Our View

Our View

Marion courthouse square could be diamond in the rough

For all those Marionites who believe their historic city is stuck in the past think again. A progressive and forward thinking approach is now being taken to heart, not only retaining the city’s appealing southern charm and beauty, but enhancing an area in a one-mile radius of the historic county courthouse.

The status quo is unacceptable, city leaders are now saying, with a long-term commitment to restore, rehabilitate and revitalize a rich part of southern charm, beauty and unique character.

The $45,000 set aside to hire a Wynne design group to come up with ideas on how to improve the historic downtown radius can be a wise investment if there is a unified commitment from not only city leaders but also downtown merchants, business leaders and property owners.

This will take a combined effort that should include everyone with a sincere interest in bringing back old downtown Marion to what it once looked like many generations ago.

One aspect of this revitalization effort that everyone should come to realize is that this could be the focal point of a very valuable economic boom utilizing the investments from unique entrepreneurs and investors whose businesses are specifically geared and designed around historic business districts.

We’re talking about unique boutique shops, arts and crafts, novelty stores and even mom-and-pop clothing stores. We can even imagine a hometown bakery, restaurants and old-fashioned style ice cream shop.

Weather permitting, we see city and community leaders putting together sidewalk sales, festivals and community gatherings geared toward the old Southern theme all of which will attract participants and visitors from throughout the mid-south area.

While the design plans are the absolute foundation for the future of downtown Marion for this to really be effective and successful it will have to have the necessary leadership and planning in place which will require a total commitment on the part of every individuals interested in making this vision and dream come true.

It is critical that for this investment to work that it be taken seriously by all parties concerned otherwise it will wind up looking like Main Street West Memphis where tons of public money went to install fancy lighting, banners, major landscaping and improved parking with little to no investment on the part of property owners and business operators.

While the Main Street West Memphis project made the section from Missouri Street east look like it does today very little was done on the part of property owners lined up along the beautification project.

This should be a valuable lesson to Marion planners to make absolutely sure that their project goes well beyond public investment. It might be suggested that elected officials instruct Mike Demster, the city’s economic development director, to form a committee comprised of both city leaders as well as downtown business people and property owners committed to making sure reaches its full and successful completion.