A positive attitude is key to a successful outcome for large-scale downtown construction projects, Main Street Iowa business specialist Brooke Prouty told attendees of a breakout session at the Iowa Downtown Conference Aug. 6 in Cedar Rapids.
By virtue of experience alone, Ms. Prouty is an expert on the subject. She served as Uptown Marion Main Street director from 2017 to July 2024, filling the role at a critical time in the city’s history – the transformation of the uptown district through a $6.9 million streetscape renovation project. She’s also spoken on the subject at national conferences.
In her presentation to statewide development leaders at the Iowa Downtown Conference at the DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center, titled “Surviving and Thriving Through Construction Tips and Tricks,” Ms. Prouty, who began her new role with Main Street Iowa July 22, said one element is key to the success of any large-scale downtown construction effort – city leaders and business owners must maintain a positive attitude, even when the projects seem overly intrusive and time-consuming.
“If you don’t take away anything (else) from this session, let it be this: positive attitudes from leadership and businesses make all the difference,” Ms. Prouty said.
To stress her point, Ms. Prouty had the session attendees repeat aloud, in unison: “But isn’t it going to be great?”
RELATED COVERAGE:
Unlike typical revitalization projects, which can result in the loss of up to 30% of Main Street businesses, Ms. Prouty has indicated that no businesses in Uptown Marion were forced to close as a result of the city’s streetscape project – an indication that efforts to maintain positivity through adversity were successful.
As an example of a positive interaction, Ms. Prouty cited a “secret shopper” visit to an Uptown Marion business by Ryan Waller – a candidate for the then-open city manager position, who would subsequently be hired for the role.
“He went into one of the businesses in the middle of construction,” she said. “You could hardly get to this business at the time, and he went in and kind of baited them. He said ‘isn’t this awful? This construction out here, isn’t that a terrible for business?’ (The business owner) had been involved in the process, she had been to the meetings, and she looked at him and said ‘you know what? It’s kind of frustrating sometimes, but it’s going to be so great.’ I was like ‘oh my God, they’re actually repeating this to customers!’ That was such a win for me, because then she went into telling him how awesome the project was going to be.”
Wearing a costume purchased for the streetscape project – a construction cone outfit that became known as “Kenny,” the project’s marketing and communications mascot – Ms. Prouty stressed several elements that proved successful for Marion’s effort.
One key element, she said, is effective and ongoing communication with city officials, from signage and phasing to engineering outlines, lighting and safety, parking plans and a communications strategy.
“The more input that you and your businesses in your community can have in the project, the more ownership they’re going to take during the project and be community champions for it,” Ms. Prouty said.
In Marion, she said, business leaders created a two-year 32-item contract with the city, which helped protect the Main Street organization’s interests and included a $60,000 investment that was built into the overall construction budget.
“That our organization, the Main Street organization, to have funding to backfill all of the work that we do as Main Street directors every day, that kind of gets pushed to the side during the construction project,” she said.
Another important element, Ms. Prouty said, is to make sure that historic buildings in the district are adequately protected during construction. In Marion, many uptown buildings are a century old or more, with foundations and structures that could be vulnerable to damage from vibrations and other factors.
In many cases, Ms. Prouty said, downtown building owners were incentivized to complete structural, electrical or plumbing upgrades during the construction project, as a way of planning for future uses.
Ms. Prouty also stressed that periodic construction updates are important, since plans often change as projects progress. Those updates need to be provided to three key groups, she said – media partners, building owners and the general public.
A maintenance plan needs to be established, she said, so business owners and city officials understand who’s responsible for upkeep once a project is finished.
And lastly, she said, don’t forget to celebrate when the project is completed, Ms. Prouty said.
“We retired Kenny, except for presentations like this,” she said, “and we really got the word out that the road was back open.
Several state resources are also available for business leaders and city leaders pursuing large-scale revitalization projects, Ms. Prouty said. For more information on those resources, go to www.iowaeda.com/main-street-iowa/
