By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Seventy-five miles due south of Bowling Green sits a town that transformed shuttered businesses into a vibrant downtown.
Using a “hustle hard approach,” Bellefontaine has become a case study for small towns trying to survive.
Though far from Bellefontaine’s do-or-die situation, Bowling Green officials are hoping to glean ideas from Bellefontaine’s success. Recently, a group of city government and business leaders took a bus from BG to Bellefontaine to check out the downtown revival.
The cities are different in that Bellefontaine has about half the population of Bowling Green, is not home to a state university, and was in a dire position prior to the rescue attempts. But both cities share the struggles of smaller cities working to compete with larger neighbors.
In Bowling Green, much of the downtown revitalization has been a team effort between the city, community organizations, businesses, and property owners. In Bellefontaine, the bulk of the work was started by a private entity called Small Nation. It is credited for resuscitating the dying small town.
“Downtown Bellefontaine had really deteriorated,” said Bowling Green Mike Aspacher. Some businesses were boarded up. Some roofs were falling in. Some buildings were condemned.
Then along came Jason Duff, and his Small Nation renaissance.
“He saw opportunity,” Aspacher said. Duff started buying up downtown properties for as little as $10,000. Then he spent as much as $1 million in multiple cases to renovate the spaces. He then worked with local entrepreneurs to open businesses.
“The results were remarkable,” Aspacher said.
Bellefontaine’s downtown went from being shuttered and dying to vibrant and thriving.
In six years, the Small Nation team renovated more than 30 historic buildings downtown, including 14 abandoned buildings. The effort attracted more than $17 million in new private investments.,
The “hustle hard” method has helped launch more than 30 new small businesses, including seven new downtown eateries and 17 new specialty retail stores. The effort has helped create approximately 200 jobs in the community.
“We wanted to know how some of the concepts could translate to Bowling Green,” the mayor said. “Where do we go from here? That’s an operational question.”
Joining in the field trip to Bellefontaine were Bowling Green city officials, downtown property and business owners, local lending institutions, plus Downtown BG, economic development and chamber of commerce leaders.
“It takes all of those entities working together,” Aspacher said.
The driving force behind the Bellefontaine renaissance, Jason Duff, is expected to make a visit to Bowling Green sometime in the next couple months.
Downtown BG Director Tony Vetter talked about Duff’s success.
“He was a guy who grew up in a small town, and he saw it dying. He wanted to invest in his downtown,” Vetter said.
“Bowling Green Planning Director Heather Sayler was also among those on the field trip.
“We want to make it the best it can be,” Sayler said of Bowling Green’s downtown.
“I was kind of blown away by the possibilities,” Aspacher said. “Downtown BG is terrific, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Instead of viewing its rural location as a negative, Bellefontaine transformed itself into a destination for families.
“They said – let’s become the meeting place between parents and their kids at Ohio State University,” Aspacher said. A couple upscale brunch businesses opened for parents to meet their college-age kids on weekends.
“They created this niche business,” Aspacher said. “It helped them become a destination.”
New businesses opened offering day spa services, coffee, lunch, and shopping at boutiques. And they created boutique overnight lodging.
“Give visitors reasons to stay overnight – even if you have to create them yourself,” according to the Small Nation theory.
The secret for success in Bellefontaine goes beyond brick and mortar investments. The Small Nation formula has tips for encouraging entrepreneurship, such as:
- Remove burdensome codes and barriers.
- Encourage new ideas.
- Identify buildings and real estate opportunities.
- Invest in hard working people and good ideas.
- Provide mentorship and coaching.
- Tell the world about it with great advertising.
