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MEDFORD Downtown district would raise money for beautification, marketing Assessment could raise city's image Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 11, 2014 at 12:15 AM Updated Nov 11, 2014 at 12:16 AM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 11, 2014 at 12:15 AM Updated Nov 11, 2014 at 12:16 AM » Social News Millions have been poured into revitalizing downtown Medford, and many shop owners wonder why the vitality enjoyed by other communities around the country has proven so elusive here. “This is the best looking downtown that isn’t thriving,” said Darcie Maassen, owner of Little Feet Children’s Shoes on Bartlett Street, just off Main Street. Maassen endorses a plan from Metro Medford Downtown Association to charge an assessment of property owners to raise $315,946 over a three-year period that will provide the ongoing financial support needed to promote the downtown. The proposal, which failed to attract enough support in October 2013, calls for creating an economic improvement district that would beautify the downtown by installing signs, maintaining tree wells, purchasing benches and installing hanging flower baskets along Main Street. In addition, the district would create events and conduct an ongoing marketing campaign that will require 35 percent of the money raised, or $105,384. “I really feel the future of the downtown depends on this EID being in place,” said Diane Raymond, executive director of Metro Medford. She said the average cost for a property would be $75 a month, or $900 a year. The maximum amount a property would pay would be $167 a month, or $2,004 annually. Properties in the core downtown area would pay more than those on some side streets. Raymond said the recent completion of The Commons, including the new Lithia Motors headquarters, and the new corporate building known as One West Main have raised the bar for the downtown. The Commons alone required $14 million in revitalization dollars from the Medford Urban Renewal Agency. Now, the rest of the downtown needs to work harder to raise itself to the next level, Raymond said. Raymond said that if the district were created, she would strive for at least one event in the downtown each month. “We need to have a sense of it being alive,” she said. Raymond spoke before the City Council last week and said she believes she has enough support from property owners this time. “We need to do whatever we can to support our downtown neighborhood,” Councilor Dick Gordon said. The council unanimously approved drafting a resolution that could set in motion public hearings prior to the establishment of the district. During last year’s attempt, the district could be approved only if the city received objections from no more than 33 percent of the properties. However, owners of 36 percent of the properties said no. The district would generally extend from Bear Creek on the east side to Holly Street on the west, and from 10th Street on the south side to Fourth Street on the north, though the boundaries stick to blocks with the highest concentration of businesses. The property owners, not the businesses, would be required to pay the tax — even if the building were empty. For many shop owners such as Maassen, the EID is a welcome opportunity even if it means they will pay more toward their lease. Maassen said Medford should follow the example of Ashland and other communities that have lots of foot traffic in their downtowns. “We shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Maasen said. “All we need to do is see where it is successful and let’s copy it.” She said she has visited a family member who lives in Livermore, Calif., where the downtown was languishing until about five years ago. The city got rid of parallel parking and created diagonal parking as one of many efforts to make the downtown more user-friendly. Now, the downtown is always bustling, she said. Maassen said that during the previous attempt to create an economic improvement district, not enough effort went into explaining the idea to merchants. “Now, they’ve been going door to door and explaining it,” she said. Randy Bobst-McKay, executive director of Jefferson Live!, which is undertaking the restoration of the Holly Theatre, said he’s worked in other communities with economic districts, and he’s seen how beneficial they are. “I don’t know how a downtown can thrive without financing to support its cheerleading team,” he said. “This isn’t a huge amount of money, but it’s a game-changing sum of money.” In the long run, the investment in creating a district to market the downtown ultimately will raise property values and will help fill up some of the vacant buildings, Bobst-McKay said. Also, the minimal amount that any one business would contribute to the EID wouldn’t be sufficient for a marketing campaign, Bobst-McKay said. But the combined contributions would help in the marketing of all businesses in the downtown, he said. Bobst-McKay said he wishes the economic district's boundaries included the Holly, but he acknowledges there aren’t many businesses in the western part of the downtown. He said that probably in the future, the district will be expanded to take in more businesses as the downtown starts to prosper. The Holly still hasn’t raised enough money to continue its renovation to turn it into a performing arts center, and many community members expect the Holly will help with the revitalization of the downtown. “My goal is to start construction sometime in 2015,” he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/reporterdm .   By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 11, 2014 at 12:15 AM Updated Nov 11, 2014 at 12:16 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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