Category: News

Hours Today: By appointment only

The 2013 Early Tin Dusters Fall Color Run is over. The cars have (mostly) left town, and things in the District are returning to normal.

Each Tin Duster weekend is special, and  each is different. This year’s event was certainly both of those. Like any other event of this magnitude, we have some things that we can tweak for next year, but I am excited about the possibilities for making this event better.

Spending time around the Tin Dusters makes you really appreciate all they do to make this event possible. They work year round to bring the thousands of people to our community. They are a fun, generous group who do an amazing job.

The highlight for me is always seeing the amazing work they do for Camp Callahan, a camp for special needs children in the area. Punkin (one of the Tin Dusters whose  last name I can’t remember at this moment) goes around on Saturday with a special needs child who does their “Special Pick” Award. This year’s child was Isabella, an adorable young lady who enjoyed checking out all the cars. She chose “plain vanilla” a great car that had pin striping and a vanilla ice cream logo on it. Watching Isabella is as enjoyable as watching Punkin, who is so caring, going around with her. This is an award that means so much to the car who receives it as well. Anyone who has come to the show knows that the show is free. All the donations they receive are given to the camp. All the prizes, tickets, raffles, etc. generate much needed funds for these kids. Those who have come for a few years see the work the club does on their behalf and receiving this award means a great deal to them.

This year’s total for Camp Callahan was over $13,000. This is a wonderful camp for incredibly deserving children in the area. The funds are generated by some of the most generous individuals you could ever encounter (remember, almost all of these funds come from out of town individuals).

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be witness to some of these “behind the scenes” things that happen within the Color Run and the Tin Dusters Car Club. I am proud to be their partner and look forward to a fun-filled weekend each and every year.

Travis Brown, Executive Director

 

Hours Today: By appointment only

We are now a few weeks into 2014 and things are really starting to get back to normal after the holidays. Many people think this is a relatively slow time for us, but the truth is that January is one of our busiest times of the year.

In addition to working on our Annual Dinner we do a great deal of planning for the rest of the year in December and January. From scheduling bands for Blues in the District and the Downtown Street Dance to working on marketing and promotion schedules there are hardly enough hours in these January days.

In the midst of all this planning, I am eager to hold a lot of these events. We have a great 2014 in store for Downtown Quincy. We are bringing back the Concerts in the Plaza starting in May. We are working on expanding our training opportunities for our businesses. We are working on branding and wayfinding.

These are just a few of the many, many projects we will be working on throughout the year. We hope that you will keep checking back often and be a part of the wonderful opportunities we will have in downtown Quincy.

– Travis M. Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

So It’s been two weeks since things got turned slightly on their head. We’ve been busy trying to keep everyone informed, trying to figure out what the next step is, etc. but things are finally returning to normal – whatever that is.

I wanted to take a minute to really relay what this blog is going to be. This is an avenue for us at the Historic Quincy Business District to share our thoughts/opinions on what’s going on downtown. Sometimes it’ll be funny, sometimes it will be though provoking, sometimes it will be informative but the one thing we will always strive for is to be genuine. I say “we” because this won’t be a blog just for myself as the director. Our board president (currently Mark Reuschel of State Street Bank) will post, from time to time we will ask volunteers or business owners to post. This will be especially true as important topics are debated within the downtown. We will try to bring everyone both sides of the argument, and from time to time share our opinion as well. This blog is just another in the many communication tools that we hope people enjoy and take advantage of.

Tonight we welcome Yoga7even to the downtown. Michele Wilkerson is opening the Yoga studio at 731 Hampshire Street. This will be our 586th business within the downtown! We know there are more in the works and we hope to be at 590 by the end of the year! We wish Michele nothing but the best and hope to see you this evening.

We’ve got a lot coming up in the next few weeks. The Illinois Main Street State Conference, the completion of Parking Lot K (6th & Jersey), the Early Tin Dusters downtown and so much more. We’re working on Small Business Saturday, the Christkindl market, and a new volunteer program designed to increase our communication and engagement throughout the downtown. We’ll be sharing much more about these as the time draws closer, so stay tuned to our blog for the latest! Thank you!

-Travis M. Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

One of the great parts of the Illinois Main Street Conference is the annual awards gala. It’s a chance to recognize the accomplishments of local programs, and for those of us lucky enough to have these jobs, it’s an opportunity to see some great projects that may be useful in your own community. This year’s awards gala was no exception.

