Headliner Fall Fest 2003Ozark Square teaming with renewed spirits
Donna Osborn Headliner NewsBig things are happening to Ozark's small downtown. After years of hoping and planning, business owners, residents and preservationists are seeing the fruits of their labor. The revitalization big is catching and the results can be seen in updated storefronts, new businesses and increased pride on the downtown square.
Who and what is behind the efforts? A dedicated organization, Main Street that worked with the city of Ozark to secure a $300,000 matching grant in 2003, new blood in city government and tenacity from those dedicated to the efforts that would bring tangible results.
"This is a real launching pad here," said Katherine Dowdy, anthropologist, and community activist and resident of the square. "We've done all this preparation and getting this grant gives us the final push to get the ball rolling and not to stop until it is done.
"I see the buildings brought back to their original handsomeness-the way the architects intended then to look, representing the grandeur that was in the minds of the builders in 1880. That includes trees, flowers, brick sidewalks and people on the sidewalks all the time."
City Administrator Collin Quigley believes the time has come for Ozark and its downtown.
"We are seeing a lot of new life on the Square," he said. "We haven't even started utilizing the $300,000. Main Street has been the leading organization that drives this initiative and now city council has caught the vision. We are anxious to spend those public funds on sidewalks, brick pavers, street lights, to give an historic and consistent look and theme to the area."
Dillon and Dowdy united their passion for history with a creative determination to breathe life back into the center city area that had gone flat.
Dillon said the grant was an added incentive to start the renovations to the building that on the ground floor houses an insurance agency on the west side, an attorney's office on the east side and a soon-to-be hair salon in the middle.
"We've been waiting years to do major improvements to the building," he said. "We had to get ourselves in position to do that; not only are we ready to spend it, but our money goes to match the dollar amount of the grant. It keeps the city involved in the heart of the city, so we are happily spending money with the city."
Dowdy's renovation will include redoing the facade to reflect the original time period, new mortar, a new roof and a new heating and cooling system.
Their enthusiasm caught the attention of Springfield developer, Larry Lipscomb, whose wife Tracy grew up in Ozark.
"He has become the catalyst for the downtown revitalization," Dillon said of Lipscomb. "His arrival here has been positive. Coupled with the grant- the dollar for dollar match- it is a win-win for everybody."
Lipscomb is working on similar projects on two other buildings-one each on the east and west sides of the square.
"John Dillon got me interested," he said. "I want to take (the buildings) back as close as I can to the original. I'm committed to doing it right and will go the extra mile and take the extra step."
Lipscomb, who developed Chesterfield Village in Springfield- a new retail village that mirrors the 1930s era- is taking those extra steps with local talent. Bill McKnabb owner of Elite Construction is building new inside walls and floors.
"We're doing all the in fill," he said. "Everybody who is working lives here except for (a crew) from Seymore."
Ed Fuller is doing woodworking and other detail work, Lipscomb said.
"Ed and Bill know about anything that happened on the square," Lipscomb said.
"Lipscomb's wife, Tracy, is also an influence on his interest in the square, he said. Her memories make the Ozark Square more than just a place, he said. It is almost a destiny.
"Everyone has been wonderful in Ozark," he said. "I want to make the square vibrant. We do need a restaurant and to attract some other retail businesses."
The Spring creek Tea Room on Third Street, west of the square, overflows with an anxious lunch crowd six days a week from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Its popularity speaks to the fertile ground. Other than a coffee shop and a potential cafe inside the Enchanted Parlor the square is void of that key element.
Now, the sign, Tuscany Cafe, swings in the wind in front of the square's only restaurant- closed since owner Bill Macier's failed attempt to secure a liquor license or to develop a loyal customer base. The building is for sale. Rumor and speculation have linked Libscomb as a potential buyer, but he wouldn't commit.
"I'm interested in buying one more building," he said. "But it doesn't have to be in Ozark."
In the beginning
Small and large communities throughout the nation woke up one day to find their once-bustling downtowns a hollow shell of past prosperity. Consumer buying and living habits began to change shortly after W.W.II. A variety of factors played into those changes like affordable transportation, demographics in the workforce and a migration form the inner cities to the suburbs, among others.
