Leesburg council candidates debate best way to revitalize downtown
By Holly Hobbs
Leesburg Town Council candidates, participating in an election forum last week, began talks by recognizing a national ranking that named Leesburg a top location for business start-ups. However, the conversation was quickly redirected to debate ways to improve the town's downtown economy.
“I'm concerned that if the downtown goes on the way it has, it will fade,” said candidate David Butler, who is running for one of three open Leesburg Town Council seats in the May election. He said improvements to the downtown were needed to drive economic development and draw in investors.
The five council candidates, the majority of whom gave ideas for improving the downtown business climate, were questioned at a debate forum April 17, which was hosted by Leesburg's Downtown Improvement Association. The forum drew a crowd of downtown business and property owners.
Mayor Kristen Umstattd, who is running for re-election unopposed, was the lone candidate at the debate to say that little needed to be done to improve the downtown's economy. She said the downtown – an area roughly within a four-block radius of the Market and King streets intersection -- has all the makings of a vibrant business district.
“The next four years will be a great time for business in Leesburg,” said Umstattd, pointing to the national ranking by Fortune Small Business magazine published in late March.
The ranking based its findings on U.S. Census data and the number of start-ups in 2006. It listed Leesburg No. 31 out of the top “100 best places to live and launch” a new business.
The magazine's ranking has been embraced as a success by local officials and Leesburg town employees, and has given the town bragging rights that Leesburg is a top-notch place to live and start a new business.
“It's a fairly superficial view of Leesburg,” said Loudoun Chamber of Commerce President Tony Howard. “[Fortune Small Business] didn't do in-depth coverage of Leesburg.”
Like the mayor, however, he said, the positive fundamentals that contribute to a good business climate – such as per capita income of residents and regulatory factors -- are there.
The study also looked at county's low unemployment statistics, the number of new start-ups and the overall lifestyle of its residents, Howard said.
What the ranking did not look at was the turnover rate of businesses in and around the downtown.
Leesburg staffers said the town does not keep records of the number of failed businesses within town limits. But the town does present annual business appreciation awards, including one to the best new business.
The last three recipients of this award – Tup Tim Thai Restaurant, Leesburg Bookstore and All the King's Horses -- closed up shop about a year after opening in Leesburg.
Diane Huntley, former owner of the Leesburg Bookstore on Wirt Street, said lack of business and foot traffic in the historic district caused the closing.
“Our historic downtown is not sharing in the prosperities of the other parts of town,” said Councilwoman Katie Hammler, who is running for re-election. “Our historic downtown is facing tough competition from the town centers.”
Candidates pointed to Leesburg Corner Premium Outlet as an area in town with a strong economy, but said all of Leesburg's business districts are competing with eastern Loudoun's town centers.
Casa Gonzalez owner Monica Rodriguez, who agreed that eastern Loudoun draws away customers, recently closed her Mexican restaurant on Catoctin Circle due to poor sales and escalating rents. Her restaurant was in the town's Crescent District – an area targeted by town planners to become a walkable community and an extension of the historic downtown.
“It's this downtown area. There's no business for us here,” she said.
The restaurant's last day of business was April 20. Rodriguez said sales at Casa Gonzalez were down about 35 percent over the last year, and 75 percent since the restaurant opened in 2006.
Council candidate Frank Holtz said, “There are a lot of things we need to change. We need to develop our downtown.” He said improving the downtown's street scape, providing public restrooms and allowing some developers to build higher than the 45-foot-high, a restriction imposed in the historic district by the town, would help revitalize the area.
Council candidates also discussed removing metered parking from downtown.
Council candidate Tom Dunn, a fellow downtown business owner, said the town has spent enough time studying the problems facing the downtown and it is time to act on the studies' results.
But Umstattd said many of these changes would mean raising taxes, something she opposes.
Instead, she said, town staff is working on improvements to make the town friendlier to businesses.
In the last six months or so, Leesburg Town Manager John Wells has led the charge to change the town's image of being unfriendly toward businesses and land developers.
“It's like turning a large ship in the ocean,” Wells told a group of business owners last month. “We know we have a reputation [of being unfriendly to businesses].”
Wells' plans include reorganizing the town's departments for a smoother land-use approval process, while creating a customer service state of mind among town staffers who handle business applicants.
Wells said that although the ranking by Fortune Small Business magazine was good news, it would not derail the town's reorganization efforts.
Fortune Small Business Web Editor Stacy Cowley said, “We're hoping [the ranking] will help these towns build a higher profile” and draw in business.
Cowley said the search for the top 100 best places to live and launch started by finding metro areas with good economies. The magazine chose Leesburg because it best represented what the magazine was looking for in the Washington, D.C. metro area, said Cowley.
Tony Howard said the light at the end of the tunnel is that Leesburg has all the fundamentals for a thriving downtown.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com