Hannah your passion is noted but would you please take a nap or something. Or atleast check out this website it'll keep you busy for a while.
www.pogo.com

I too have great memories of the old downtown in its heyday-- shopping with my mom at Penney's, Sears, Bostwicks, and Murils, and going to Larry and Phil's for great ice cream and looking at the model trains....
But with the construction of the interstate system in the 50's and 60's it was the beginning of a huge shift for cities everywhere, and most downtowns changed drastically, Janesville being no exception. I think Janesville's downtown has great potential and am grateful for JPAC, the library, The Armory, the many specialty cafe's and shops, and the business community down there. We have room for a lot more improvement, and hopefully we can use the river as a great focal point in future redevelopment of our downtown.

is not a historic preservation agency. -- I never said they were. I simply pointed out the fact that they promote others to bring their money downtown & renovate properties yet they really didnt put their money into a renovation - unless of course you consider utilizing footings & a slab from a previous building a "remodel".

Forward Janesville -- the Chamber of Commerce -- is not a historic preservation agency. They built Jackson Square as a commitment to having their own offices downtown and to show how an underutilized site could be redeveloped.

I have thought that condos should be built along the river or the Marshall apartments should be turned into condos. A city begins to develop when people live in the area. Restaurants and shops crop up- small grocery stores are opened. People who choose inner city living generally do so because they like the conceniences. Downtown residents will produce the need for businesses.

janesvillecomments: "I went out the back door of Woolworth's and crossed the parking plaza to enter the back door of Bostwicks. I then .." -

There's also another current possible scenario: After dropping off my teen at at the International Academy Charter school, I put in a few good minutes of exercise at the Janesville Athletic Club. Afterwards, I stopped by Kealy's pharmacy to pick up some toiletries and then Olde Towne Mall to drop off some mail before going across the street to see if Carousel had any "new" antiques. Must remember to schedule a hair cut at Simply Scissors! Then just down and across the street to M&I Bank on my way to coffee at CoDos with friends, and a quick visit to the new Artistans Gallery before later strolling down to the library (surprised by a Leisure Services program in the Lower Courthouse Park). Soon it was time for a pre-JPAC show dinner at the Time Out Pub, the Metropolitan, the Speak Easy, or...too many wonderful places to consider! Downtown is just as vital and alive as ever for those who value it enough to frequent it.

Giving credit where it’s due, I commend Sara Investments for their efforts however, you will notice they chose to remodel a building that was built not of the era I’m speaking of – Prospect 101 simply didn’t have these problems because it is new in comparison. I also think it is very ironic & hypocritical might I add, that Forward Janesville chose to build a new building downtown to look the period – with today’s construction methods to meet the current codes, yet promotes others to bring their money downtown & renovate properties. Could it be that they too agree with me, it’s just too costly for most of these properties.

My suggestion to “fix” this issue is simple – IF the City of Jvl is serious about this, ALL stimulus monies we receive for infrastructure are directed towards Grants & the City provides low interest loans to owners – utilize the low bond rating they have & help the owners rather than rely on the owners to secure their own financing. Additionally, all TIF efforts are directed to the downtown until all buildings are addressed to current codes so they can compete with the rest of the city.

"If something doesn't work, it will be because of a very specific zoning issue or some other rule, not because of our staff," Price said.
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I believe this statement to be 100% true – however I believe this in-lies the exact problem we have with revitalizing the downtown. The codes have changed so much over the years it is nearly impossible (atleast from a $ standpoint) to achieve the goal in a lot of the buildings. Any and all of these items can kill a project in these buildings due to simple economics alone.
1. Elevators – goes without saying – just simply were not installed when a majority of these buildings were built & is a very expensive undertaking which is in today’s codes is required for multi level buildings.
2. Fire Sprinklers – again, never installed & very costly
3. Limited Access to 2nd floors – have you seen the narrow doorways & stairs (from street side) to some of the buildings? Owners have basically 2 choices – leave upper floors vacant or use as apartments.
4. Most of these buildings were built utilizing boilers for heat – good heat, but does not meet current code alone. Today buildings require fresh air changes & customers want A/C. This is again very costly & to add the required ductwork etc. requires major renovations & modifications to the structures – unless of course window A/C’s are added which cant be done on the 1st floor spaces due to lack of window space & they are just not big enough for the square footage of the spaces – besides being aesthetically- well, not pleasing
5. Construction methods in general – what is unseen to the passer by is this – although the exteriors are for the most part brick, the floor levels themselves are mostly wood framed. This leads to sagging & limited load bearing not to mention very costly to alter to add things like elevators, stairs, ductwork passage etc.

The downtown decline started long before walmart came to town. After K-mart, the mall, and F&F moved to the east side, the writing was on the wall.

I wonder how many of the old businesses would still be around if WalMart didn't exist? Maybe I would still be buying my bluejeans at Lambs.

Investers will buy cheap buildings downtown with a plan to make lots of money. They will group together and name their groups with catchy names. Then they lobby the city and government to pour tax payer money into the downtown district. All so the group with the catchy name can make lots of money.

SarahB1, I don't drink, so I skipped the King's Pub, and just ordered Coca~Cola with supper at the Orlean's Room.

Duh...Of course the downtown is alive and well. If it truly is then why do the city fathers and other organizations continue to spend money hiring some out of town firm to do study after study after study after study to "revive" it? I can imagine the "downtown" saying "Just Leave me alone!"

I was downtown just the other day. First I stopped at the Janesville Sport Shop, then Sayles Jewelry. I then went across the Milwaukee Street Bridge and took some cash out from my account at Merchant's & Savings Bank before going next door to Sears. After shopping at Sears for a while, I crossed the street and had lunch at Woolworth's.
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I went out the back door of Woolworth's and crossed the parking plaza to enter the back door of Bostwicks. I then left Bostwick's by the front door, stopped in at Bookworld to check out the newest books, went south along Main Street, and bought a refill for my Parker Jotter at C-M Office & School Supply. After popping into Janesville Floral for a boutineer, I went down to the other end of the block and spent the late afternoon reading in the library.

Actually, Janesville has a fairly active downtown, with as I have repeatedly pointed out, several government facilities, banks, and business offices. It just isn't the retail hub of Janesville anymore, and due to changed development patterns -- due to those things we used to make here called "cars" -- it probably won't be again. The downtown stakeholders know this and seeking a major retailer is not something they expect (although I'm sure they'd be delighted if it were to happen). Just because people don't view it as a shopping mecca does not mean we should throw our hands in the air and give up, which seems to be the reaction Pete favors. The people who have significant money invested in the downtown, like the Sara group, must think it has some potential.

pete, you need to get out of your environment.

I happen to know Deb Dongarra-Adams personally and I'm very impressed with all the hard work and long hours she (and the rest of the Downtown Development Alliance) put in for the Development Day. Their dedication to revitalizing our city is a welcome change from the normal complaints of Janesville's supposed "death" following the closing of the GM plant. Keep it up!

Pete, I think that when you put lipstick on a pig, it looks pretty darn good. I can't imagine that you would be comparing some of those beautiful, historical, downtown buildings to pigs. If you are, please take a drive past the 100 block of West Milwaukee Street across from Chase bank. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at what a good slathering of lipstick can really do.

"Historic" gas station (the Evansville article got the usage right).
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I would really like to see a Speakeasy-type redevelopment of the old YMCA (Archery Lanes). It's important to Janesville history as the place where the Gideons were founded. (In my dreams, the fantastic turreted roof would be rebuilt, but I know that's unrealistic.)
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In any case this is another key that shows how well the private and public sectors in Janesville are cooperating to revive our economy.