WARREN Downtown study to lead to redevelopment

Atlantic and Fulton streets and Tod and Chestnut avenues border the downtown.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A $32,500 allotment from the city's community development department will be used to develop a strategy for the future of the downtown.
Anthony Iannucci Jr., director of Warren Redevelopment and Planning, said the agency is providing administration and staffing for the project Downtown Warren -- Back to the Future.
The project will be done in two phases, expected to be completed in about a year.
The first phase involves a physical inventory of all buildings and properties within the downtown business district. Phase 2 is development of a vision statement for the district based on information collected.
The area of the study is bordered by Atlantic and Fulton streets and Tod and Chestnut avenues.
Michael Maggiano, a member of the Downtown Warren Business Association, and other civic groups, will head the project.
Iannucci said WRAP plans to approach area universities to work with the project, which will encompass all property, business and residential, in the designated area.
WRAP initially had requested $65,000 in community development money to hire a downtown coordinator for three years. That person was to handle tasks such as the inventory and strategy.
The community development committee that decides allocations cut the request in half and authorized it for year.
Here's the plan
Once an inventory is complete, detailing the amount and characteristics of the space available, WRAP will compile a database to be updated quarterly. That will be useful in business recruitment and retention for downtown, Iannucci said.
Through Maggiano's interviews with stakeholders, including business people, property owners and government leaders, the agency can determine the needs, wants and wish lists of each.
"We'll be able to see where we are compared to where we want to be," Iannucci said.
He likened development of a strategy for the downtown's future to when a person hires an architect to remodel a house. The architect must determine what's already in the house and then decide how to change that into what the homeowner wants.
"We're building a basis for developing that strategy," Iannucci said.
It will be comprehensive, Iannucci said, addressing traffic signs, signals and flow, building facades and parking.
"It's all in line with the revitalization of downtown with the Riverwalk" and other revitalization efforts, he said.
denise,dick@vindy.com