On Downtown

Sunday's JG featured two articles on downtown revitalization: a report on the future of the Downtown Improvement District and a profile of new DID director Dan Carmody.

Carmody, 50, puts consensus and cooperation at the top of his list of factors necessary to spur downtown development and vibrancy.

“There are,” he says, “three legs to every downtown stool: The corporate side, the public side and the small business and small property side. All three have to work together or you can’t succeed.”

   

[...]When he gets to Fort Wayne, Carmody says, the city’s three rivers will be an integral part of economic development planning.

   

“The rivers,” he says, “are a huge opportunity. I just really haven’t thought through how that might be tapped.”

   [...]“Downtown is the only place that’s gonna have a pedestrian experience,” he says. “It’s not a very pretty experience in most downtowns and certainly there’s a lot of work left to be done (in Fort Wayne’s) downtown.”

In reading about Carmody, one can't help but get excited about the possiblility that he's just the kind of leader we need to take the reins right now. Yes, studies are nice, but sometimes we hide behind them and tout them as a sign of progress without taking any real action. And what we need is action.

The good news: the Fort Wayne community is firmly behind the idea that we need to revitalize downtown. Now we just need a Pied Piper to get us to where we want to be.

Here's hoping Carmody can play the flute.