Downtown's future being written

Downtown Kalispell is a sleeping giant, but it may be about to wake up.

The 30-block area that encompasses downtown Kalispell has been the heart of the Flathead for more than 100 years. Changing tastes and times have meant that a lot of retail businesses have left the downtown core over the years, but today the district is in search of a new identity - a way to say to locals and visitors alike, "Come downtown and you won't be disappointed."

Let's start by stating the obvious: Downtown Kalispell is a great place and is much healthier than many downtowns. But let's also recognize the inevitable: To stay healthy, change must come.

That change is already under way. Downtown property owners have voted to create a business improvement district in which they will cooperate with each other to provide marketing for the downtown area, as well as to work toward a common theme.

And now the business improvement district and the city government are joining together in a partnership to capitalize on the creativity and optimism of downtown's supporters.

That process began earlier this month when a community meeting was held by HyettPalma, a national consulting firm hired to create a "downtown action agenda."

Input from the public was varied, but certain themes were apparent. The strength of downtown Kalispell as a place to do business was applauded. Office space for lawyers, accountants and bankers remains at a premium.

That guarantees a certain number of visits to downtown each day, thus helping to keep retail stores and restaurants supplied with a steady stream of customers, too.

But nighttime visits fall off drastically, and for stores to stay open later in the day, there have to be customers on the streets. It seems that part of the solution for a vibrant downtown will be to attract new kinds of businesses that provide entertainment opportunities and other reasons to go downtown at night.

If tourists and locals know that downtown is the place to go for good food, shopping, arts, music and live theater, then they may just take a drive to see what's up.

Of course, it's not as simple as coming up with good ideas. There will also be funding issues, recruitment and retention issues, parking issues and zoning issues that will need to be addressed.

But the first step is sometimes the hardest, and downtown Kalispell has already taken that step and is now finding its stride. Based on the results of the first meetings this month, an action agenda should be completed soon.

Then, all friends of downtown will have to pull together to make sure that good words turn into good deeds.