With a list in hand of roughly 225 ideas for improving downtown, Wilmington Downtown Inc. is alerting its stakeholders that the brainstorming phase of its project is only the beginning. A recent news release asked downtown constituents to whittle that list.
“The next step will be the hardest - deciding the most important projects,” WDI director Ed Wolverton said in the release.
In a subsequent conversation, Wolverton said that the process is "Open to anyone who wants to jump in."
"What we're trying to do is to bring some focus to the organization in terms of what people think is important for WDI to be addressing, then line up our resources to accomplish these things," he said.
The work program project, begun in early 2014, is designed to help the organization identify priority initiatives to guide its operations for the next three to five years, WDI officials have said.
WDI's release stated that group committee members had brainstormed dozens of potential projects and were soliciting more ideas from downtown constituents.
With the ideas compiled and organized under five category committee headings, those constituents are being asked to choose the initiatives they consider most important in each category.
According to the release, those theme committees are:
The Dream Committee, focused on developing new programs, events and potential uses for vacant or underutilized space in Wilmington’s urban core. Suggestions include ideas about walking tours, revised land uses for vacant and underused space, the need for a public market building or arts center and development of a block captain system.
The Live Committee, focused on developing initiatives to encourage more year-round residential living in Wilmington’s urban core. Ideas include the need to work closely with real estate agents, improve sidewalks and trees, develop more parks and public art, add more streetlights and publicize crime statistics.
The Shop Committee, focused on recruiting and retaining sustainable year-round retail businesses and attracting new customers to urban core. Constituents suggested ideas such as developing an image campaign for downtown, having retail shops coordinate their hours of operation, promoting initiatives to curb panhandling, advocating for Small Business Saturdays downtown and evaluating the current parking validation program as well as the existing trolley service.
The Play Committee, focused on encouraging community participation and support of downtown and WDI. Suggestions in this category include continuation of Downtown Sundown, development of other special events, introduction of a downtown-wide gift card program, encouragement of street performers, addition of play equipment for children, beautification of empty storefronts and relocation of the Wilmington visitors center.
The Work Committee, focused on increasing the number of businesses, jobs and the tax base in the urban core. Ideas touched on the need for an expanded business loan program, support for entrepreneurs, funding for purchase of key development sites to hold them for future development, recruitment of certain kinds of businesses and discouragement of more tattoo parlors and vapor shops and establishment of minimum commercial building maintenance codes.
Responses to the current call for input are due by 5 p.m. April 21, the release stated.
