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Leesburg downtown group ready to get down to business
What will it take to revitalize Leesburg's historic downtown?
For the last few months, the town's Downtown Improvement Association has focused its attention on this question. Representatives from the DIA will present their findings to Leesburg Town Council and the public May 28, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers.
Tired of studies showing weaknesses in its economy, the town council asked the DIA – a group made up of historic downtown property owners, residents and merchants -- to come up with an improvement implementation plan earlier this year, said DIA co-founder Peter Burnett, who will present the report to the council Wednesday.
Burnett said the Leesburg group found that increasing pedestrian friendliness in the historic district is the pivot to turning around the downtown's economy.
The quest began in February, when the DIA teamed up with the Urban Land Institute Washington to create a strategy for improving the quality of life in Leesburg and the vitality of its downtown.
The Urban Land Institute Washington, a nonprofit group that researches the best way to create and sustain thriving local economies, toured Leesburg's historic downtown and listed its positives and negatives.
The institute's report, given to the DIA in March, painted a bleak picture of the economic state of Leesburg's historic downtown.
“With a weak retail sector, lack of service and amenities, little diversity in housing type, a decline in pedestrian traffic and an uncertainty of the impact that the relocation of the County Government offices will have on the downtown, the Historic District may appear stable, but is actually in a fragile economic state,” the study stated.
Since March, the DIA has been interpreting the institute's findings to form a recommendation to present to town officials.
“I don't think there are any quick fixes,” Burnett said of the downtown's problems. “There's no free lunch. We've got to knuckle down and work hard at this.”
The DIA report focuses on improvements to the four-block core area of the downtown, which sits between Cornwall and Loudoun streets to the north and south, and Church and Wirt streets to the east and west.
Sidewalk beautification, adding street lighting, widening sidewalks and adding street furniture like benches and cafe-style seating are elements highlighted in the group's recommendation.
“We need to have the walk-ability and pedestrian friendliness that successful towns have,” said Burnett, also a longtime downtown property owner.
Increasing pedestrian friendliness would create a domino effect, bringing in more foot traffic that would increase sales downtown, which would draw in new and stronger businesses, which would help increase commercial tax revenues that would in turn alleviate tax pressures on Leesburg residents, Burnett said.
“Instead of having people say, 'Lets go to Lightfoot [restaurant on Market Street], it's in Leesburg,' we want them to say, 'Let's go to Leesburg. We'll figure out where we're going to eat once we get there because there are so many choices,'” he said.
Simplifying the town's land-use approval process for developers by creating a timeline for approval also was a DIA recommendation.
The town already has begun implementing some of the recommended changes. Town Manager John Wells has made adjustments to the land-use approval process, which developers have complained is daunting and a reason not to start a business in Leesburg.
Burnett said he also will ask the town to call a traffic summit to address the “perception” that there is a parking shortage downtown.
DIA Executive Director Lisa Capraro said there is plenty of parking downtown, but signs leading to parking could be improved.
Burnett said all of the historic downtown should be walkable. To do this, he said, the town must connect its three commercial hot spots -- the intersection of Market and King streets, Market Station and the County Government Center, and the future location of the Waterford commercial development at 222 to 224 S. King St. and 215 Church St. S.E.
Improvements proposed by the DIA amount to about $5.25 million. Burnett said these expenses would be shared by the town, county and local developers, but the town could also apply for grants to lessen the financial burden. If everything goes as planned, the improvements could be completed by 2013 or earlier, according to the DIA's proposed timeline.
Burnett said the benefits the town would receive in tax revenues and lifestyle improvements for residents would more than recoup the money spent.
He said he hopes the town council will accept the DIA proposal May 31 and direct Town Manager John Wells to assess the plan and report back to council in 30 days.
“A loss is for the council to say, 'Let's study this for a while,'” Burnett said.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
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