On Wednesday, the Marion County Development Partnership and Main Street Columbia held a luncheon to listen to a report presented by Bob Barber with Orion Planner and Design on possible ideas on how to use public property to encourage economic growth and development.
Columbia was one of five communities in the state to receive the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant. Through the grant, which was a collaboration between Main Street Columbia and the MCDP, Orion Planning and Design worked with a focus group of local business leaders for the ideas.
Barber said he was pleasantly impressed with what he saw in the city. With the help of the focus group, he provided what he called the Envision–Connect strategy to create investment ideas to attract businesses and people to the community.
Barber discussed the idea of the creation of a bike/walking trail similar to the Long Leaf Trail. He discussed another area that has done this. He said almost immediately redevelopment began in their downtown area.
“Now it is a vibrant place. Restaurants, shoppers and the Main Street program going strong. The point is this serves as a catalyst for all of the other activities around that,” Barber said.
The Envision–Connect’s project required the local community to identify key public facilities that are important to the community and ones that are investable over time. It was important, he said, that the community picked out the public facilities. Then considerations, such as the dynamics, population and what kind of movement is happening, need to be taken into account. Next, he said they worked with a focus group to prioritize and turn ideas into investments.
Barber said without knowing anything about Columbia, he did not believe Columbia would have the vitality. While Columbia is the county seat, he said there were things he saw against it.
“You don’t have the advantage of location. A lot of places situated like you are in a state in decline or heading towards a decline,” Barber said.
However, when he saw the data, it reflected something quite the opposite. Columbia was a place of vitality. While there has been a population decline, in contrast with the age structure, there are many younger people in the community. Barber said that was a good thing.
Another surprising aspect he presented was the number of people who leave the county every day for work. However, in the city, more people come into town to work than leave, allowing Columbia to emerge as a business center.
“The economy is performing in Columbia and Marion County,” he said.
Barber noted that there was an opportunity for upper floor housing when examining the downtown area, which is a key component for building a vibrant community. He said he knows the opportunity exists for downtown.
“Columbia has pieces in place to be a really, really vibrant community,” Barber said as a conclusion of the examination.
Barber said it was then up to the focus group to think of public properties that can be used as a catalyst. The group came up with 14 different projects. Then Barber’s team worked on making a strategy to achieve the success. The team came to Columbia to see for themselves the areas the focus group had mentioned. He said it appeared that there were three separate districts: The river district, the downtown district and the redevelopment district.
The river district includes Bluff Street Park. Barber said it was an exceptionally unique place that offers many opportunities. He talked about creating a pedestrian trail from Bluff Street Park to the downtown district.
He said there could be things at Bluff Street, such as an amphitheater, plus there is already the walking bridge. He said there is a lot in that public area that could be done with public investments.
Moving into the downtown district, he said many different projects could be done, including work around the courthouse square and re-greening the area. He also recommended reorganizing the square to make it more organized for driving.
Barber said a trail can continue from Bluff Street Park to downtown to Columbia City Park and even into the redevelopment district of the Reichhold property. Something like a trail allows adding extra quality of life into the city. It will become a catalyst for opportunity.
Those in attendance at the event liked the ideas that Barber presented. His report has been submitted to Marion County Development Partnership President Lori Watts to study more deeply before taking action.
Mississippi Main Street Association State Coordinator Thomas Gregory was also at the luncheon. He said Columbia was the first community and has become a pilot program to move forward with the other communities.
