Many have asked me to publish my vision for Downtown Salisbury. While I have been holding it back, enough people have heard about it and now that Mayor Ireton has created a petition against the City Council, here's my view.
Starting with the Downtown Plaza, close it on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. I would, (and have) encourage as many bars and restaurants as possible to open new businesses within the Plaza to encourage a sort of upscale trendy entertainment district/atmosphere. Dueling Piano Bar, Irish Pub, Jazz and Blues, Sports Bar/Restaurants. I would propose an open container law on Friday and Saturday night throughout just the closed Plaza area. We could create a shuttle service from each parking area Downtown to and from the Plaza every 15 minutes. This could be privately owned to help one of the local businesses expand or even encourage a new business to get started. A dedicated cab service location. I'd like to see outdoor jazz bands, blues bands local talent, etc.
Once established I would charge a $10.00 cover charge on Friday and Saturday nights to pay for Police Enforcement on the Plaza. I would remove all plants and trees along the Plaza and go to Nurseries, Landscapers, Florist Shops and local Clubs to create a new Botanical Gardens. Each company would have a plaque with their company name, Website and phone number to market their business. It would create a unique competition to out do each other as well as maintain each planting area. Rather than the taxpayers paying out for Public Works employees twice a week for several hours a day maintaining the Plaza, we could save quite a bit of money each year.
Once established, there's only a certain amount of real estate on the Plaza, which makes the idea quite nice. We could then start looking down Market Street and encourage Hotels on the River with restaurants and shopping on the main floor. This would continue all the way back to Rt. 13.
If you stand by the Book Store near Feldman's on the River and look up towards the Parking Garage, the elevation is actually quite steep. By the time you get up to the Parking Garage, (if you were to remove ALL of the pavement and soil) you could have two floors of parking at the same ground level at Division Street. Palmer Gillis showed me this idea quite some time ago and it's perfect. IF people wanted to sell off those lots, perhaps we could get TWO levels of parking FIRST and actually double the spaces there now before anything new is built on those lots.
I recommend this idea because once the Downtown area is revitalized we are going to need all the parking we can get. Once the Plaza area is established with new businesses we could easily afford to completely remove the majority of parking meters simply by using the $10.00 cover charge to get into the Plaza each Friday and Saturday night. If you have 3,000 people visiting, that's $30,000.00. It will not cost $30,000.00 to pay for Police Enforcement each weekend.
Other expansions can go towards Fitzwater and the north prong for development down the road. Now I know some of you are thinking, (because we live in an instant gratification world today) this would take a long time. I agree, it would. I have spoken to local businesses who are VERY interested in the concept. We would have to market to other businesses throughout the Washington and Baltimore area. However, once it starts to roll the Downtown Plaza can become a destination location. We can actually draw business from Ocean City, if it's marketed properly.
Remember, the Plaza will open up Monday through Friday business hours like nothing ever happened. I would encourage the Farmers Market, arts and crafts and other interests on the Plaza every weekend with no cover charge, of course.
We can make the Plaza new and fresh with beautiful plants and trees. We can encourage economic development, while raising property values at the same time. Some might ask, what will happen to those businesses currently on the Plaza. Nothing will happen to them. Other than their property values will go up and IF they choose to relocate and sell they will have more money then ever before to do so. Keep in mind, the ONLY time things would be different is Friday and Saturday night.
Change is a difficult thing to accept. We have watched Annapolis, Cambridge, Berlin and many other local Downtown areas explode with such a concept. This idea would create and maintain interest in the arts as well as entertainment. Real estate values would go up as other businesses interested in opening up would be competing for a small amount of available real estate. We could remove parking meters and encourage people to spend more time Downtown.
Ladies & Gentlemen, it's a PROPOSAL. This would be an idea that could be brought to the City Council for their review. IF the Council turns it down, so be it. I would NOT petition them because they, (or you) disagree with the idea. It simply creates an OPTION. An option the local media won't even allow me to express.
We have asked you for years now, do YOU have a better idea? I wanted to deliver something that did NOT cost YOU the taxpayers a penny. No grants, no federal or state loans. NO affordable or section 8 housing projects. NO EDU giveaways. NO discounts on impact fees. A business man's concept that actually has fiscal responsibility to it.
I look forward to your comments. There may be some things I have forgotten in which I'll add in comments later. I encourage your ideas and opinions and I look forward to seeing them throughout the day.
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