There are some great projects from across Illinois that we are watching and learning from, and hope to bring to Quincy soon. The Chicagoland area has some great Main Street Communities and are doing some wonderful things. Ed Bannon in Six Corners and Joi Cuartero in Batavia are two of my peers who I constantly learn from and always have great projects receiving awards!

Quincy was fortunate to receive two honors at this year’s event. If you saw our post last week, you know that the Historic Quincy Business District was presented the 2013 Illinois Main Street Outstanding Innovation Award. Austin Properties was also recognized as the 2013 Illinois Main Street Outstanding Property Owner of the Year.

Let me start with the HQBD Recognition. This was the first year for this category and we are very pleased and proud to receive the honor. The project which was awarded was the ShopDowntownQuincy.com e-commerce site. This site is a unique take on e-commerce and truly an innovation for Main Street Communities. The costs to build a fully functional e-commerce site are high. We were able to develop a site that provides our members the opportunity to get their own fully-functional site at a fraction of the cost while being in our framework. This also gets their business exposure from people doing shopping on other stores sites. The site is user-friendly and has proven to be a success for our district. Having partners such as the Great River Economic Development Foundation and Rokusek Design made this project possible. We are very thankful for their assistance and their expertise in developing this one-of-a-kind project. On a personal level this is incredibly gratifying and humbling. I hope that everyone gets an opportunity in their lifetime to have an idea come to life such as this. I will forever be thankful to our partners who made it possible and very proud of the end result.

As for Austin Properties, the accolades could be endless. We are so very fortunate to call them partners in our downtown revitalization and very grateful for their efforts not just in building restoration, but with our organization and several others as well. This was also the first year for the Outstanding Property Owner Award, so they had the entire State to select from. I think that speaks volumes about the Austin’s that they would be the inaugural recipient of this award. They are wonderful property owners whose tenants absolutely rave about them. They are generous with their time and talents and they have truly made a difference in the Quincy community. For that, and many other reasons, Mayor Moore and Glenda Hackemack (Director of Administrative Service) proclaimed that today is Austin Properties Day in the City of Quincy! I hope that everyone takes a moment to congratulate them and recognize them for their amazing work.

At this mornings event, we also presented the Austin’s with an awesome cake done by Krazy Cakes Bakery featuring several of the Austin’s Properties.

Our most sincere thanks and congratulations to Austin Properties for a much deserved accomplishment.

-Travis Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

This week I had the opportunity to attend the 2013 Illinois Main Street Conference.

As always, it was great to see friends and colleagues from across the State. These conferences are a great opportunity to learn new ideas, trends, tips and tricks. It’s always energizing and exciting to see all the great projects and initiatives that people are doing.

There were a few things that stood out for me at this year’s conference. First, Pontiac was a very good host community. They put together an informative conference which will hopefully make us more effective here in Quincy. I am fortunate to have some amazing colleagues throughout the State. One that I got to know a little better this trip was Joi Cuartero from Batavia, IL. Joi is truly impressive, and someone I have a great deal of respect for. She always has new ideas, creative solutions to problems and a positive attitude. I am always inspired by her to continue to be better here in Quincy. I was also fortunate to sit through a session by Diane Williams of Business Districts, Inc. (BDI). I have known Diane since joining the Main Street movement, but she is always a great presenter who provides top-level analysis of modern trends, excellent resources and wonderful information that makes me a better Economic Development professional. I take these conferences seriously because I truly believe they are a great opportunity to get better at my job. These two talented women, and many others like them, make it very easy to learn from them and hopefully bring some new practices back home.

It was also a privilege to be presented with the 2013 Outstanding Innovation Award at the Gala on Wednesday evening. As exciting as that was, it was quickly trumped watching one of our most active volunteers Bret Austin of Austin Properties receive the 2013 Outstanding Main Street Property Owner! I was thrilled to see them recognized for their efforts on a statewide basis. We are planning an event to highlight the awards next week, so I will hold some comments on the awards until then. The final positive was the direction the IMS community seems to be going. There is a lot of momentum behind the program and some changes coming our way that I am excited to be a part of.

