TodayWhat is HIP? It’s route to growing downtown
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Article RatingHave you noticed what is going on downtown lately?
There are many retail buildings being rehabilitated; great shops and restaurants are appearing on Pomfret, High and Hanover Streets; folks are living and shopping in the downtown; the Carlisle Central Farmer’s Market has opened with great food and vendors; historic properties have been restored; and numerous people are walking around downtown both during the day and at night.
What has happened in the last year to make downtown a more lively place?
This rebirth has been underway behind the scenes for several years as many dedicated groups have worked to make a difference in their own way. What was needed, however, was a better way to coordinate these separate efforts into a collaborative and focused one that could pool available financial resources to accomplish significant change.
To that end, two years ago Dickinson College President Bill Durden called together the leaders of several of these organizations along with residents and business owners to create what is now known as the Carlisle High I Partnership.
The HIP is a collaborative initiative among local business, community, educational and governmental leaders to act as a catalyst for development, serve as a forum for discussion and coordination and provide the expertise to secure and harness resources to transform Carlisle into a 21st century downtown.
After just two years, the impact of the HIP can already be seen.
Did you know there has been more than $15 million in investment in downtown renovation and rehabilitation? Did you know that the HIP harnessed the financial resources to train and hire a retail recruiter, Vanessa Fiorentino, whose only job is to identify potential new retail businesses to open new storefronts? Armed with an inventory of available properties, Vanessa has visited hundreds of retail establishments within a 100-mile radius looking for shops, restaurants and art galleries that would be a good fit in Carlisle.
Examples of recent additions to the downtown over the past year, thanks to all these efforts, include Colucci and Company, Carlisle Central Farmers Market, Good Life Café, Issei Noodle Shop, Fan Zone, Leaf of Eve, Javid’s, L. Weibly and Friends, and Simply Hair, to name a few.
The HIP has also helped to focus various downtown development efforts by offering a unifying goal: Envision downtown Carlisle as an architectural gem where people enjoy unique retail, dining, cultural, educational and historical experiences and choose to reside in a contemporary, sustainable downtown.
Along with the borough and the Redevelopment Authority, Carlisle is blessed with many volunteer groups, such as the Downtown Carlisle Association and its related Main Street program, the Downtown Neighborhood Connection with its Elm Street program, the Old Neighborhoods League, Historic Carlisle, the Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce, the Carlisle Area Economic Development Corporation (related to the Chamber) and the Letort Regional Authority.
Now with the HIP, these groups are moving in a similar direction, all with the intent of creating a vibrant and thriving downtown community.
In a series of articles, one per month, each organization will highlight its mission, long- and short-term goals, key achievements and how they tie into the larger effort to improve Downtown Carlisle.
Please join us on this journey in addition to spending quality time in our downtown. Positive transformation is happening.
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Mike Guion is a member of the HIP communications committee. Ty McPhillips is a HIP board member.
