The Downtown Arcade to Reopen in 2008

Ok Daytonians, I know that headline got your attention.  Unfortunately it is not referring to the Dayton Arcade (yet), but is instead about a VERY SIMILAR Arcade in Bridgeport, CT.  It is so similar that the picture to the left could very easily be mistaken for our own Arcade...

If you are involved with the current efforts to save our Arcade in Downtown Dayton, PLEASE forward a link to this page to any developer that might be interested in participating.  Because the following is an excellent example of how another city is making things happen with their arcade...

Bridgeport, CT

The Arcade is a 19th Century complex in downtown Bridgeport with some of the most stunning architectural details the city has to offer, including its signature stepped-glass atrium roof. One of the first created and few remaining arcades in the United States, the former hotel and mall are being renovated to include:

• 23 modern one- and two-bedroom apartments on the 2nd to 4th floors
• 5 spacious frontage retail/restaurant spaces
• 10 prime street-level retail/restaurant spaces centered around the spectacular glass ceiling
• 12 mezzanine-level spaces for retail, office or art/design uses
• geothermal heating and other green elements for lower energy bills for tenants
Occupancy is expected in Summer 2007.

Oh, and incidentally - Bridgeport, CT was ranked Number 1 in the latest Creative Class Group's rankings for Creative Class Density for cities between 500k and 1 million in population.  Number 5 on that same list?  None other than Dayton, OH!!!!  So let's get our OWN arcade brought back to life as we work on our own Creative Region Initiative and become the Number One creative city!  Yes people, it can happen - just gotta believe!

(thanks to CoolTown Studios for making us aware!)

Friends to Save Arcade Become Friends of the Dayton Arcade

"Friends to Save the Arcade" has morphed into a soon-to-be 501C3 organization called "Friends of the Dayton Arcade." So . . . what's in the name change?

Get Midwest - We think of Everything?

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that we try to stay focused on the positives about our city - since there is already enough negativity out there.  But this time I'm going to stray a bit from that approach because this latest "effort" by the regional powers-that-be simply begs to be questioned (if not bashed mercilessly)...

These are the new logos for the region's new branding campaign which was unveiled by the Dayton Development Coalition recently.  If you're like me, you are now asking yourself - "are they kidding me?"  No, they are not kidding.  In fact, I'll bet that a ton of money went into this branding effort - and in my opinion it fails on several levels.

First, let me tell you that I included "Dayton Region" in the above logos because that is how they are presented on the DDC's website, but I have a feeling that the words "Dayton Region" are not part of the official logo nor are they part of their new web address: www.bemidwest.com.  If that assumption is correct, then how in the world is ANYBODY supposed to see this logo and think of Dayton?  Or even Ohio for that matter?  Why are we marketing the entire Midwest here?  Did Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan contribute money to this campaign?  This is like Seattle changing their slogan to "Be Pacific Coast", or Charleston, S.C. saying "Get East Coast".  It says NOTHING about Dayton or why a business or person should want to be here.  I would almost expect something like "be southwest ohio" since the leaders of this region seem hellbent on advocating sprawl to the south.  But "be midwest" is so vague it's almost funny.

"We think of everything" - what does that mean?  Perhaps it is supposed to mean that our region is full of people that "think" for a living so as to try to attract businesses that are looking for that quality in a workforce.  But how does this differentiate our region from ANY other region in the country ?

Here are some more opinions of "get/be midwest - we think of everything!":
Get Midwest - or not? - Dayton Daily News
“Get Midwest”- A generic campaign that is guaranteed to fail. - Esrati.com

And here is a list of alternatives that are probably just as effective (and not any worse than) "be midwest - we think of everything":

• "Dayton Region - We're WAY Better Than Flint, MI"
• "Dayton Region - It Is Cheap To Live Here"
• "Dayton Region - We Don't Have Too Much Traffic"
• "Dayton Region - We're Like Family Friendly and Stuff"
• "Dayton Region - We're Like High Tech and Stuff"
• "Dayton Region - We Have Nice Parks"  ..... (and Stuff)
• "Dayton Region - Go Ohio State Buckeyes!" (oh wait, that is Columbus)
• "Dayton Region - We're Really Close to Cincinnati"
• "Dayton Region - We Were Famous 100 Years Ago"
• "Miami Valley - Just Like Miami, Florida... But Different"
• "Dayton Region - Including Warren County, the Cultural Epicenter of the World"
• "Dayton Region - We Have the Best Suburbs"
• "I Am Dayton - And So Can You!"  (actually I like that one - thanks Colbert!)

By the way - the City of Dayton is supposedly still working on ITS branding efforts - let's pray that THEY have the sense to include the word "Dayton" in the slogan!

