Welcome to Crossville" sign on the location of the old water tank on the hill coming into the downtown area from the south. Preliminary designs for the sign include a waterfall and otters. The group is also working to have as many buildings as possible marked with plaques highlighting their history. The plaques would give those walking on Main Street some of the history of Crossville. The group has received a small grant from Volunteer Energy toward this particular program. An activities committee is working to bring additional events and programs to Main Street. A recognized muralist, Katie Yamasaki, will be visiting Crossville in October to scout downtown Crossville buildings for a possible mural. According to Frances Carson, Yamasaki is the granddaughter of the main architect on the World Trade Center. She has done a number of other murals across the country and works by designing the mural and recruiting high school art students to help with the painting of the mural. Corey Legare and Tonya Hinch both discussed the research they had done downtown discovering lots of business and more residents in the downtown area then they originally suspected. Legare said that millions of dollars had been spent fixing up downtown buildings already. "Downtown Crossville just needs a little polishing and cleaning," Legare told the council. "It is a diamond ready to shine!" Hinch said the group had been researching grants and felt there were quite a few grants the group and the city could pursue to help with some of the work on the downtown area. They have also identified several large properties that need outside investment to develop and are in the process of sending information to possible developers. The group is requesting some start-up funding from the city for an office, mail box and a phone. The group also wants to get a Web site online and begin to join some of the organizations that can provide help for the effort. Council members discussed some ways to help including possible space at the Palace and other ways city personnel could assist with the effort. The council agreed to put the matter of possible funding assistance on the agenda for the regular September council meeting scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 11, due to a memorial service in honor of the 9/11 attacks a Crossville's First United Methodist Church at 6:30 p.m. More about DCI in the news! Council moves to fix recreation problems; finish skate park concrete Crossville Chronicle Jan. 21, 2008 City council delays downtown planning Crossville Chronicle Jan. 14, 2008 Work begins on Crossville welcome sign Crossville Chronicle Jan. 8, 2008 Crossville welcome sign moves forward Crossville Chronicle Dec. 20, 2007 Local gardeners add beauty to welcome sign Crossville Chronicle Dec. 10, 2007 BPW Club honors Martin, Shepherd, Carson, Graham with awards Crossville Chronicle Nov. 1, 2007 ABACKUS COLUMN: Rosie the Riveter and Downtown Crossville Inc. (DCI) Crossville Chronicle Oct. 18, 2007 City council working to develop downtown improvement plan Crossville Chronicle Aug. 20, 2007

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