While Special Improvement Districts are viable revitalization options for many
communities, for a distressed community such as West Side Park a SID is not an immediate
solution but rather a long-term goal. A SID requires community consensus and a level of
managerial skill that is not yet present on the Springfield and South Orange corridors.
More importantly, because this community has experienced such extreme distress, it will
require time to build momentum, funding partners, and trust.
In order for property and business owners to accept a SID, they must feel that their
investments are worthwhile and will not be wasted. Since the majority of business owners
surveyed indicated that access to capital was a priority, this is a logical place to
start. Providing merchants with a means of obtaining money for improvements could
encourage support in a larger scheme for the entire district. In addition, the initial
funds put into this commercial area should be directed toward physical improvements so
that the owners can actually see positive change. In our study of the development of a SID
on Elizabeth Avenue, several merchants said that physical improvements made with UEZ funds
helped to provide an incentive to organize. These visible changes make the possibility of
community change a more believable reality. If effective community reinvestment is to
occur, the residents will need to join together in one voice to emphasize their needs and
expectations to both the public and private sector.
Our research on existing New Jersey SIDs, private organizations, and governmental agencies
that are involved with downtown development projects, identifies several alternatives to
SIDs for West Side Park to consider. View these alternatives as either preliminary steps
toward the creation of a Special Improvement District or as options to be considered
independently of a SID. A few programs involve both funding sources and community
development expertise in order to approach the problem solving efforts in a holistic
manner. Several of the resources focus on providing grants or loans. Research has shown
that the most successful economic development strategies utilize a wide variety of
programs and seek out possible partners. Before any program can be implemented
successfully the business owners, along with the neighborhood residents, community based
organizations, and City Hall must work together to formulate a strategy that will work for
the community.
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