The Florida Quest | NIE WORLD

Friday, December 14, 2007

Florida's Main Street Community Of The Month
'DEAD LAND' REDUX
Downtown revival continues to gain recognition

By ROBIN ROPER
Daytona Beach News-Journal Correspondent

DELAND — Wiping tears from her eyes, local poet Marge Tindal reminisces about downtown DeLand, and especially the sounds of the historic courthouse bells, which immediately revive childhood memories.

News-Journal file/PETER BAUER

This aerial view of the greater DeLand business district, taken in June 2004, shows the historic Volusia County courthouse (dome just right of center), which has become an icon for several logos through out the years, including the MainStreet DeLand Asssociation. Last week it was announced that DeLand was named Florida Main Street Community of the Month by Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning.

A poem by local poet Marge Tindal is superimposed on a photo of the dome of the historic county courthouse in DeLand.

Marge Tindal

“I grew up in this town and the bells really take me back,” she said. “They remind me of times I spent with my family going to events downtown. This community really holds a special place in my heart and the bells trigger those memories every time,” she said.

Last week, it was announced that Tindal's special city has been named Florida Main Street Community of the Month by Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning, a recognition bestowed upon one of 49 different Florida Main Street communities throughout the Sunshine State.

The honors keep coming to DeLand largely because of the community's turnaround since the mid-1980s, during which many new businesses and events have come to the historic district, Browning said.

DeLand "serves as a great example of the tremendous impact downtown revitalization can have on a community," said Browning. "With marquee events such as the Fall Festival of the Arts and the continual growth of local businesses, DeLand demonstrates how valuable cultural and historical assets are to our state."

Janet Bollum

"We've come a long way since the '80s, when we were referred to as 'Dead Land,' when vacancy downtown was at an all-time high," said Janet Bollum, president-elect of the MainStreet DeLand Association and owner of The Muse Book Shop downtown. "That was a time when we lost many of our major anchor stores, such as JC Penney's, and we had to figure a way to bring life back into downtown again. The Main Street program was the catalyst to our downtown revitalization."

Commercial occupancy downtown has increased from 40 percent to 98 percent since the program began.

DeLand was named a Florida Main Street community in 1985 and went on to win the national Great American Main Street Award in 1997, the only Florida city to receive that honor. The program is operated by the Bureau of Historic Preservation Division under the Florida Department of State, which provides statewide assistance aimed at identifying, evaluating and preserving Florida's historic resources.

Being part of downtown's historical preservation and urban renewal is something that prompted partners Jim Carey and Randy Felix to move their award-winning salon and spa, The Mix, from Orange City to DeLand.

“We are investing ourselves completely into this community, both financially and emotionally,” said Felix. “We are owners of an historic building which we plan on operating our businesses out of and living in. We are excited to be a part of this beautiful community.”

Attracting new businesses and residents to downtown is one of the top priorities of Mainstreet DeLand Association.

“We have to change as the economy and community growth bring about change,” Bollum said. “Right now, we are restructuring our grant programs and working closely with the city to provide the maximum benefit, not just into the historical area of downtown but in the greater DeLand area.”

Fusing businesses with residential opportunities is a formula the Mainstreet association uses to fill downtown vacancies.

“We want the type of merchants who look at our community and see many ways to make our area better. We’re (MainStreet DeLand Association) a big extended family downtown, and we support each other and work together to keep our town from becoming what it was once, 20 years ago,” said Bollum.

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