The conference wasn’t all sunshine and roses however. It definitely pointed out some things we need to be focused on here in Quincy. Pontiac was incredibly clean. So much so that it was obvious how much work we have yet to do. We will be working on this very seriously and very strongly in the coming weeks. We also have a few things to tweak on our website to help make us more of a resource for those looking to start a business. We have some great partners with some wonderful information but we aren’t helping direct the right information to them as clearly as we can. This is another fix we will be spending time on.

I will say, the conference did the same thing that it always does for me though. Gets me excited to get back to work! I leave each conference excited to implement all the new tools and strategies on Day 1. Day 1 is now done, and the only thing I really got to implement was digging out from the pile of emails and paperwork. However, we’re on the right track, we’re leading and we’ve got some great things coming that I can’t wait to share!

-Travis M. Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

In this Friday’s Quincy Herald Whig there were two letters to the editor regarding the Newcomb hotel and downtown Quincy in general. The first was from Tom Hilbing, owner of Hilbing Autobody. He wrote to thank the City Officials for how they have handled everything from the fire fighting efforts to the street closures. It was a very nice letter.

Below that was a letter from Mr. Chad Fuller, which I would like to take a minute to comment on. In case you missed Mr. Fuller’s letter, here it is:

 (click to enlarge)

Let me start by saying that I agree that the City should be involved in street repairs, sidewalk improvements and any other number of other areas of public infrastructure. However, I would argue that maintaining a safe, vibrant building stock throughout the community is something the City needs to be involved with. The level of involvement can and should be debated, but to say the City should not be concerning itself with redevelopment is misguided. The City needs to be involved. Being involved makes the City more open to developers and helps to keep Quincy growing.

Since the fire there have been many people who have suggested that the city should be out of the loan business. It’s important to understand a few key points when it comes to the loan Mr. Horowitz received and the loan process today. The money that was leant to Mr. Horowitz was from a grant obtained many administrations ago that was given to the city for the sole purpose of loaning to developers for properties such as the Newcomb. This wasn’t a deal where the city opened up the general fund for a project. They were, and remain, funds specifically to prompt development within the City of Quincy. I don’t think you would have anyone in the current (or the previous for that matter) administration argue that we should give individual loans with no personal guarantee anymore, as was the case with the Newcomb. However, Quincy changed their loan procedure years ago. A loan like the one given to Mr. Horowitz wouldn’t be done today. Today, participation loans with a bank are the standard operating procedure when city loan funds are disbursed. This requires bank participation and also ensures that the bank has done the due diligence on the loan because, as Mr. Fuller pointed out, the “city of Quincy is not a bank”.

As for the insurance, this is unfortunate. I’m not sure how the building wasn’t insured and why the City wasn’t aware it. I am sure more will come out on this in the coming weeks, but until more is known I will reserve judgement on this aspect of the problem.

There has been a sentiment as of late, and especially since the fire that downtown is somehow neglected or empty. Let me share some facts about downtown Quincy in the past few years. Since 2009, the District has seen a net (yes net) increase of more than 70 businesses and has an occupancy rate of 93%. I don’t know that any part of our community has experienced the growth that downtown has had over the past few years. Yes, in Quincy our “Big Boxes” are on East Broadway. That’s the current model for a “box”, but did you know that many “boxes” are actually changing their business model in cities across the country because they have discovered what we already know – that downtowns are more community-friendly options?

I have heard people in recent years say that the City should end the revitalization efforts downtown, that we aren’t going to succeed. I believe these individuals are wrong, and that we already are. The community should have, as Mr. Fuller says, a “love affair” with downtown. For several reasons. Downtown is pedestrian friendly, home to over 580 small businesses which employ over 8000 citizens of our community. Downtown has amazing architecture, community history, and contributes a great deal in giving our community personality. Downtown is home to countless community events, wonderful restaurants, nightlife and so much more. When a downtown thrives, the entire community thrives. Therefore, I believe very strongly that our community should have a love affair with downtown and I for one am proud to.

Many feel that the city should not be in the business of revitalizing old buildings. I would like to know if those individuals are aware that the vast majority of building rehabilitations occur with private dollars? I would like to know if they realize that when the City does invest dollars in the downtown they have a higher return on investment than in any other part of the city? In fact, the City of Quincy since 1994 has seen a $16 return for every $1 spent on public projects within the downtown. In that time, the City has spent $9.9M and seen a return of over $162M in private development. I think those are numbers that everyone in Quincy should be proud of. In talking to my colleagues throughout the country I can assure you they would love to see results like that in their community. Quincy is fortunate to have so much private development occurring, and small amount the city invests to further this development is money incredibly well spent.

