RICHMOND — While Anderson is trying to improve its offerings downtown, another eastern Indiana city is well on its way to a thriving revitalization.
The downtown area of Richmond was recently selected as one of Indiana's best, thanks to an emphasis on attracting restaurants and young people to the city, located about 50 miles southeast of Anderson.
Population-wise, Richmond is smaller than Anderson with an estimated population of about 37,000 but those stats don't include college students at Earlham College and Indiana University-East. By comparison, Anderson has a population of about 56,000.
Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton said she and her staff were a little surprised their city's downtown was selected, noting many improvements are still to be made.
Richmond's downtown revitalization efforts have recently gotten a boost in funding from the Stellar Communities program, which is a part of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
Tony Foster, executive director of Richmond's metropolitan department, said the grants have helped city officials focus on downtown amenities to improve quality of life.
"The walk-ability and connectivity of our downtown are two things we are very focused on," Foster said. "For a good downtown you need to have green space, parks and bike lanes. That's what people want."
Foster said his office promotes the up-and-coming downtown as a benefit to potential residents.
"The downtown is very important because it's usually the first thing people see when visiting," Foster said. "If your downtown is in rough shape, it makes people think your community is in rough shape."
Foster said Richmond has taken great strides in recent years toward improving the downtown's image. Part of the success has been generated by the grants.
"Since we got the Stellar funding, people are starting to take more of an interest in us," Foster said.
Both Foster and Hutton noted that the presence of Earlham College and Indiana University East has helped infuse the downtown effort with youthful energy.
Hutton said the current generation of college graduates want to live in downtown area apartments, as opposed to generations in the past who preferred houses in the suburbs. The city has encouraged store owners to refurbish the apartments above their stores and lease them to graduates who work downtown.
"Young people these days enjoy being downtown," Hutton said. "They like being able to walk downstairs and bike to work."
Richmond has some built-in advantages, as well. Several museums, including the Model T museum and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame, draw tourists. With the emergence of new restaurants and retail outlets, visitors are now finding reasons to stay in town longer or come back to visit.
The biggest improvement in recent years has been the renewal of the Depot District in Richmond. Once a bustling part of town, the district had fallen into disrepair. Now, thanks to a renewed effort from local officials and citizens, the district is thriving again. Several restaurants and shops line the streets.
More importantly, Foster said, the district is just a few blocks away from the heart of downtown Richmond. He said improving the connection between the two areas has keyed the Depot District's growth.
"Sometimes people didn't realize the two areas were just a couple blocks apart," Foster said. "We can improve that with bike trails and more green space."
While new stores are helping grow the downtown, businesses that have been in the area for years help imbue Richmond with its character.
One of those businesses is Veach's Toy Station, open in Richmond for 76 years. What started as a small five-and-dime store has grown into a large department store.
Tony Truitt said Veach's has been successful by becoming a destination store that doesn't try to compete with Wal-Mart with mainstream toys, but has more unique toys.
"We want to get people to come to our store for a specific reason and not come in because they happened to be downtown," Truitt said.
Although downtown Richmond is trending in the right direction, Hutton said there is still work to do.
"There are still vacant buildings in the area, which you never want to see," she said. "We're going to continue working to get better."