by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“Community is what Downtown is all about. Without community, all we have is empty buildings,” commented Stephen Crosby, chairman of the board of Downtown Vision, Inc. at the organization’s 7th annual meeting Oct. 4 at The Strand.
“And that’s not easy to come by and it takes a lot of effort. The people here tonight are the community and the reason Downtown is beginning to boom,” he added, speaking before a group of stakeholders, business people and Downtown residents.
Crosby shared DVI’s plan for the next step when he said, “At this point what we really need to do is rely on each other and form partnerships. Some will be formal, but most will be informal.”
He also asked the group to, “Think about how we can be better partners and bring our resources together to leverage the power we have.”
Taking care of a bit of business, Crosby presided over the unanimous reelection of the board and announced that the officers of the board will extend their terms for an additional year.
Executive Director Terry Lorince looked back on the seven-year history of DVI’s efforts and pointed out how much has changed in that time, particularly in terms of creating a neighborhood with things for residents and visitors to do Downtown.
“We have added 1,400 units of housing and more than $500 million has been invested in public buildings and streetscape. We have doubled the number of hotel rooms and doubled the size of the Riverwalk. Seven years ago, there were only a couple of places Downtown where you could go for a drink after work. Now there are 11 on the Northbank and seven or eight on the Southbank as well as four new upscale restaurants Downtown. We also hosted a Super Bowl. That’s a pretty strong run in seven years,” she said.
Lorince concluded by saying DVI will, “target young professional groups as a means to activate the streets and we will continue to be an advocate for Downtown.
“We know we have a great deal of potential. It’s time to hunker down and get focused,” she said.