Community Revitalization Tools

Across Ohio, cities and towns have similar stories … decreased investment in traditional downtowns and surrounding neighborhoods, increased costs of government, and a change in civic life. There are places, though, where the story is very different — and in each, the first step along the road to economic vitaility was looking at the status quo.

Communities that want to succeed need to determine first what makes them unique and marketable. Once equipped with a vision, organizations that promote revitalization — including chambers of commerce, downtown and neighborhood organizations, local preservation organizations and heritage tourism entities — also need effective tools for success.

HometownOhio offers several tools for your community or organization to use as you craft an effective local revitalization strategy. They include:

These tools are available for communities seeking to maximize the use of their existing resources for economic development and improving quality of life. For additional information on downtown or neighborhood-specific tools, please visit those pages. Please contact us for details on any of the following.

Community Preservation and Revitalization Assessment – A Community Preservation Assessment inventories the present historic and other existing resources of a community, and then reviews how each can contribute to economic development and quality of life enhancement. The assessment includes a generalized look at downtown, neighborhood, institutional and personal resources, a review of existing preservation-based programs and ordinances, and is based on field work, interviews and extensive information gathering. It looks at hometown competitiveness and indentifies places and stories that are key to your community’s past and future.

Resource Feasibility Assessment – Be it an individual building or a collection of buildings, we can help you assess potential and detail necessary steps for preservation efforts. Depending on the project scope, this assessment can include examination by structural engineers, space utilization consultants and rehabilitation experts.

School Building Assessment – For communities involved in the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) Program, HometownOhio provides assistance to local school boards that are considering replacing older educational buildings. These services can include feasibility assessments, adaptive re-use studies, a look at available preservation financial tools, creating realistic plans for preservation based on community input, and developing marketing plans.

Low-Cost Web Design and Training – Instead of thousands of dollars for a website — and then more when you need to make updates – you can now obtain a website for a mere fraction of that cost – one that tells the story of your organization or community story, communicates to your membership, presents opportunities for ongoing fundraising, and creates positive public relations. Through training with Hometown Ohio, you can then update your site in-house.

Project Assistance, Speakers and Presentations – HometownOhio can provide specialized project guidance for your organization. In addition, we have the ability to present informative talks to groups, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and municipal representatives on a wide range of topics relating to preservation development.