I agree with Mr. Fuller that the city should have referred Mr. Horowitz to the bank and not structured the loan like they did. However, that was ten years ago. They made a deal they thought would work, it didn’t. Errors were made along the way, some were corrected some weren’t. To use this one example and say that the City should extricate themselves from the loan process and redevelopment efforts would be throwing the baby out with the bath water. It discounts all the other positive things that have occurred because of the loan programs and other community development efforts. Yes, this loan was a bad one but they have changed the entire procedure.

I do hope that everyone in Quincy takes an opportunity to appreciate what a truly impressive downtown we have. Start to admire the magnificent architecture that our community has to offer. Stop at a local restaurant and experience some of the best dining in town. Talk to a business owner and see what they think about being in the downtown. The more you experience our downtown, the more you will realize what a treasure we have right here in the heart of the Gem City.

-Travis M. Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

It seems as though Mother Nature is just toying with the Midwest this year. I wish I could say that winter is behind us but I would just be fooling myself I’m afraid.

This winter has posed some serious issues for many of our small businesses. Lack of customers, and even lack of days they have been able to operate has made this one of the harshest winters for our local entrepreneurs.

Let’s make sure we are all doing our part to support our local economy. Take advantage of the good days and get into a local shop or restaurant. Make a conscious choice to spend your dollars in Quincy. Let’s show our businesses how much we appreciate them!

 

-Travis M. Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

As I write this, the building is still smoldering.

Countless individuals worked tirelessly throughout the evening dealing with heat, exhaustion, and the fire itself. Their efforts in the light of day are even more impressive. When you see the devastation of the hotel, you realize how fortunate we are that it didn’t spread. Again, Kudos to Chief Joe Henning and the entire Quincy Fire Department. Being around the city officials again this morning, there is no doubt where credit is due. Every department head I spoke to and said thank you to gave me the same response, “It was all the Fire Department”. The Fire Department officials, who are always professional and humble gentlemen, just say a quite “Thank You” and proceed to get back to work.

Today I spoke with every business in the affected area. They were all incredibly thankful for the efforts of the QFD, QPD, Adams County EMA and so many others. They are eager to be open and serve our community.

We do not yet know when the streets will be reopened and when traffic will be diverted. We don’t know yet when demolition will begin. We know that City officials are working very hard to find a demolition company that can get here quickly and get the building to a safe condition. We anticipate this will start sometime this weekend, but until a demolition company has been secured, no timeline can be set. We do know that every business already has pedestrian accessibility, and that as soon as is safe City officials will open the streets to automotive traffic as well.

This community lost a treasure last night. Many in this community are devastated by the loss. I will share a few of their stories that touched me in the coming days. For now, let me just say that we appreciate the comments and are saddened along with you for the community’s loss.

-Travis Brown, Executive Director

Hours Today: By appointment only

Demolition has begun.

With a few swings of a wrecking ball the once great Newcomb will be reduced to a pile of bricks and memories. In the days since the fire, many people have been inquiring about saving the facade. At this point, that is unlikely. The first priority is to get this structure to where it is not a collapse risk. That is likely a 1-2 story building, but from the looks of the early demolition, probably 1. Yes, in other communities they have been able to keep a facade and put a building behind it but that doesn’t seem cost effective here. We would love to see that, but because of structural issues it is not feasible to do so.

The outpouring from the community has been overwhelmingly sad. Yes, there are always those who come down to gawk – especially on Friday night. We’ll have our share of those just watching the demolition until it is complete. However, there is a large majority of people who are genuinely saddened by the loss. Many wanted to see the building restored. We think we were close to helping make that happen. Unfortunately, that won’t happen. We will start working on the new plan soon, but for now getting the streets opened is our primary concern.

If you don’t know what a treasure we lost, I encourage you to watch this short YouTube video. This was the video from our Architectural Walking Tour that was developed by our talented intern Stephanie Schwartz in 2011. She researched the building and found the photos, and did an amazing job with all the stops. We want to continue to preserve Quincy’s rich history and amazing architecture, and this was a way that we wanted to bring a new generation to appreciate the gems we have here in Quincy. We hope you enjoy it.

– Travis Brown, Executive Director