Case Studies

Cleveland has embraced partnerships to increase their capacity for revitalization. The city has recently begun working closely with the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation, entities that have historically had little relationship. Through these partnerships, the city has been able to expand programs and events past the capacity of any of these organizations individually.

With money from the EDC, the city has been able to transform its Facade Improvement Grant program into a Business Improvement Grant, expanding offerings to include interior projects that extend the useful life of buildings in the downtown area. The Chamber of Commerce, with support from the city and the EDC, can hold larger events that promote downtown businesses. Last December, Cleveland held a Downtown Cocoa Crawl that brought in crowds from the surrounding towns, and they plan to host more large events in the future.

To build these partnerships, each organization focused on shared long-term goals and incremental progress. Though Cleveland has faced some negativity within the community about its downtown area, celebrating small changes like repainting a crosswalk or planting trees has helped build momentum and excitement.

The city and EDC has invested in creating new parks and open spaces downtown, including a pocket park on the site of the original fire station. In place of the building, which had fallen into disrepair, there is now a pavilion and benches. This creates a useful space for the community in a key location, and the city plans to recognize the historic significance of the site with upcycled fire hydrants as a fence.

Changes to the downtown environment support the city’s growth and goals. Each year, Cleveland hosts Rock-N-Ride, a cycling event that travels through Sam Houston National Forest. The event draws over 200 visitors from all over Texas and surrounding states, starting and ending in downtown with live music, food, and festivities. The city is hoping to grow the event, and wants downtown improvements to get visitors to return year after year.

Today, Killeen has a thriving downtown. Over 90% of buildings are occupied with offices, shops, restaurants, and even a comedy club. Yet it wasn’t always this way. Just a few years ago in 2021, the city had an occupancy rate downtown of only 37%, with half of those being churches only open one day each week.

Killeen struggled with a negative self-perception of the city – residents would shop in neighboring towns and avoid or speak poorly of the downtown area – as well as long-term disinvestment in its historic buildings. The negative perception and run-down exterior created a negative feedback loop that drove away visitors to downtown.

To address this, the city focused on policies and programs that would attract new visitors to downtown and improve the streetscape to encourage them to come back. They established a vacant building registry, where every commercial building within the downtown area had to register, pay a fee, and undergo inspection if there was no occupant.

Owners were given 30 days to address any maintenance issues or else pay a fine. Doing this catalyzed many building owners to sell to those who were eager to see them fixed and occupied. The city also waived business fees in certain neighborhoods of Killeen and parking minimums across the downtown area to encourage new businesses, and in particular businesses that bring foot traffic.

Using TIRZ funding and grant funding, they were able to expand their facade improvement program and fund other infrastructure projects, creating a more pedestrian friendly environment.

Killeen also holds five signature events, runs TV and radio ads promoting downtown, and built a partnership with Fort Cavazos, a large military base nearby that encourages its soldiers to volunteer for downtown revitalization projects such as tree planting or street clean ups.

In the past year, soldiers from the base provided 1,000 volunteer hours, which not only brought down the cost of projects but also encouraged residents to feel connected to the area that they helped to build. These strategies encourage downtown visits that, together with the city’s infrastructure work, build momentum to create the thriving area there today.

In Navasota, relationships between the city and its downtown businesses help to bring life to the area. The city has prioritized policies and programs that catalyze development and support small business activities, encouraging businesses to invest in the community in return.

Each quarter, the downtown businesses come together to host a sip and shop event. Every store that participates provides shoppers with a free snack or cocktail, bringing in visitors and incentivizing them to walk around. To remove barriers for this event, Navasota issued an ordinance allowing alcohol consumption in its downtown area and provides social media marketing for the event.

The strong relationships between the city, business owners, and building owners carry into infrastructure improvements. Though construction can be a nuisance for shops, Navasota built trust in the improvements through starting small to demonstrate downtown’s potential.

Starting with a new city hall and a town square, Navasota implemented additional green space, streetscaping, signs designating historic sites, and more. The changes in this small but key part of the downtown area showed the direction that the city was moving and built trust that plans would happen. This helped build momentum for future growth, encouraging business owners to spend their money on improvements and attracting greater grant funding.

Outside of Navasota’s business-friendly attitude, the city hosts multiple festivals and events that encourage downtown visits. Navasota’s Texas Birthday Bash, a festival celebrating Texas’ Independence Day, draws around 20,000 visitors over two days.

The festival highlights Texas musicians, made-in-Texas products, and local Texan restaurants, tapping into the city’s roots. Other events include a July 4th celebration, Sounds of Summer outdoor concert series, Juneteenth Community Celebration, and a Home for the Holidays event in the winter.