Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
In November business owners and citizens told Doyle Hyett and his partner, Dolores Palma, they wanted downtown Warsaw to sparkle. Monday night Hyett brought the polish.
With the proper amount of elbow grease, the city should shine.
Presenting a plan of action for Warsaw Monday before an audience of more than 100 people, Hyett said Warsaw is already a healthy American downtown.
The HyettPalma Inc., out of Alexandria, Va., was contracted by the Warsaw city council to give recommendations for the downtown's rejuvenation. Sponsored by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, Hyett was introduced by IACT president Mike Quinn as heading the nation's premier city planning firm.
Hyett recapped the comments generated last year through interviews with individuals and a group meeting.
"One of the beauties of this program is it is Warsaw-driven," he said. "You were asked for your vision of downtown Warsaw in 2007. If you all worked together, what would downtown be like?"
Participants said they wanted a vibrant mix of specialty shops on the first floors of buildings with apartments or art studios above, restaurants, plenty of parking, preserved historic buildings and a lot of greenery.
They saw the downtown as a fun place to go, colorful, busy and profitable with lots of people.
"That's a vision that is going to challenge you," Hyett said.
The action plan for the next five years, though, should make the Kosciusko County courthouse its epicenter because of the historical buildings and businesses established there, he said.
Hyett said the city has a lot going for it: with city hall and county government offices downtown, an international headquarters - Zimmer, a movie theater, museum, Center Lake, parks, gardens, a post office, grocery stores and a collection of architectural styles.
"Don't just walk the walk," he advised, "look the look."
Describing the current vista as sterile, part of the look would be more greenery and flowers.
He advised everyone to become enamored with the community.
He recommended that city codes be enforced.
"Boarded-up windows are a detriment," he said. "Customers won't walk by. It looks as though you don't care a lot."
Describing water as gold, he said the commercial district should move to the Center Lake waterfront.
When he talked to shop owners three months ago, he was told they are ready for a facelift and are waiting for a unified design.
"Bite the bullet and do it as fast as you can," he said of street, sidewalk and other improvements. "Get it done once and for all."
His suggestions included:
• Hiring structural and landscape architects for preliminary designs.
• Really preserving historic structures using the best quality materials in the most elaborate fashion.
• Making the Kosciusko County courthouse and surrounding blocks the focus of immediate improvements.
• Incorporating Center Lake waterfront as a commercial district.
• Adding signs and canopies to storefronts.
• Creating a $50,000 to $75,000 grant fund in addition to the revolving low interest loans available through the Warsaw Community Develop-ment Corp. to get started.
• Having the city take care of the streetscape - sweeping regularly and removing snow - because the business owners are not doing it.
• Insisting that parking spaces in front of buildings be left to the customers and the two-hour limit be strictly enforced.
• Having the Indiana Department of Transportation should take a closer look at the traffic flow to relieve the gridlock caused by Ind. 15.
• Make the WCDC the spearhead organization to implement the vision and change its name to the Warsaw Downtown Development Corp.
• Make the downtown entryway on Center Street from Detroit to Indiana streets more attractive.
• Install a "way-finding" system of signs indicating points of interest.
Copies of the HyettPalma recommendations are available by calling the mayor's office, 372-9595.
