Expert: Without help, a downtown can die
CHRISTINE ROBINSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, January 20, 2008 12:00 am
The growth of a town in Wyoming is cyclical. When the economy is strong, the town is strong, and when the economy weakens, so does the town.
But when a city is booming and jobs are abundant, is it possible for the city's core - its former commercial center - to die?
Louis Taubert says no.
It could happen in some cities, but not in this town, said the owner of the downtown Western store Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters.
"Without a downtown, you don't have a city," Taubert said.
People are beginning to drift back from the mall to the downtown, he said, increasing downtown's business.
As Thursday nears, bringing a meeting to decide the future of a plan to redevelop part of Casper's core, the city wants community members to share their opinions of its redevelopment.
The Old Yellowstone District is an area squeezed between Poplar Street and downtown. It's home to auto shops, a 100-year-old feed store and buildings reminding Casper of the Old Yellowstone Highway when it was last stop on the way to Yellowstone National Park.
Some Casperites worry if this redevelopment plan fails, so may downtown.
Edward Hill, a distinguished scholar and professor of economic development at Cleveland State University, said a dead downtown is more than a theoretical possibility.
A city's complacency for growth can kill a core area. Even though Casper's downtown has main branches of several banks, along with city and county offices, Hill said those features alone may not be enough.
Hill maintains the only businesses that need to be close to a courthouse or bank are bail bondsmen, which means if growth isn't encouraged in the downtown, the streets will become bare.
"If people get nervous walking, they start looking for the nearest strip mall," Hill said.
Casper's city manager, Tom Forslund, said downtowns can fail, but he doesn't see Casper's doom any time soon.
He likened Casper's core to a popular grocery store replaced by a chain. Without help, the grocery store loses value and eventually "shutters up."
The city, Forslund said, is working in conjunction with private businesses to prevent this potential malady.
Cooperation is renewal's silver bullet.
"If the city is on board but the civic leadership doesn't want it to happen, it will be a stillbirth," said Chris Leinberger, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of "The Option of Urbanism."
Walkable urban areas are difficult to develop, but with the city, business owners and Casper residents in support, amazing projects are possible. Leinberger said young people want a vibrant downtown and that is eventually what the market will give them.
Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com