The concept of the one-stop enclosed shopping mall located on the edge of town or strategically placed between two cities responded to consumer habits and it caught on quickly. Then came milk, bread and beer packaged with petroleum on each road leaving town. Without realizing exactly what social price was being paid for the brevity of convenience, consumers let the heart of their cities ooze life day after day.
Dowdy studied the effects of these consumer trends.
"Through the '70s, in particular, downtowns experienced downtown flight," she said. "Building pedestrian malls made it only worse."
Dowdy said no one really understood the competition.
"They didn't understand what they were competing against-strip malls where you pull up in front and there are a lot of (new) stores together."
Dowdy continued to say that many didn't realize the impact of urban sprawl and decay.
"Worldwide people are dealing with urban sprawl," she said. "I'm afraid people believe that urban decay doesn't hurt anything. It's like letting a field go fallow. But that's not the case, we are all paying for it-the water and sewer and in the properly taxes the (counties and cities don't ) get."
Some places caught on sooner than later to revitalization efforts. Mike Greenberg writes about San Antonio's famous River Walk in "Urban Land."
"By the end of the 1980s, the eastern portion of the horseshoe bend was crowded with restaurants and shops at both river and street levels, and two major hotels...and scores of apartment units were created in new and historic buildings along the River Walk."
Famous worldwide, San Antonio's Riverwalk is probably the best example of what can go right, after so much went wrong. Using a natural feature to resuscitate the heartbeat of a community is smart and has proven successful in many cities.
"So successful is the River Walk that it has been widely studied and imitated as a model for urban redevelopment around the world," Greenberg writes.
Communities continue to struggle with motivating and education residents and planning and financing revitalization efforts. Ozark is no different. In Ozark the seed of renewing downtown started to sprout more than a decade ago with the formation of the Ozark Community Development Authority.
Bobby Wixson, owner of Hazel's Flowers on the Square was there as a founding member who helped design a progressive plan.
"The original plan for downtown revitalization was in four phases," she said. "The first step was taking care of the heart of the town. The second phase was developing and revitalizing the arteries. The third phase was connecting those outer areas with the downtown; a river walk and the (restoration of) Ozark Mill are phase four along with landscaped signage to bring people into the city from the major arteries."
Wixson learned much about the process and how important it is.
"Downtown revitalization is monumental to the survival of smaller towns," she said. "Roadblocks (to success) were monetary and educational. Not only educating ourselves but the public-getting the public to buy into that downtown revitalization is a good thing and we must find economical ways to accomplish these things without overburdening taxpayers.
The notion caught on slowly and in the late '90's another organization with national ties, -Main Street, -formed in the city. Dowdy directed the program and worked with a board to get Ozark designated as a Missouri Main Street town. That designation would have brought the city resources from the state and national governments. An essential element, support in the form of a written commitment from the Ozark Board of Alderman, did not come in 2000. But that wouldn't stop the dream form happening.
Main Street continues to work for the betterment of Ozark's downtown and its overall economic health, Wixson said. In the fastest gowning city in Missouri, Ozark offers unique opportunities for economic growth.
"You are seeing this movement all over the U.S.," Wixson said. "I've never seen any other town live to regret it. It is the spiritual part of the town that you can take pride in and it provides an atmosphere where businesses can flourish. I wish it was already done but I am happy that it us happening. It is nice to see all this work pay off. Residents are going to wonder why we didn't do this sooner."
It can't come to soon for Ozark Mayor Donna McQuay who has been there from the beginning-first as a resident, then an alderman and now mayor. Its been a struggle for many years on the square," she said. "Today loft apartments are springing up around businesses. We have four retail shops on the square now. It is already generating some sales tax. I can't wait to se the crowds back on the square."
Renewed enthusiasm is contagious and now the Ozark downtown square is getting the much awaited facelift with even more ambitious projects like the River Walk along the Finley waiting to happen.
"We can't let the heart of the city become defunct, because it is a reflection on us." Dowdy said. "This is the county seat. People come from all over and we want to show them we are proud of who we are. The downtown reflects on how much pride we have in ourselves and community."
Christian County Headliner News September 17, 2003
