Clearwater’s downtown problems are not unique.

Yesterday, the president of our association attended the annual Suncoast League of Cities conference, during which our own City Councilman Bill Jonson was installed as the new president of the League for 2013-2014. (Congratulations, Bill!)

The League represents 27 cities in the Florida’s west central region. The conference was attended by a variety of city officials, including mayors and city council members.

One of the themes of this year’s conference was “Preserving community character”. In virtually any community, the key step is to restore and rejuvenate its downtown district.

Winter Park’s main street had a 50% vacancy rate in its downtown store fronts (sound familiar?). Yet they turned it into a hub of energy and activity despite some legacy regulations and codes that made things difficult, proving the old maxim “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.

Kissimmee had to overcome its image of a scruffy unpleasant downtown in the shadow of the daunting Disney World while solving the problem of people driving right on by and never turning into downtown (sound familiar?). They have done an amazing job of accomplishing what many thought was impossible.

Gail Hamilton

The central figure in Kissimmee’s turn-around, Gail Hamilton, told her story and afterwards accepted our invitation to come speak to us here in Clearwater. She knows Clearwater quite well and has some encouraging things to say about our future and some great advice to share. We hope to arrange this in the next couple months.

In other words, we’re not alone. Many, many downtowns are facing problems similar to ours. Those who succeed – like Kissimmee – think outside the box and manage to overcome a wide variety of “can’t be done” attitudes. We can do the same!

Did you know that there are 18 restaurants in the immediate Cleveland Street district (meaning the four blocks on Cleveland extending out one block on either side)? That’s almost as many restaurants as Dunedin’s Main Street district!

Yet we often hear people say “There is nothing downtown”. It’s been declared by some proponents of the new Aquarium project. We’ve even heard it from a city official or two.

It’s too easy to blame the merchants (or supposed lack thereof) for downtown’s shortcomings. But that’s a red herring. Here is just a partial list of the types of food and drink available in the District:

• Pizza
• Coffee
• Hamburgers
• Ice Cream
• Donuts
• Deli sandwiches
• Beer
• Wine
• Tapas
• Italian
• Thai
• Middle Eastern

The problem isn’t really a lack of dining options or variety. It’s a matter of promotion and traffic.

Here are just a few reasons why there is so little customer traffic on Cleveland Street:

• The streetscape was designed with traffic-calming in mind. As a result, there are fewer cars on Cleveland Street and less on-street parking than there would be otherwise.
• Parking options are inadequately marked and difficult to find.
• The Aquarium Trolley stop is right smack in front of the Harborview entrance, which means that 150,000 visitors per year never stray more than 20 feet from the entrance. And the trolley’s route avoids Cleveland Street entirely. The passengers don’t even know that the District exists.
• Tens of thousands of people walk through the covered walkway along the front of the Harborview as they go from and to the water taxi in the marina. During that lengthy walk, there isn’t a single sign about downtown or its restaurants due to the City’s signage restrictions. These pedestrians don’t even know that the District exists.

Solutions?

The streetscape is permanent and changing it isn’t an option.

Parking can be more clearly marked with directional signs, and discussions are underway between the City and Downtown Development groups.

This leaves the Harborview’s visitors as a resource that is shockingly untapped.

The idea of moving the trolley route onto Cleveland Street is supported by virtually everyone, including the merchants, the Aquarium, the Downtown Development Board, the Jolley Trolley, and of course the Downtown Neighborhood Association. (Slight modifications have to be made to streetscape to accommodate the trolleys, but they are relatively minor in nature.) This decision is now in the hands of the City. Everyone else has agreed.

The Harborview walkway is the next priority. We’re engaged in meetings with the City to find out what can and can’t be done.

Another priority is to draw families into the District by offering fun things for the kids to do, such as an interactive Dolphin Trail, or collecting charms from the merchants for a bracelet, or scavenger hunts, etc.

These are all things that can be done now rather than waiting until years down the road.

(When the Capitol Theatre re-opens in November, this will be another resource that must be tapped. It will require its own promotional strategy to encourage theater-goers to come downtown early to eat and drink before the show starts.)

