The Oberlin Community Improvement Corporation, the organization in charge of implementing the Downtown Strategy Report, is forming two teams to begin putting the report into action. One team will focus on policy and the other will focus on administration and economic vitality.
Each team will comprise two people from OCIC as well as community volunteers.

“We’re looking for folks who can kind of think outside the box,” Councilmember Jessa New, OC ’01, who will act as liaison for the economic vitality team, said. “Getting folks who have some sort of either background in those categories, something to add to it, to compliment it — or just an interest in it, that’s fine as well.”

Carrie Porter, staff liaison to the OCIC and Oberlin Director of Planning and Development, explained that the Downtown Strategic Report was adopted by the board of OCIC. The report was first created with the aid of Downtown Strategies, LLC., who were hired in 2022 to draft a five-year strategic plan to present to the OCIC board.

Porter explained that the need for a Downtown Strategic Report came partly out of the pandemic, which led to the closure of five downtown businesses. Additionally, OCIC was interested in exploring two projects: one, the redevelopment of the block on South Main Street between Vine and Groveland, and two, the use and development of the first floor of the hotel on East College Street, which has been empty since the Hotel at Oberlin opened — although Porter added that this second project may no longer be feasible. This, coupled with a grant from JobsOhio, led OCIC to hire Downtown Strategies, LLC. to begin the process of creating and implementing this Downtown Strategic Report.

Porter explained that there were delays in the process of finalizing the project due to uncertainty over who would be in charge.

“It was a little in question throughout the process exactly who was going to be in charge of this plan or implement this plan,” Porter said. “But OCIC stepped up and agreed … [after] a lot of discussion.”

Both Porter and New voiced concern over keeping up the momentum for five years.

“One thing that folks in town get really upset about, and I’m one of them, is when there’s all this work done and we have all these great documents and papers, but then nothing happens with them,” New said. “So we want to make sure that this does not sit on a shelf.”

New emphasized the importance of having more immediate goals, particularly ones focused on improving the visual appeal of downtown including adding crosswalks, banners, signage, and repairing buildings. Overall, she expressed optimism for the project.

“There’s a lot of collaborative energy happening right now,” New said. “I think we have a very special opportunity right now to use that to our benefit to really push things forward in a way that we’re going to hopefully see things come to fruition a lot sooner than maybe we have in the past.”