New program to promote first floor spaces in downtown Dayton
DP&L Grant Assists Redevelopment of Downtown Dayton's First-Floor Spaces.
New program to promote first floor spaces in downtown Dayton
Downtown Dayton has experienced significant growth over the past few years, particularly in residential projects and first-floor commercial business. "First-floor activation is a key priority of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan because vibrant first-floor storefronts enliven pedestrian corridors and enhance walkability, improve perceptions of safety, and provide shopping and entertainment amenities for the growing downtown residential and employer community," said Downtown Dayton Partnership President Sandra Gudorf. Demand for first-floor space is very high; there has been a 10 percent increase in first-floor occupancy since 2010. But with its supply of move-in-ready first-floor spaces nearly gone, downtown Dayton needed a creative solution to match more vacant first-floor spaces with eager entrepreneurs.
Many barriers inhibit revitalization efforts to activate more first-floor storefronts. Common snags include lack of site readiness and insufficient architectural and engineering knowledge about what it will take to make a site move-in ready. Today, the Downtown Dayton Partnership, along with its partners at DP&L, The Architectural Group, Helmig Lienesch, and Sinclair College, announce a pilot program targeting first-floor spaces and provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs and students to grow in downtown's creative community. The first phase will employ interns in architectural and engineering fields at Sinclair to assess the current condition of each space and develop designs to bring the vacant first-floor space back to productive use. The second phase will enlist student help to actually build-out one downtown vacant first-floor space into a move-in-ready, blank canvas for a new tenant.
Using a $25,000 Regional Economic Development (RED) Grant from DP&L, this pilot program will produce several measurable outcomes:
- Complete inventory of downtown Dayton's first-floor spaces so small businesses can make more informed decisions about which spaces will best suit their needs.
- Increase assistance to property owners to accomplish the technical work required before tackling any renovations.
- Lower pre-development costs for small businesses that want to open a business in a vacant, first-floor space.
- Create additional first-floor spaces in downtown Dayton to meet the growing demand from entrepreneurs requesting smaller, move-in-ready workplaces.
- Promote sustainable and efficient design opportunities.
In addition to the unique aspect of using public-private partnerships to increase small business occupancy for first-floor spaces, the program will support attraction and retention of college graduates through civic engagement and new internships with local professional services firms. "Sinclair's architecture, civil engineering and construction management tech students will be able to get hands-on experience working with local design firms while making a positive impact in their community," said project partner Charlie Setterfield, associate professor of architectural technology at Sinclair College. Setterfield will manage the student portion of the program, which will provide students with real-world experience assessing conditions, creating as-built drawings, performing code analysis, developing estimates, and generating designs that incorporate energy saving and LEED elements.
With funding and other working commitments secured, work with the Sinclair interns is already under way. "These students are arming property owners with important tools they'll need to lease first-floor spaces," Gudorf said. "They're generating CAD drawings; parsing building codes and zoning requirements to figure out what kinds of tenants would be best for these spaces; and estimating other investments to the spaces like upgrading the HVAC equipment and lighting. These interns are getting on-the-job experience and property owners are saving thousands to prepare their sites for new tenants."
DP&L said the project was awarded the competitive RED Grant because of its potential impact not only for property owners and small businesses, but for overall vibrancy of downtown Dayton. "This program will help activate first-floor spaces in downtown Dayton. Continued revitalization of the center city will create a larger economic impact on the rest of the Miami Valley," said DP&L Customer Accounts Manager Georgene Hall Dawson. "The benefits reach beyond Dayton; other municipalities DP&L serves could adapt this program to revive their downtown spaces, as well. We're happy to support a program with potential to affect more communities."
This first-floor pilot program is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a comprehensive, public-private partnership to strengthen the Miami Valley by concentrating efforts on revitalizing its urban core. Since the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan launched in 2010, more than $428 million has been invested in projects. This includes another popular first-floor program, Activated Spaces, which is managed by a team of young professionals from Generation Dayton and UpDayton, with support from the DDP. Activated Spaces and its Pop-Up Shop initiative has filled more than 16,000 square feet of previously vacant space and created 39 jobs with the 18 Pop-Up Shops that have opened since 2010. Activated Spaces will continue to operate tangentially with this new first-floor pilot program. "Halfway through the year, we'll evaluate the pilot program to determine the community needs, assess the overall program structure, and secure any additional funding sources moving forward," Gudorf said.
Anyone interested in learning more about this first-floor pilot project or Activated Spaces are encouraged to contact the Downtown Dayton Partnership and its Site Seeker program, which pairs prospective businesses with available downtown spaces, at http://bit.ly/SiteSeeker, or visit www.activatedspaces.org for details on the Pop-Up Shop program.
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