For the record, here are the 18 food and drink establishments: Chiang Mai, Cafe 421, Tony’s Ristorante, Capitol Beer House, Starbuck’s, Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins, The Loft, Mr. B’s, Top 40, Grahame’s Gourmet Cafe, Street Side Cafe, Cleveland Street Cafe, Angie’s, Emily’s, Hispania, Cafe Milano, Mana Mana, Bogie’s Food & Flicks.

What’s the difference between downtown Clearwater and downtown Dunedin? Unlike Clearwater, Dunedin has as many shops (gifts, art, antiques, etc) as it does restaurants. It has a much broader shopping experience. This can happen in downtown Clearwater, too, but not until more people are walking on Cleveland Street.

What’s a cash mob? You’ve probably heard of a “flash mob” in which a group of people burst into seemingly spontaneous dancing in a public place. This inspired the concept of a “cash mob”, where a group of people descend upon a merchant with cash to spend.

Arte Maren, president of downtown-area business Ulan Nutritional Systems, is organizing cash mobs in downtown Clearwater. The first one was held last week at Street Side Cafe and it drew nearly 20 additional customers according to the owner, who was thrilled. The “mob” was mostly comprised of Ulan employees along with some of their friends and associates. (Street Side was tipped off in advance so that they weren’t caught by surprise.)

Arte is inviting DNA members to join the action. Upcoming cash mob events will be published on this site.

When asked what motivates him to do things like this, Arte responded with what might just be the most eloquent off-the-cuff prescription for success we’ve ever heard:

“Downtowns in cities across America do not occur by chance but are made by those who care about their environment and their neighborhoods and are convinced that progress can be speedy and that luck follows those who work to make positive things happen in the first place.”

Location of gelato shop

The Water’s Edge retail space has its first tenant: an Italian master gelato maker! (Gelato is very similar to ice cream except it has less fat and is more flavorful.) They will also serve coffee – specializing in espresso and cappuccino, naturally – as well as light Italian pastry. They are expected to open sometime in June.

The other two units fronting Osceola are attracting strong interest and might be leased in the months ahead. The lengthy unit along the Water’s Edge driveway is being targeted for an upscale restaurant/bar. Such a large space requires quite a commitment, so it’s doubtful that much will happen until more is known about the success of the Aquarium’s referendum and financing, and perhaps not until construction begins.

In the proposal submitted by the CMA earlier this month, the drawings depicted a five-story parking garage on the corner of Osceola and Pierce, across the street from the proposed new Aquarium.

The location of the garage is of keen interest to downtown residents, particularly those in Pierce 100 and Water’s Edge, due to questions about traffic impacts.

We have learned that two alternative locations are being strongly considered:

1) Across the street from the library, on the corner of Drew and Osceola.

2) Downtown bus station lot, on Garden Avenue bordered by Park and Pierce.

The traffic impact of each of the three locations is being studied by both CMA and the City. Each location has its pros and cons, but a parking garage of some kind can be considered mandatory given the attendance projections; it’s unlikely that our streets can accommodate hundreds of cars per day seeking street-level parking spaces.

A key question is what percentage of visitors would drive their cars to the Aquarium. Those coming from the Beach could be encouraged to take the Jolly Trolley or the shuttle boats, which would lessen traffic considerably. CMA has committed to providing more details and projections in the months ahead.

[We would like to thank Frank for taking the time to write this letter. We very much appreciate the information, the ongoing dialogue, and the steps that are already being taken.]

To association members:

I have reviewed your posts and recommendations and will preface specific comments regarding your suggestions.

CMA asked the City if we could lease Harborview Center as a way to handle the overflow crowds visiting the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on Island Estates.  We felt there could be mutual benefits of diminishing the overcrowding conditions and congestion in Island Estates as well as the traffic on the causeway by bringing people into downtown area.  The City granted us a short term lease with renewal options that expire by April 2014.  As you know, we created Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure (WDTA) in that location.

CMA invested heavily into redesigning the 2^nd floor of Harborview Center to make it attractive for guests.  We also spent over $800,000 in 2012 providing free shuttle service contracted through the Jolley Trolley and with the purchase of two boats to transport people to and from downtown and CMA.  We have additionally absorbed all operating expenses for these two free services. Continue reading →

There is a new dynamic in downtown now that more and more people live here. With over 500 homes, downtown has become one of the largest neighborhoods in Clearwater.

