Page 18 - Murfreesboro, TN Comprehensive Plan: Chapter 7, Economic Development

7.18 Chapter 7

DRAFT 12.02.15

7.2 Invest Downtown thousand cars passing by daily. Finally, there are too few

people actually living in or near Downtown to infuse it
with any consistent vitality.
As already stated, a lively and attractive downtown is Realizing Downtown’s full potential will not happen
a key marker of a talent-friendly city. This goes beyond automatically. It will only occur with the deliberate,
street furniture and occasional programmed events to proactive and sustained involvement of the City
include a full gamut of live/work/learn/play activities in changing Downtown’s market dynamics and its
and total attention to the physical environment. attractiveness for investment. Public money and
A well-functioning downtown offers: varied housing additional City staff must be dedicated toward things
and employment options; opportunities to plug-into such as: incenting building restorations/conversions;
local arts and entrepreneurship scenes; the celebration providing gap loans for small businesses; controlling
of local flavor; and most importantly, the preeminence and serving-up key properties for urban mixed-use
of people over cars. More than any other part of the development; and eventually providing “higher-finish”
City, Downtown needs to serve as both the City’s living public improvements including structured public
room and its main guest room. Given these multiple parking. Additional resources may also need to be
roles, Downtown easily warrants the highest public allocated to the Main Street Murfreesboro/Rutherford
investment per square-block of any other area of the County, Inc. for additional programmed events. See
City. Figure 7.6, Four Planks of Redevelopment, explaining
Downtown Murfreesboro currently has a near postcard- “who does what?” in redevelopment.
quality to it. It is a classic county seat downtown Although the purpose of tax increment financing (TIF),
with a nearly continuous blockface surrounding the for example, is to incent projects that will ultimately pay
Courthouse square. The new Rutherford County Judicial for themselves with increased future tax revenues, some
Center will be well-oriented to the square. All that of the City’s initial co-investments in public-private
said, the upper floors of most Downtown buildings are projects may prove to be loss-leaders. Although this
completely “dark;” many buildings are in need of façade aggressive type of deal-making may not be sustainable
restorations; there are too many surface parking lots over the long run, redevelopment starter projects are
deadening the pedestrian environment; and there are always the hardest to make happen and consequently
too few unifying design elements tying it all together. usually require the most incentive. The goal though is
Downtown also has its back turned to Broad Street to help prime the market for follow-on development
exuding a less than inviting presence to the several that will pay for itself in terms of new jobs and tax base
growth.

FIGURE 7.6: FOUR PLANKS OF REDEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM [ Continued on page 7.20 ]

REDEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY

Development

Land Assembly MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
Brokering PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Tax Credits Incentives MAIN STREET PROGRAM
Business Technical Assistance
Revolving Loan Fund Management
Minor Public Improvements Management
Special Events Financial Resources
Advocacy
Marketing Promotion

Volunteer Resources