MANSFIELD — I took a walk downtown on Wednesday afternoon to get a last gasp of sunshine before autumn really begins.
It was not an easy walk.
Turning this way and that, roads and sidewalks are blocked in various directions. And all I could think was, “It’s about damn time.”
Obviously the project is in full motion, progress is being made. And while it’s a pain in the butt now for everyone, particularly downtown merchants, it’s going to look fantastic upon completion.
The $19.3 million Main Street Corridor Improvement Program is nearly one-third complete, according to Mansfield officials.
The project, which began Feb. 24 and is scheduled to be complete by October 2026, is a complete upgrade of Main Street from First to Sixth streets and Park Avenue from Main to Diamond streets.
Richland Source has produced 11 stories on this topic since June 4. You can read them all and more at this link.
My frustration isn’t with the pace of the work, which is obviously apparent to everyone in town, including those doing the physical aspect of this monumental task. These things are never done soon enough, so that element is to be expected.
Nah. My frustration is with those who passed on the necessary infrastructure improvements to us. Decades of neglect in various segments of the downtown region from water to sewer to traffic patterns to landscaping and more have all come home to roost.
The bill is now due, and we’re paying it. Thankfully, 82 percent of the funding for the project is coming from non-local government funds, including a $7.3 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant secured in 2022.
I’ve seen this before, and watched with interest and admiration as a similar scenario led to a robust opportunity.
I’m from Heath, Ohio. Heath is to Newark what Ontario is to Mansfield. It’s almost an exact replica of the symbiotic relationship between the communities, which are also eerily similar in population, size and demographics.
Newark undertook a very similar project more than a decade ago.
In 2014, the Downtown Newark Revitalization Project began as a $30 million sewer renovation program that would demolish 10 street blocks around the town square — home to Licking County’s historic courthouse; many businesses; and the oldest, glass-enclosed mall in Ohio.
In less than five years, the $30 million public investment translated into more than $60 million in private development. Key investments included the Canal Market District; more than 60 residential lofts; a downtown medical facility; and renovation of the historic Crystal Ballroom — now an event space.
Since the project’s completion in 2017, Newark’s downtown has grown in population, jobs, and economic activities.
Downtown property owners have voted to approve a Special Improvement District; the City of Newark announced the launch of the Downtown Revitalization Fund Program, which provides funds for property owners to improve downtown buildings and infrastructure; and the city has budgeted CDBG funds to be used in continued rehabilitation and renovation projects.
I have no idea whether the Downtown Mansfield project will sprout such a boom as it did in Newark. Obviously, that’s the wish.
But for now, I’m just glad to see progress being made here, and opportunity looming.
We deserve it. We’re paying the bill. We owe it to ourselves to cash in on the possibilities.
(Photos by Larry Phillips)
