Many small cities have been struggling to revitalize their downtown areas that have been hollowed out with the coming of big box stores and suburban living. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz takes a look at Snow Hill which is looking to revitalize its historic downtown district.
RUSH: Across America and right here on the Eastern shore, small towns are struggling to revive their once thriving downtown areas. They often face threats ranging from the ravages of time and declining populations, to the isolation caused by highway bypasses and the attraction of suburban shopping malls. But increasingly, with the help of state and federal dollars, some small towns like Snow Hill are finding the resources to restore their faded glory. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz has a story,
DIAZ: Snow Hill, a rivertown close to the beaches, and the bay has a lot to recommend. It chartered in 1686. It has history, small town charm, parks, trails, and the tranquil Pocomoke River. Local boosters say the town sits in the middle of everything but away from it all, and therein lies the rub.
NOLTE: But people have to find things to do when they get here. They need places to eat, they need things to do. They need places to shop.
DIAZ: That's Diana Nolte, owner of Snow Hill Toys and a leader in downtown Snow Hill Inc. A main street organization that started in 2018 to bring commercial life back to the town. Like a lot of small towns on the eastern shore and across rural America. Snowhill has seen better days.
NOLTE: Every space was full, and we all shopped as families here when I was younger. So just like every small town in America in the eighties with the birth of malls and everything, going to cars and driving everywhere you went, the historic downtowns, all floundered.
DIAZ: Nolte has been a downtown business owner for 23 years now. She's helping lead an effort using federal American rescue plant funds for Maryland to roll out a package of incentives to recruit new shops and eateries in the downtown business district, but not just any businesses.
NOLTE: We're looking at unique businesses that are attractive when they come to visit, where they say, well, this is a charming little town. This is a quaint little town. And for me, that means not franchises that you can find in every town in America.
DIAZ: The key to the effort is $178,000 grant from Project Restore, a program of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, using expiring federal rescue plan money from the Biden era pandemic response. Christine McPherson, whoever sees the program, explains:
MCPHERSON: We're working towards thriving commercial districts, historic commercial districts, where people want to live, work, and play. And these should be commercial districts where there's investments in the properties and places that attract visitors and residents and businesses serving their residents and visitors in a way that create great experiences.
DIAZ: The incentives can cover two months of free rent built to suit spaces and other startup costs. The goal is to find businesses that take root in some of the 11 vacant buildings in the historic commercial district, creating some synergy with the businesses that are already there. Downtown Snow Hill has already been using a national Main Street revitalization model to spruce up and promote the town, leaning into its historic charm. Nolte says there have been signs of progress. What was once a 70% vacancy rate is now under 30%. One welcome arrival in the past couple of years is the Golden Clover Cafe owned by Shanan Rogers.
ROGERS: It's actually going pretty good. We've really built up a pretty good business in the last couple of years, but I know that it would be better even if there were more stores for people to shop.
DIAZ: Combined with the town's new Riverfront Promenade project, business leaders hope their work will pay dividends and more visitors, eager to be in the middle of everything, but away from it all. For Delmarva Public Media, this is Kevin Diaz in Snow Hill, Maryland.