Creative Region Initiative - It's Official

Yes, it is official - the funds have been raised and Dr. Richard Florida's Creative Class Group will be coming to Dayton to work with thirty community catalysts who will be selected over the next few weeks. 

Leaders sought to be catalysts in region's creative class initiative
Dayton Daily News
January 20, 2007

The money is raised, the consultant is hired and Richard Florida himself will be here in March to train Daytonians on how to build and sustain "creative class" growth here in the Miami Valley.

The Creative Region Initiative, the moniker given to the local effort begun a year ago by the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education and a task force of 20 community groups, kicks off today with a call for 30 volunteers to be trained by Florida's consulting company, the Creative Class Group.

It is obvious that this effort will continue to have skeptics, especially in a town that seems to have never met a consultant it wouldn't throw a bunch of money to for a study that says what everybody already knows or whose advice ultimately isn't followed (the recent $100k study by KMK Consulting comes to mind).  But unlike those past consulting efforts, I believe this one is different.  Instead of outsiders that come into town, poll a few people, write some fancy report , collect their paycheck and then leave town - this effort is managed and implemented by us.  Us as in we who live in this community and are likely already working towards making our community better.  Florida's Creative Class Group simply lays out the road map; it is up to those of us who become community catalysts to do the real work.  And by doing that real work ourselves, we stand a much better chance at developing a successful and sustainable plan for growing our city and region - and especially our urban core... because after all, it is the urban core that the creative class typically gravitates to.

This of course is how I understand it; since I have not yet been a part of this whole process I really can't speak with authority on how it works.  I invite those of you who have been involved since the beginning to comment here and give any additional details that you may have.  And look for MostMetro.com to play a role in this Creative Region Initiative in the near future...

Additional Links:

Creative Class on MostMetro.com (with NPR/Richard Florida interview)
More Creative Class on MostMetro.com
SOCHE Website
Creative Class Group
Richard Florida's Blog on Dayton
Daytonology's Creative Class in Dayton Analysis

Warren County Culture Poachers

As many of you know (because I've already gotten two emails and a phone message about it), there was an op-ed in last Wednesday's DDN written by a Mr. Nathan Smallwood - president of the Warren County Arts Council that has many urban supporters a bit miffed.  Here is a link to the article... and here is my letter to both the DDN and Mr. Smallwood in its entirety:

RE:  "Arts sector should reach out to booming Warren"

Mr. Smallwood, your claim that the arts community in Dayton should focus less on the urban core and more on your bedroom community that is far away from the city's "perceived urban ills" is insulting to those of us who currently enjoy and support the fantastic culture that exists in the urban core of Dayton, and especially those of us who choose to live in and near Downtown Dayton.  It is one thing for you and your city-phobic neighbors to run away from the urban (and suburban) problems and choose a life of exurban isolation - it is quite another to expect the culture that you chose to flee from to simply up and follow you out to your land of sprawl.  And to use Warren County's high median income as justification for abandoning the arts downtown so that it can be unnecessarily duplicated in your exurbs is ridiculous - I guess the "poor city of Dayton" doesn't deserve arts and culture as much as your "wealthy" community does. 

The arts community of Dayton is ingrained into the urban fabric that makes up Dayton - it cannot simply be moved for your convenience, Mr. Smallwood.  Downtown Dayton is still the hub and soul of this region despite its struggles, and it is home to the region's premiere arts & theater venues.  These venues - including the Dayton Art Institute, Victoria Theater, Loft Theater and Schuster Performing Arts Center - are first-rate and most have very long histories.  The Cannery Arts & Design Centre, DVAC, Front Street Arts Complex and several small art galleries coming soon to the Oregon District are perfect examples of an urban arts scene that can never be duplicated in the suburbs, let alone the exurbs.  And a growing independent artist group called the Circus Creative Collective is very active in the urban core of Dayton because of the diversity and urban flavor here that places like Warren County simply don't have.

Finally, your assertion that "across the nation, massive numbers of families are trading their traditional suburban lifestyles for bigger homes and yards and increased distance from perceived urban ills" is questionable at best.  I'd argue that the opposite is true - many people are trading in their excessive commute times and uninspiring exurban surroundings for the excitement, diversity, social experience and walkability of the city.  Dayton may not be realizing this urban revitalization as fast as some other parts of the country (yet), but there are many people who are investing their time, money and passion in our city so that it does one day reach its potential.  The arts and culture scene in Dayton serves as an important anchor to these efforts, and those of us who choose to live in the city as opposed to your exurbs will simply not stand by and watch people like you try to poach it away from us.

Regards,
Bill Pote
Downtown Dayton Resident and Business Owner
bpote@mostmetro.com