'Moving in the right direction'

Vision 2020 and city officials visit Walla Walla to compare downtown areas

WALLA WALLA - It was a day of realism and optimism.

Members of Vision 2020 and the city of Moses Lake returned from their trip to Walla Walla Monday evening aware of the big differences between the south eastern Washington city and their hometown, yet feeling revitalized and convinced that they are on the right track to a better downtown.

"We will never be Walla Walla, but I was inspired by their success," said Brenda Teals, chairperson of Moses Lake's Parks and Recreation Commission. "It's time to work with what we have."

Downtown Walla Walla, with its long rows of stores, pedestrian pavers and sidewalk cafes, gave the people coming from Moses Lake an idea of what a livelier downtown might look like. But the people responsible for this success told them it does not happen overnight.

"It took us 20 years," said Timothy Bishop, executive director of the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, adding that the small successes gave the foundation leverage to tackle the big projects.

Key to the success of the downtown project, Walla Walla business owner Brian Jones said, was a commitment among businesses to stay with the project for three to five years before they involved the city.

Once the city was involved, it acted as a property owner, Bishop said, creating a combination of city money and business money. Incentives such as tax credits and tax abatements came into play later.

In a walking tour of downtown Walla Walla, the Moses Lake delegation had a first-hand look at the hits and misses of a project that not only narrowed the streets and painted the walls, but changed the face of a city, recently dubbed a smaller, more hidden version of the Napa Valley in a Los Angeles Times article.

Among the successes, Bishop mentioned a farmers' market that has grown from three vendors to 61 in eight years, located in the heart of downtown, and the presence of a Bon Macy's store in downtown Walla Walla, instead of at the mall.

"The mall offered them 10 years rent-free, and we were able to retain them," he said, saying that the loyalty customers may have to its existing location was a factor in keeping Bon Macy's in downtown. Now the department store donates one percent of its sales on the first Saturday of December to buy sculptures for downtown.

Face-to-face contact was another success, Bishop said, recounting a series of instances where public interface was a big factor in the way a project turned out.

"You can never do too much public process," he said, while adding that sometimes a bit of tough talk worked, too.

"They wanted to turn part of the Marcus Whitman hotel into an AM/PM," he said. "We said, 'over our dead bodies.'" Now the Whitman is one of downtown Walla Walla's icons.

There have been some mishaps, as well; a plaza built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers among them.

"They wanted it maintenance proof, and it turned out to be pretty people-proof," he said of the square lacking in shady trees and benches. "When it's 100 degrees out, in this square it's 125."

The entrance to the Bank of America does not face any sidewalks. Instead it faces the parking lot, making it easier for customers to drive up to it, but killing foot traffic in the process.

The top two floors of the three-story America West Bank building are empty. Prime downtown housing property sitting unoccupied, thanks in part to the bank itself, Bishop said.

"They told us 'we are bankers, not developers or investors,'" he said.

Above all, Bishop told the delegation to play to their own city's strengths and to take their time, setbacks notwithstanding.

"People are so hungry for change, they want it yesterday," said delegation member Sarita Riley from the Big Bend Economic Development Council. Riley said she was "re-energized" by the trip.

Downtown Walla Walla is an eminently walk-first, drive-second destination. Lori Barlow, assistant planner for the city of Moses Lake said that something similar needs to happen in the Blue Heron city.

"Our biggest obstacle is to overcome the notion that you have to drive everywhere," she said. "We have to introduce the concept of walking instead of driving." She mentioned bringing the Farmers' Market closer to the downtown core as a way of doing that.

Riley agreed, saying having the market where it is does not encourage people to walk.

Still, despite the issues and the inevitable comparisons, the trip was deemed a success.

"It's a great feeling to find out we are moving in the right direction," Barlow said.