Centralia Downtown Association Executive Director Scott White and Chehalis Community Renaissance Team Executive Director Annalee Tobey talk about growth and projects in their respective downtown areas.
Both Centralia and Chehalis have historic downtowns with brick buildings dating back to the early 1900s and spaces for stores and restaurants that reflect the character of the communities.
Both cities have Main Street programs to revitalize and restore their respective downtowns, and both are being guided by citizen groups, leaders of which briefed the Lewis Economic Development Council on their progress and plans Thursday.
“We are community builders,” Annalee Tobey, the executive director of the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team, said at the EDC’s membership luncheon Thursday at the Holiday Inn Express in Chehalis. “Things are happening, sales are pending and new businesses have come in.”
As a way to fill some of the empty storefronts in downtown Chehalis, the team organized what it’s calling an “Opportunity Tour” to allow people and prospective business owners to tour the spaces in a open house format. The goal of the tour, which is planned for Oct. 18, is to give people who might be thinking about opening or relocating a business an informal tour to inspire them to take the first step, Tobey said.
However, the list of spaces on the tour has gotten shorter and shorter because they are starting to be leased or sold, Tobey said.
“That is a good problem to have,” she said.
Many people believe if simple steps are taken on a broad scale, such as pulling weeds or repainting buildings, the whole town will improve, said Trevor Elliott, a volunteer with the team who handles some of the finances.
The team provides the building owners and tenants with resources by matching funds to do those small beautification projects.
Elliott said the team is promoting Chehalis to people not only looking to start a business but to relocate existing businesses. He described the downtown Chehalis area as a place where business and lifestyles meet.
The downtown offers the unique backdrop many people are looking for, Tobey said.
She said there are a growing number of people looking to move out of larger cities to smaller towns because they have a slower pace, she added.
In Centralia, newly hired Centralia Downtown Association Executive Director Scott White is looking to market the city as a place to meet and explore.
“I don’t want to wait to market Centralia,” he said at the EDC lunch. “It is the time to market Centralia as the amazing destination that it is.”
White said it seemed as though some in the downtown area have been waiting until the Fox Theatre was fully restored or the Wilson Hotel project was complete before actively promoting all the other virtues of the downtown area. While those are two important buildings for the downtown core as a tourism draw, they’re far from the only reasons to feel positive about the prospects for downtown Centralia.
White believes the Wilson Hotel and the Fox Theatre will eventually be large draws for visitors from outside the area.
Having been on the job for only about a month, White noted he doesn’t have as many polished plans as the Renaissance Team, but he’s getting up to speed quickly. He wants to determine everything Centralia has to offer, bundle it up and market it in areas outside of Lewis County.
One project the association is working on is to create a welcome center in downtown Centralia.
It was among the projects to receive a recommendation for money from the city’s lodging tax committee. The committee recommended awarding $73,100 to the CDA, according to a press release from the city of Centralia.
It will be a location open during the day to provide not only information about local businesses and attractions but public restrooms in downtown as well, Centralia City Councilor Max Vogt said at Tuesday’s council meeting. The staffed facility would be located in the Wilson Hotel and would also be the permanent home for an exhibit highlighting the life of Centralia founder George Washington.
White said the history of the city’s founding is something he is excited to explore and use as a way to promote the town.
Learn more about the Renaissance team at ci.chehalis.wa.us/renaissance. Information on the CDA can be found at downtowncentralia.org/.
