BY EMILY BATTLE
The shops should be open later.
Something should be done to attract University of Mary Washington students.
There is a need for more special events.
City residents and downtown merchants have been saying things like this for years about Fredericksburg's central business district.
With its latest roster of new officers, Downtown Retail Marketing Inc. is hoping it can bring a more unified and businesslike approach to these problems.
Bonnie DeLelys of the Richard Johnston Inn took over as DRMI's interim president in May. Benjamin Walker had just been elected president of the group in February but resigned last month for personal reasons.
DeLelys said her biggest goal is to get all of the different types of downtown businesses--from restaurants to antique shops to clothiers--working together on the challenges facing the district.
High on that list are the empty storefronts along Caroline and other downtown streets.
DeLelys said she thinks downtown needs more high-end, unique shops that are different from the types of shops it already has to fill the vacancies.
She wants DRMI to take a more direct role in working with property owners to offer rents that entice new retailers and working with the city to see what kinds of incentives it could bring to the table.
She is also researching possible initiatives that could help shop owners, such as the possibility of downtown merchants getting group health insurance, or talking to banks about whether DRMI members could get a discount on credit card transaction fees if they went in as a group.
For years, area residents have suggested that downtown needs more life after 5 p.m.
DeLelys said she hopes the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott on Caroline Street will provide an impetus for more shop owners to try keeping more consistent evening hours.
Mayor Tom Tomzak, who has tried in the past to convene discussion groups to energize downtown, said he's met with the new officers and is hopeful they can make some progress.
"It seemed like they would be a little more immune to the adolescent behavior that has obstructed so much of the progress downtown," Tomzak said. "They understand that the downtown merchants have to take responsibility and pull together."
One small change that the new leadership has made is to move the DRMI meetings from evening cocktail events to morning coffee meetings, which DeLelys hopes will be more conducive to getting things done.
"My focus is to have every business in historic downtown Fredericksburg join our group," DeLelys said. "I want to see us working together as a unified group."
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com
PRESIDENT: Bonnie DeLelys, Richard Johnston Inn VICE PRESIDENT: Nancy Guerin, Fredericksburg Area Museum shop SECRETARY: Eileen Boyd, The Griffin bookshop TREASURER: Judy Nave, Virginia Partners Bank CITY LIAISON: Rob Grogan, Front Porch Magazine |