Press Release

Business Community Buy-In Makes Downtown Project Possible

If you're digging up 54 blocks of downtown and disrupting business for several years, you'd better have community buy-in before your start.

(Boonton, NJ, September 1, 2010) — One of the most formidable projects covered in the industry publication Downtown Idea Exchange was the Downtown Utility Replacement and Streetscape Improvement Project in Fort Myers, FL, in which all of the utilities under 54 blocks of downtown were upgraded.

The September issue looks at how the City built support for four years of construction.

One key to success says Saeed Kazemi, director of the public works department, was showing the business community exactly what the final, reconstructed area would look like. Rather than relying on plans and drawings, the city created a one-block prototype, which included all of the design elements.

"After they saw that, and they saw how the quality of life and the streetscape would be improved they bought into the project," he says.

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About the Downtown Research & Development Center

For over 50 years, the Downtown Research & Development Center has acted as the information clearinghouse on practical strategies and tactics for revitalizing the hearts of our cities and towns.

The Group's main activities include publishing the widely influential Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter newsletters; publishing relevant books and reports; and operating the DowntownDevelopment.com website.

Website: http://www.DowntownDevelopment.com