New life is slowly being breathed into downtown Huntington.
According to a press release from the Huntington County Chamber of Commerce, four new businesses are either open or opening in downtown Huntington this year.
Open already are two salons: Any Shape of Hair and the Fifth Parlour.
Meanwhile, people driving or walking downtown have undoubtedly seen work being done on a Mexican restaurant going into the former George’s Dog House and at the former Heidelberg Inn where The Berg Ale Haus is set to open.
In addition, the New Huntington Theater has recently completed its renovations and has premiered its first and second theater productions.
Downtown outlook
The outlook for both downtown Huntington and Huntington County as a whole is looking positive from a business aspect, with 20 new businesses opening the last seven months in Huntington County, Steve Kimmel, executive director of the Huntington County Chamber of Commerce, said.
“It’s indicative that people are feeling more comfortable in starting their own business,” he said. “I think the economy has definitely made the turn in Huntington and that is showing in the unemployment rate.”
That can also be seen in the empty buildings on Jefferson Street, or lack thereof.
“Right now on Jefferson Street there are only about four empty buildings on the street,” Kimmel said. “We’re trying to locate some people to see if we can fill those last four buildings up, that’s a goal of ours.”
There are more empty buildings on the side streets, he said.
However, things are looking up for downtown Huntington and the county as a whole.
“We think things are on the right trajectory to keep on moving,” Kimmel said.
Importance of downtown
Tina Bobilya, executive director of the Huntington County Visitors and Convention Bureau, said people often look for something unique and different to do when traveling or visiting a different place.
“So, when people are trying to go to different areas, especially our small towns in our communities, the downtown is the destination,” she said. “That’s where all our unique stores are.”
People are attracted to a vibrant downtown, she added: When people come to Huntington, or any other city, they come downtown, because it is naturally where they go for all the unique businesses.
“That’s why they’re so important to each community,” she said. “They become the destination.”
Overall, Huntington’s downtown is doing well with a couple new restaurants coming in and a couple of already established restaurants that bring people downtown, Bobilya said.
“Our downtown is definitely in a state of growth,” she said. “There’s always room for improvement and I think over the last few years we’ve seen quite a few improvements and I’m very encouraged by it.”
The important part is to keep those improvements going, and one aspect of downtown to help with that is the New Huntington Theater and the Different Stages productions, Bobilya said.
As the theater brings more and more people into the downtown from all around the area, then the market “will respond to that” and new businesses will pop up, she said.
Revitalizing downtown
One way downtown Huntington has revitalized over the years in through the Main Street program.
Rosie Wall, a member of the group, said Main Street is a state program and locally it has been used to give matching grants for roof repair and façade improvements such as painting.
Since Main Street started offering these grants around four years ago, she said the program has helped 22 individuals with façade and/or roof grants for their buildings. This accounts for around $400,000 in total investment in the downtown, with Main Street granting around $154,000 of that investment through the city’s CEDIT funds.
The grants are limited to mostly the downtown area but have expanded to other areas, such as south of the Purviance House on Jefferson Street and to the Erie Neighborhood —the area around Market and Briant streets — as well, Wall said.
“We set our priorities in the downtown district because it had most of the older buildings that were in some need of repair, but more than anything, the downtown reflects the vitality and vibrancy of the entire community a lot of times,” she said.
Wall added that people looking to add business or industry could turn away from Huntington if the downtown has empty or poorly taken care of buildings.
An aspect unique to Huntington’s Main Street is the roof grants.
“If you’ve got roofs that are leaking like sieves, it made no sense to a group of us to put paint on a building and make it look real pretty but in the meantime, the back of the building is falling down because there was a roofing leak and it was destroying the integrity,” Wall said.
At the time, she said Huntington was the only Main Street program to offer roof grants and is unsure if any other counties have started one too.
Getting people downtown
Huntington City Mayor Brooks Fetters said his goal has always been to have downtown Huntington be a destination and the great success of several downtown businesses and restaurants, such as the Party Shop, Pizza Junction and Four Corners Framing, help work toward that goal.
Overall, he said progress is being made on making the downtown a place of destination.
“It’s slow, you have to be persistent, but I think every time we make an addition and there’s a little success on the private side it leads to a success,” Fetters said.
Another aspect that will help get people downtown is the trail and greenways system.
Fetters said area four of the Little River Trail is set for groundbreaking just after Labor Day.
“That’s the section that will start at roughly LaFontaine Street and run all the way over and include the rehabilitation of the old railroad bridge,” he said.
This section of the project will also include a trail to Schenkel Station located downtown.
He said this will allow citizens who live in the Drover Town area, the old Erie Railroad area and around Hier’s Park, to come into downtown either by biking, walking or jogging on a paved trail.
The trail will not only bring people downtown, but also take people past other businesses in the area, including Spokesmen Cycling, Ari’s Gyro and BBQ Ribs and the old Marsh building.
“I’d like to think as we keep doing things, that will stimulate some activity in the Marsh building,” Fetters said.
The Huntington downtown farmers market is also a popular attraction bringing people downtown, he said.
“You go down there, it’s a three-hour party,” Fetters said. “On any given three-hour period, there’s probably 300 or 400 people down there. The produce has just been phenomenal.”