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Letters • E-mail • Fax
ESP Magazine welcomes correspondence and comments.
Send mail to:
ESP Magazine,
PO Box 2630,
Mercerville, NJ 08690
Fax: 609-587-3511
e-mail: judi@dealmakers.net;
or join the ESP On-line Forum at
specialtyretail.net.
ESP reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar,
clarity, accuracy and brevity. Names or addresses will be withheld on
request.
Mail must be received by the second week of the month prior to publication.
Dear Ann:
Thanks for the copy of ESP. I enjoyed the Pittsburgh article.
For your information, we have started the city process for tax increment financing which
we hope to complete in the fall. We would then start serious design work and construction
(on the Station Square expansion project). The DiCesare-Engler ampitheater opened there
last month and is a very nice facility.
Brian J. Ratner
Senior Vice President
East Coast Development
Forest City Commercial Group
1130 Terminal Tower
Cleveland, OH 44113-2203
Brian: Since we featured the exciting developments that are underway or being planned for
the Pittsburgh area in the June 1999 issue of E.S.P., we have had many requests for more
information about the Station Square project. Sounds like you are on a winning track here.
Ann O’Neal, publisher
Dear ESP:
I found your site yesterday and would like information about our
program listed. Our name is Main Street Mansfield and we are a ten-year-old downtown
revitalization program. Our city has a population of 50,000 but has a retail market of
over 350,000 due to the fact that we are the only secondary market located between
Columbus and Cleveland and draw all the rural surrounding communities.
Our downtown program is centered around a hand-carved wooden
carousel— the only one built new in the U.S. since 1932. We receive 200,000 riders
annually and have become one of the area’s leading tourist attractions. On September
24, our Richland Academy of the Arts will open a new $4.2-million expansion project
located directly adjacent to the carousel. This will house an arts and science discovery
center consisting of an interactive area for families and children that includes a
music/computer lab, science displays and a television studio. We are expecting a minimum
of 25,000 visitors the first year. These two venues draw numerous motorcoach tours and
school field trips. We will be building a downtown civic center in the near future as
well.
We have more than 9,500 full-time downtown workers on weekdays and have
two housing redevelopment projects in old warehouse buildings beginning in the fall. We
are looking for specialty retail to fill the buildings in the Carousel District, as well
as children’s shops, antique dealers, and especially theme restaurants. We have many
buildings available.
Main Street also operates a low-interest loan pool in conjunction with
the five downtown banks. There is $250,000.00 available annually for business start-ups
and expansions loaned at prime. If you need any other information or if we can send you
pictures of five of our interesting larger buildings identified as spots for future
restaurants, please contact me.
Thank You,
Pauline Eaton
Executive Director
Main Street Mansfield
55 North Mulberry Street
Mansfield, Ohio 44902
419-522-0099
downtown@richnet.net
Pauline: Main Street Mansfield sounds like a great program and Mansfield sounds like a
great place to live, work and play. Best of luck in your ongoing revitalization efforts.
Ann O’Neal, publisher
State of Sorry Department of Corrections
On page 38 of the June 1998 issue of ESP, an incorrect phone number was given for the New
Bedford Economic Development Council. The correct number is 508-991-3122.
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