Category — Successful Revitalizations

In 2000, Sioux Falls developed a downtown revitalization program. During construction, they sent weekly progress emails to property owners and retail businesses to alleviate concerns. The completed projects include:

• Reconstructing streets using traffic calming bump-outs
• Adding outdoor café seating, additional public seating, keeping historical lighting and decorative trash and recycling receptacles
• Incorporating landscaped areas to promote tree growth

In 1993, the citizens of Oklahoma City voted in favor of a one-cent sales tax increase to be used for MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects). These projects played a major role in more than doubling revenue from tourism between 1990 and 2008. To-date the following MAPS projects have been completed:

• Adding a rail-based street car system and 57 miles of bicycling and walking trails
• Constructing 70-acre Central Park linking downtown with the Oklahoma River
• Building a new convention center and made improvements to the river and fairgrounds

In 2008, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine named Omaha the nation’s third best city to live, work and play. Omaha has invested in its downtown to strengthen the city. In the last decade the city has completed or announced 17 projects, such as:

• Constructing 4 million square feet of building space that has completely changed the downtown skyline and added thousands of jobs
• Transforming Abbott Drive into a boulevard with beautiful landscaping and lighting
• Currently working to develop North Downtown for entertainment surrounded by urban, residential and office/retail development

Springfield’s streetscape program began in 2000. The streetscape plan included the following:

• Developing patterned sidewalks
• Constructing pedestrian lighting
• Creating landscaped areas

Columbus implemented an aggressive downtown development plan in 2002. The assertive plan included building new housing, city park development and improving transportation. Since 2002, Columbus has achieved the following successes:

• Reversing the 50-year decline in the Downtown population
• Opening restaurants, hotels, parks and new residential housing
• Constructing two public parking garages and two bridges

In the early 1970s, the City of Minneapolis had a vision for the redevelopment of its downtown riverfront district that involved developing an infrastructure, building on current strengths, providing amenities and creating opportunities. In the years since the initial vision, Minneapolis has been accomplished the following:

• Preserving 8,300 jobs while creating 1,400 new jobs
• Developing 4.3 million square feet of new office, commercial and industrial space
• Building 4,500 new housing units
• Conserving more than 80 historic buildings