THE DOWNTOWN: New breed of merchants seen as key to vitality:

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Progress Sunday, March 17, 2002 Elma \| *Business district gets remade for the next generation* Steve Bloom/The Olympian A $1.5 million street renovation, including new sidewalks, is the main downtown project in Elma. THE DOWNTOWN: New breed of merchants seen as key to vitality LINDA TARR FOR THE OLYMPIAN ELMA -- Downtown might not look too inviting at the moment, with streets torn up and a few key buildings vacant, but just wait until the $1.5 million the city is pouring into the district bears fruit, say area merchants. Along with functional improvements like repaved streets and curbs, gutters and sidewalks, the city is sprucing up downtown's image with ornamental lights, benches and amenities like bike racks. Downtown Business Association members and others chose an early-1900s appearance for the downtown to reflect the existing architecture. Association member Tom Rose hopes the new aura will help keep the downtown vital by attracting what he deems younger merchants -- those in their 30s. Of the 20-some businesses along Main Street, five are owned by "young guys," Rose said, up from two a couple of years ago. Most of the other merchants are nearing retirement age, he says. "You have to make our downtown look like there's a future there," said Rose, who owns Grays Harbor Pellet on Main Street. Keeping this community hub vital is important for several reasons, such as bringing in sales tax revenue and keeping the cultural center of the town alive, but the biggest concern for Elma residents is condensing the business district and avoiding the strip-mall sprawl that is commonplace in other communities, Rose said. "We hate urban sprawl here in Elma," he said. Boyd Morrow, who has owned the Elma Variety Store for 30 years, agrees. He and his wife drove up and down the Pacific coast a few years ago, and they noticed more and more small towns with strip malls outside their struggling downtown areas. "When that happens, you lose the community core and the community gets more fragmented," said Morrow, another association member. Rose sees attracting younger merchants as one key to downtown vitality. He says they'll help the downtown move forward rather than being content with the way things have always been. Things seem to be picking up, with two buildings that have been boarded up for 20 years set to be refurbished, including an old bank building across from Rose's store. He attributes much of the renewed interest to Elma's push to improve its downtown. "Now hopefully there's some cause for sons to take over businesses and daughters to take over businesses," he said. "... Us old duffers ... you get to a certain age and everything is just fine the way it is, and the young guys are the changers." Though he cites the need for younger merchants, Rose and other self-proclaimed "old timers" had the foresight to roll up their sleeves and work hard with the city to revamp the downtown. Association members raised almost $30,000 to help the city meet matching requirements tied to the grant that's paying for the $1.5 million downtown project. Raising those funds has been the main focus for the association during the past year, Morrow said. About two-thirds of the money was contributed by businesses, while individuals, churches and in-kind donations from establishments make up the rest, he said. Now, the association's focus will turn to promoting the downtown, especially to outside areas like Olympia, he said. Rose said Elma's location could be a boon in that effort, as it sits on the route out to the coast from Olympia and Shelton. Though the city doesn't sport any huge events like McCleary's annual Bear Festival, it could try to attract more tourist traffic. For example, the car clubs such as the Corvette Club frequently roll through town, Rose said. "Hopefully we can stop them and take some money out of their pockets without lying in the middle of the road," he said. Marketing to townspeople can be tough, too, Morrow said. That's because Shelton and Olympia, with their big-box retail stores, are just a short drive away. That makes picking the right type of store critical, he said. "You've only got a certain amount of clientele to work with," he said of the 3,045-person city. "So if it's a specialty store, it needs to be the right kind for the clientele." Still, businesses in town are doing relatively well. Elma supports numerous restaurants -- the Saginaw deli, Papa's Pizza, Bay Kitchen, Rusty Tractor and Smitty's to name a few, along with two florist shops and two major hardware stores -- Ace and True Value. And though the city's economics are changing with the development of two Duke Energy plants planned on the Satsop Hill as well as a Boise Cascade siding plant, keeping the downtown vital remains a strong focus for Elma, said mayor Earl Hari. The energy plants each will employ about 30 people, while the siding plant will bring about 120 jobs, he said. He admits the downtown has taken some big hits. An auto dealership moved down the road about three years ago, taking a major source of sales tax revenue with it, but said the downtown boasts some major advantages that not many small cities have. Part of the downtown project involves upgrading water lines, that used to be as small as 4 inches, to 10 inches, which helps with both business and fire hydrant capacity, he said. Perhaps more significant is the district's proximity to 1/2 est, half a block away. That means high-speed DSL lines are available, not to mention fiber optics, something larger cities that are developing downtowns cannot always offer, Rose said. Close-knit town On top of all that, businesses that locate in Elma join the cultural heart of a close-knit town, Morrow said. As small towns tend to do, the community pulls together to help whenever there's someone in need. It also pulls together to support the high school football and basketball teams, Morrow said. For example, the football team took the state championship last year, and there was a huge turnout from the town for the playoffs, Morrow said. "Someone said to me, 'Boyd, You'd better go and close the store, there's no one left in town,' and he was about right," Morrow recalled of game day. It's also nice to run into friends while shopping or running errands in the city core, he said. That benefit is especially noticeable during the holiday shopping season, he said. "People run into each other who haven't seen each other for a while, and they talk more than they shop," he Morrow said. "You go into restaurants, and everybody knows everybody," Morrow added. Things aren't always easy for small-town businesses, however. Though his business is in the black, Morrow admits he's had to make some changes since the advent of big-box retail in nearby cities. For example, he quit carrying domestic items and towels after Wal-Mart opened in Aberdeen in the mid-1990s because he couldn't compete. People need to keep the need for evolution, in individual businesses and in the overall downtown, in mind as Elma moves forward, he said. That's one of the reasons he's so excited about the downtown project that Elma's in the midst of. "If you're not willing to work, and you're not willing to change, you're not going to make it," he said. Elma by the numbers - Population: 3,045 - Population in 1990: 3,011 - Demographics: 90 percent white, 0.6 percent black, 1 percent Asian, 0.3 percent Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 2 percent other, 4 percent two or more races. - Growth: Growth should remain steady or decrease slightly. Downtown undergoing major street upgrades. - History and landmarks: The town was founded in 1883. Landmarks include the Oaksridge Golf Course. On the Web: Grays Harbor Pellet Duke Energy Boise Cascade Qwest The Olympian Copyright 2002 back to main Progress index

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