Oct. 26—Efforts are underway to breathe new life into the Midtown business scene.
Midtown Initiative held a business expo at the Bartlett Center Thursday to provide networking opportunities and learn about different aspects of business. Residents and business owners attended the event centered around revitalizing the area.
President Gary Wilkinson said his goal is to nurture a balanced community, and the forum was an opportunity to explore ways to improve the economic climate in Midtown and throughout St. Joseph.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel, but there are certain resources that are already in operation," he said. "If we can get with them — and we're going to get with them — we're going to work to bring about a renaissance within this area."
The business expo started with a tour of vacant Midtown commercial buildings, followed by a forum with local leaders.
Wilkinson grew up in St. Joseph, and he said Messanie Street once had doctors, beauty shops, shoe shops and repair shops.
"What we want to look at is, we've got a new generation of people," he said. "We don't have to do the same thing that was there before — they've got new ideas — we just want to help them facilitate getting their ideas started."
Midtown Initiative isn't only focusing on bringing in new businesses, but also improving the appearance of Midtown.
"We started out last week with a neighborhood cleanup in this whole Midtown area," he said. "Then we're going to talk about doing some activities to provide housing for this area. Housing development is going to be another one of our priorities."
St. Joseph resident Donnie Dey said the neighborhood cleanup is a good place to start for developing Midtown.
"We need ideas to make Midtown prosper. But before you get to that, number one, it needs beautification," he said. "You know, so much has been put into other places that Midtown has just been dropped off the map."
Dey said he wants businesses to stop moving to the Belt Highway and North Shoppes because they are missing opportunities in other areas of the city.
"We're reduced from five grocery stores down to a Dollar General," he said. "You're not getting the proper foods, proper vegetables and things for that. Bring us our laundromats in, bring us restaurants in."
Making the area presentable will entice people to visit and possibly bring more business to Midtown, but Dey said potential entrepreneurs must also be educated about how to start their businesses.