Profile reveals Ashland facts
BY JOHN E. USALIS Times Shamrock
Writer
01/16/2006
ASHLAND - Did you know that the borough's population
was 3,283 or that the downtown business district is 13 blocks long?
Do you know how many businesses and tourism attractions
there are in the borough?
What was known and not known about the borough was also
of interest in Ashland Downtown Inc.
The revitalization group needed to complete a central
business district profile for submission to the Pennsylvania Downtown
Center to become part of the Pennsylvania Main Street Program, a community
and economic development strategy of the Pennsylvania Department of
Community and Economic Development.
A statewide nonprofit organization, PDC provides outreach,
technical assistance and educational services using the National Main
Streets Four-Point Approach, which consists of design, promotions,
economic restructuring and organization.
Working closely with PDC in northern Schuylkill County
is Upper Schuylkill Downtowns, which provides its own technical assistance
and support to the individual revitalization efforts in Ashland, Frackville,
Girardville, Mahanoy City, Ringtown and Shenandoah.
ADI President Louis R. Rader announced at last week's
board meeting that the profile is completed and will be submitted
to PDC soon. He thanked the economic restructuring committee, under
the chairmanship of Vice President Bob Nestor for getting the extensive
survey accomplished.
"Because of your efforts and that of the other
members of the committee, our profile is ready to be submitted,"
Rader told Nestor. "A tremendous amount of work and great insight
into what we have within our community from a business perspective
and residency standpoint."
"Sean Farrell, Charlie Heizenroth and Nick Lane
deserve a lot of credit for that," Nestor said. "They really
took a lot of time looking at the properties. Sean did the spreadsheet
and walked the town. Nick was invaluable in putting names with properties.
Charlie and I added information to what they had. The profile could
never have been completed with their help."
Rader pointed out that Ashland could become a Main Street
Program member as early as May. PDC offers recommendations for inclusion
into the Main Street Program to DCED, which makes the official decision
on whether an application is approved.
Current program participants include Pottsville, Tamaqua,
Hamburg and Lewisburg. Shenandoah's application to the program is
pending.
Here are some of the downtown facts in the profile:
- The borough's population according
to the 2000 Census was 3,283, down from 3,856 in 1990. The projected
population count in 2007 is 3,241.
- The business district stretches 13 blocks along Centre
Street from First to 13th.
- Major assets/strengths: Arts and culture, historic
architecture, inviting gateway, tourism and visitors per year and
Route 61 traffic.
- Major problems/weaknesses: Empty storefronts, lack
of fine dining, deteriorating and blighted properties, lack of pedestrian
friendliness, need for business recruitment.
- Specific downtown needs: Enforce ordinances, facade
restoration and improvement, Streetscape program, recruitment and
retention of downtown businesses, need for historic designation
and historic markers.
- There are 274 buildings in the downtown, with 25
percent in poor condition, 40 percent in fair condition, 25 percent
in good condition, five percent in very good condition and five
percent in excellent condition. Of those buildings, 87.5 percent
are more than 105 years old, constructed on or before 1900. Only
6.82 percent were constructed after 1960.
- There are 20 retail businesses, 23 service, 26 professional,
12 entertainment/cultural, and one government-operated.
- The seven largest businesses in the community (including
locations outside the downtown) employ 1,234 people.
- Tourism attractions in the area: Pioneer Tunnel,
Mothers Memorial, Anthracite Museum of Mining, Ashland Area Historic
Preservation Society building, Legion Plaza (1918 artillery piece),
Veterans Memorial and the Borough of Centralia.
- Community events: ABA/Mummers Parade, Holly Tour,
Halloween parade, Pioneer Day, July 4 fireworks, Cruise Night, Christmas
parade and tree lighting, Little League parade, AppleFest, ADI holiday
decorating contest, Pack the Parks (Labor Day weekend), Ashland
Clean Sweep, Spring Fling, Old Fashioned Christmas, farmers market.
- There are 300 metered on-street parking spaces.
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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