Our viewpoint is different than other downtown interest groups because we live here. All of us reside within a few blocks of the Harborview and hundreds live just across the street from it. Virtually all of us were counting on the removal of the Harborview and the expansion of Coachman Park to beautify downtown and provide a nature-filled destination for local families and tax-paying residents.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium came in at the last minute in 2011 to lease the Aquarium and delay the demolition of the Harborview. With last week’s announcement of their plans to build a new facility on the City Hall site, CMA is asking to keep the Harborview standing until 2017 at the earliest. This means that our Coachman Park dreams are realistically delayed until 2019 or even 2020 because the Harborview stands in the way.

This is why we are asking CMA to do more to revitalize downtown now rather than four or five years from now.

We recognize that CMA has already invested heavily in downtown. Still, we ask CMA to take the lead here. Downtown needs their creative power, their graphics expertise, their energy, and most of all, their ability to get things done.

We do not make this request empty handed. We propose solutions to the problem. It turns out that a lot of creative people live downtown, and the neighborhood meeting drew out some wonderful ideas.

It’s a short window to the referendum in November. We are probably not the only ones who are having trouble getting beyond the fact that 300,000 annual Aquarium visitors have had minimal impact on the Cleveland Street District. We feel that this can be changed.

Here is Part 1 of the highlights from our brainstorming session, attended by 71 people.

“Dolphin Town”

It was near-unanimous that downtown should continue to capitalize on the huge popularity of Winter and dolphins in general. This is already moving forward via the colorful dolphin statues that the city is about to install, and we advocate going all the way with this theme.

Some members recommend giving downtown a nickname. “Dolphin Town” was one suggestion. We Googled it and could not find any other town or city that seems to use this moniker. And the web address www.dolphintown.com had not yet been taken by anyone, so one of us secured it in case it can be of use later for promoting downtown.

Dolphin Trail

What better way to get people to stroll through downtown than a kid-friendly Dolphin Trail? This trail would make good use of the dolphin sculptures and the merchants. (More ideas about this are in Part 2.)

Here are the highlights of our ideas for the Cleveland Street District:

Trolley Stop Moved to Cleveland Street

Right now, an estimated 150,000 visitors each year ride the trolley and never venture more than 20 feet from the Harborview’s front entrance. Moving the trolley to Cleveland Street automatically solves this problem. If the trolley can navigate the streetscape, we suggest removing several parking spaces in the 400 block and turning them into a trolley stop. Nearby merchants can be expected to embrace this since 150,000 people will be brought to their doorstep. The ideal location in our opinion is the south side of the street because riders will set foot on both sides of Cleveland Street.

Dolphin Trail

Kids love dolphins. So do adults. A Dolphin Trail can make downtown an adventure. The dolphin statues will be the natural cornerstones of the trail. Here are some additional suggestions:

• Install speakers or interactive capability in the dolphin statues to make each one “come alive”.
• Encourage families to “Take your photo with every dolphin!” or “Vote for your favorite dolphin!”
• Involve the merchants. Consider a free rubber charm bracelet, with each merchant providing a particular charm for free with every purchase. Kids will want to collect them all! Which in turn encourages families to visit multiple merchants.

Standardized Sandwich Board Signs

Most downtown merchants want more freedom and less rules about putting signs in front of their establishments. Sandwich boards are crucial to getting the attention of people strolling through the district, especially those whose main purpose is getting to the exhibits. But the city has understandably been frustrated with inconsistent and unprofessional results by some merchants.

So we recommend that sandwich boards be standardized in order to keep them consistent. The Aquarium is an expert with marine-life graphics, and they could design a professional-looking template. The design could allow for a section for merchants’ messages.

The signs could be provided by one of the downtown groups so as to maintain quality control, and the cost could be split between the merchants and downtown development funds.

Electronic Signs and Video Screens

Though this suggestion was made by multiple people, it wasn’t necessarily embraced by everyone. But those who like the idea like it very much. Electronic signs and/or video screens could be placed strategically for directional purposes, entertainment and to promote local merchants.