SDAT responds to Britt: Here’s what we’ve accomplished

GUESTWORK | Lisa Clemmons Stott

Sometimes I think that those of us living in Springfield are our own worst enemy. Case in point: our hometown cartoonist, Chris Britt, used his pulpit in last week’s paper to label the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) Action Committee as “non-productive.”

Is the glass half full or half empty around here?

Yes, there are still too many vacancies downtown.

But thanks to the exposure brought about by SDAT’s 2013 “Imagine” series, spotlighting eight vacant properties that had languished for years, four have been purchased by new owners. Several of those properties already have new commercial tenants.

SDAT showed that investing in downtown isn’t just good public policy, but it is also potentially profitable. SDAT partners raised the funding for a housing market study and yes, the study proved the demand for 1,000 new residential units by 2017. Developers can literally take that to the bank.

Local entrepreneurs like Chris Nickell and Seth Molen are going building by building, creating funky residential apartments. Locals who develop larger complexes elsewhere in the state are saying, for the first time in years, “Why not here at home?” SDAT encourages more participation by hometown developers.

To gain some perspective, SDAT invited out-of-town developers to look around. Some of those firms are now coming to our partners at The Chamber and city hall to discuss real projects to transform our larger properties and parking lots, including the North Mansion block. Basically, people who don’t live here see the potential and consider our core neighborhoods to be the next hot multi-unit market.

Just as important to our future is making downtown more pedestrianfriendly for all of us. The Millennial generation would rather walk than drive, and they prefer urban settings. If Springfield wants to keep young professionals here at home, focusing on the downtown environment will pay dividends.

SDAT supported the new parklet program and is working with Public Works to slow the traffic in other ways too, whether by better enforcement, better and de-cluttered signage, or changing back to two-way streets. As a small, first step on improving parking, the city’s four public parking facilities will soon have uniform, visible signage, thanks to Downtown Springfield, Inc., and SDAT’s prodding.

It bears repeating that the negative parking perception is just that: every person in the city could drive one neighbor downtown at the same time and everyone would find a spot.

As for culture, SDAT showed Kidzeum organizers the report’s statement on downtown’s lack of familyfriendly activities, which helped woo them to Adams Street. SDAT conducted a survey of downtown denizens and found that the most desired missing activity was movies, so we pitched the Hoogland to develop a series, which included a recent sold-out evening for Casablanca.

One of our best assets is our diverse artists’ community, so SDAT contacted a successful, nonprofit developer of artists’ residences as a long-term project, and in the short term is working on ways to incorporate local artists’ contributions into wayfinding and streetscapes.

In the next month, SDAT’s case for city leaders to support a Community Development Corporation to attract private and federal funding for downtown development will be augmented by a real business plan.

Who are these people whom the cartoonist labeled as “All talk?” They are 40-plus volunteers, more joining each month, many running their own small businesses, some representing economic development organizations and political entities, some retired with a wealth of experience. With no funding and no staff, these volunteers come together simply to do what they can to help downtown reach its potential. This is what happens in great communities.

Mr. Britt’s cartoon came at the twoyear milestone for this growing band of urban and residential advocates. Thanks for the opportunity to draw an accurate picture of the SDAT network’s accomplishments and an optimistic picture of our downtown.

Lisa Clemmons Stott is the co-chair of the SDAT Action Committee, citizens appointed by Mayor Houston in November 2012 to “connect the dots” between organizations to better implement the recommendations of the SDAT Final Report. Visit http://sdatspringfi eld.com to get involved in making downtown an urban, residential neighborhood.