The changing face of downtown is being guided by a face that
’s becoming more familiar in Morgan Hill: Dan Craig, executive
director of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association (MHDA).
The changing face of downtown is being guided by a face that’s becoming more familiar in Morgan Hill: Dan Craig, executive director of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association (MHDA).
“I have always loved and been a part of downtowns,” he said Thursday. “I was working downtown in San Jose in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, with an antique importer, and really enjoyed being there. I’ve always had a love for central urban areas. They reflect the diversity of the community, they are a place where the community comes together.”
Reacting to the community call for reinvigoration of the downtown area, the Redevelopment Agency allocated $50,000 in November 2001 to fund start-up costs for the MHDA.
Craig, a Hollister resident, was hired by the association to lead the effort to breathe life back into Morgan Hill’s downtown.
The association opened an office for Craig at 90 W. Main, Suite 5. He can be reached at 779-3190.
An experienced downtown “healer,” Craig managed Berkeley’s Main Street Program as executive director of the Downtown Berkeley Association for eight years. He put together a successful coalition that attacked the problems of homelessness, business deterioration and listless cultural offerings.
Many Morgan Hill residents believe the downtown is in better shape than other downtowns.
Councilman Greg Sellers, who led the first Downtown Revitalization Program in the late 80s and early 90s, and Kent Burnes of Burnes Consulting, hired to make a recommendation to the Redevelopment Agency, have both said that downtown is not doing that badly.
“There have been almost no vacancies in 10 years, but some businesses are “hanging by a thread’ and need help and direction,” Sellers said when the MHDA was formed.
Craig, who began working for the association on a consultant basis May 20 and officially became executive director Jan. 1, said the downtown could use a slightly better mix of businesses and services. Retail shops mixed with services are considered by many an ideal way to bring a constant flow of customers to the area.
“We’ve already got a great restaurant mix and some great retail stores,” he said. “We are having some turnover, but that’s a healthy process in early stages of the revitalization process. It sometimes concerns people, makes them think the downtown is in a slump, but it’s just that we need turnover to create a better, high-quality mix of retail.”
Another thing that would be like a shot in the arm for downtown, Craig said, is more housing.
“I think you can realistically say that for the downtown to attain what it really wants to be, it will take in the 5-to-10 year range, and that’s including residential development,” he said. “That’s something that you see in successful attempts to reanimate downtowns. Our downtown plan emphasizes that as well.”
Craig said the Redevelopment Agency can provide assistance with housing.
“We’re making significant progress, incremental progress, and the RDA needs to be an important ingredient in this process,” he said. “We need to see some incentives, something to attract a partnership between public and private.”
Other communities have sucessfully used the RDA to buoy efforts to improve their downtown, Craig said.
“We have a situation similar to many other communities,” he said. “In most cases, you will see a public and private partnership. The RDA is set up to do these kind of things, to put together an attractive package … The two biggest constraints are not enough RDA money … and the fact that we are in a flood zone.”
The amount of money allocated to assist downtown efforts can be a major factor in the sucess of the project.
“Some cities have a lot of RDA money and make things happen fast,” Craig said. “The city of Morgan Hill is very motivated, the downtown’s getting a lot of attention and some funds are available and allocated. However, I’m afraid that’s not going to take us where we want to go.”
Another possibilty to consider is a change in zoning, Craig said.
“We do have an opportunity to change zoning, to provide allocations for housing in the downtown, which would attract developers who can’t build in outlying areas because of Measure P. This would give us more high-density housing, instead of urban sprawl, and uses the existing infrastructure.”
The next step for downtown, Craig said, is the adoption of the plan created by the Downtown Task force and MHDA.
“The plan has not been formally adopted yet, but it will come before the Planning Commission later this month,” he said.
Craig is pleased with the direction the plan is taking.
“It is moving toward more nighttime activities, more restaurants and specialty retail uses,” he said. “A lot of these things are going to come as there is more residential development and more demand to service those uses.”
The attitude of the community can play a big role in the re-energizing of the downtown, said Craig.
“There is a sense of optimism among the players,” he said. “There is still a sense of untested markets, and a feeling of ‘are we really ready, should we be investing in this?’ There is also a great deal of hope and confidence.”
Staff Writer Carol Holzgrafe contributed to this report.
