Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Urban Development Services of San Antonio, Texas, will study second-floor in downtown Sidney as part of the "Upstairs Downtown" program.
The dark, empty windows seen above many of Sidney's downtown businesses are often the only reminder of those forgotten, vacant spaces.
As the city of Sidney continues to develop, beautify and preserve its historic downtown district, the vacant upper floors around town are gaining attention for untapped development opportunities they present.
To help citizens get a working knowledge of how to develop strategies to increase upper floor use in Sidney's downtown, the city is sponsoring a workshop next week that's open to the public called "Upstairs Downtown," a nationally recognized and award-winning program first launched in Illinois in 2005.
There are about 12 to 15 buildings in Sidney that could revitalize its upper floors, according to Scott Day, principal of Urban Development Services in San Antonio, Texas. This firm specializes in urban design and design management for commercial districts and will be coordinating the work for Sidney's Second Floor Feasibility Study.
"Given the boom that Sidney is currently experiencing," he said, "there's a good opportunity to look at second-story development. It's one of the best returns on your investment that your community can make."
Day will be presenting the Upstairs Downtown workshop with three other authorities: Shelley McCafferty, a preservation architect from Chadron, Neb., who helped write Sidney's historic preservation master plan; Dan Carmody, who heads redevelopment and management for Detroit's Eastern Market and the surrounding neighborhood; and Mike Jackson, a preservation architect from Illinois who has reviewed historic tax credit applications for certified historic rehabilitation projects while at the Preservation Services Division of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Revitalizing the unused upper floors of downtown businesses makes good economic sense, according to Day. People living or working above on the floors above existing businesses tend to spend money at those businesses.
"Often, we don't have to extend roads, sewer lines, power lines – the basic infrastructure is already there," Day said.
The workshop focuses on four strategies:
• Creating a downtown housing market – a session explaining why successful revitalization of historic commercial districts requires the development of upper floors.
• Building assessment – an overview about how to evaluate and determine what uses are plausible for the space, and how to identify assets to build upon and barriers to overcome.
• Upper floor economics – a session to help participants understand how upper floor projects get financed, including how to accurately project costs and income.
• Upstairs Downtown case studies – a presentation of past projects from throughout the Midwest, including opportunities and barriers each encountered, and financing and incentives each project utilized.
Day paints an inviting scenario as he describes what Sidney's downtown could be.
"When people are walking the streets at night, and they see those glowing windows," he said, "it makes downtown look more vibrant. They think, 'This town's really alive.' "
This free workshop will be held from 8:30-11:45 a.m. at Sidney's City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 16. For more information, call Megan McGown at 308-254-8455.
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