Group brainstorms about downtown Joplin’s future

Converting the Union Depot into a destination for visitors was among the ideas discussed during a meeting Wednesday of a task force that is helping prepare Joplin’s application for the Downtown Revitalization Economic Assistance for Missouri Initiative.

DREAM is the centralization of existing state programs, including tax credits and federal block grants, into a program to help small and medium-size communities revitalize downtown districts. Participating agencies include the state Department of Economic Development, Missouri Development Finance Board and the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

Six to 10 communities will be selected for three-year participation in the program. Cities must submit applications by Aug. 1.

The city of Joplin asked the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce to create the task force to speed up the application process.

During the meeting, Richard Largent, the city’s planning and Community Development Block Grant manager, reviewed the city’s existing plans for downtown and talked about sections that may be included in the application.

Several suggestions from participants centered on creating a corridor of activity and attractions on Main Street anchored by the depot to the north and the Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center to the south.

“In my mind,” City Manager Mark Rohr said, “the depot is the key to everything.”

Dan Mitchell, president and CEO of The Bridge, suggested converting the long-vacant depot into a children’s museum with history and mining components.

Mitchell said his advice was to create an attraction significant enough to make out-of-towners want to go downtown.

“Go big or go home,” Mitchell said. “The disposable dollars are on Interstate 44, and that is what you need to capture for revitalization to happen.”

Among the other ideas were planting wildflowers at highway exits and providing a trolley service to link downtown with the hospitals, colleges and stores on Range Line Road.

The task force’s next meeting will be at 4 p.m. July 17 at the chamber office, 320 E. Fourth St. A public input session will be conducted 5:30 p.m. on July 29 at Memorial Hall, 212 W. Eighth St.

Ideas may be shared with the task force by calling the chamber (417) 624-4150 or by sending an e-mail to info@joplincc.com.[[In-content Ad]]