ORLEANS – The Orleans Chamber of Commerce played host to a group of neighboring community leaders Wednesday afternoon who are part of the Spark Downtown Facade program, which operates under the leadership of Radius Indiana.
Spark Downtown aims to ignite the revitalization of the downtowns in the Radius region, providing support to restore retail businesses and residential growth in community cores.
Participating communities in Spark Downtown include The Town of Orleans, the Town of Odon, the City of Washington, the City of Salem, the City of Loogootee, the City of Bedford, and the City of Jasper.
The group visiting Orleans enjoyed lunch and a guided walking tour afterward of the historic downtown area provided by Orleans Chamber Executive Director and Town Clerk Robert Henderson and Chamber Director and Councilman Randy Clark to learn firsthand of some of the initiatives being undertaken and ongoing efforts to revitalize the central business district.
Discussion topics included the importance of having a plan and vision for the downtown area, community partnerships, special events, public and private investments, preservation efforts of historic structures, and maintaining and creating a sense of place for the town’s residents and visitors alike.
The out-of-town community representatives were very complementary in their observations of little Orleans and couldn’t resist the offer of a sweet treat at the local Chamber at Hometown Scoops before leaving town.
Orleans Chamber officials will also be making similar trips to some of the other communities to visit their downtowns and learn firsthand about their community development ideas.
