MY TURN: Downtown suffers from man-made blight

Did you know that you are all curators? Curators of your communities! YOU can curate the kind of businesses you want in your communities. YOU can work together to manage your community economy.

Imagine designing your own downtown corridor with the kind of businesses you want for your family, your friends, your visitors and your community. Gift shops, restaurants, clothing boutiques, coffee shops, bakeries and even galleries. 

Now ask yourself, “How do these businesses exist?” Because of YOU! Because of YOUR support, your engagement, your dollars. 

Small businesses are not the sort of ‘Disneyland’ that is underwritten by outside corporate investment. Small businesses are curated by you and exist because of YOU!

Now, imagine those businesses gone. Imagine your downtown corridor full of empty storefronts and vacant streets. Then, imagine you no longer have a place to bring your visitors. Imagine a downtown that no longer hosts vibrant parades or downtown events. Imagine YOUR home price dropping by 10-20% because your downtown corridor is blighted. 

Now, imagine when a small business owner hears you say, “Oh, we NEVER go downtown, it’s just too crazy, or I can’t find parking, or I’m afraid of what might happen downtown.”

YOU curate your community. YOUR support is what keeps it vibrant and alive! YOUR actions set the brand for our region!

As a small-business owner who over the past three years has had to deal with a worldwide pandemic, the militia, a flood (only at our business), 31 white nationalists captured in a U-Haul down the street and now hateful speech and actions taken toward visiting student-athletes — we are struggling. I hear again and again from many of my legacy clients, “Oh, I don’t go to downtown Coeur d’Alene anymore.” 

Now, imagine coming to work every day and doing your best to simply stay alive, and pay your staff, your artists and your bills?

YOU — my fellow community members who say, “Oh, I don’t go to downtown Coeur d’Alene anymore” — hold our future in your hands. 

To those who perpetrated these evil actions and words upon these students — YOU caused the downtown Cd'A businesses to not get to see the thousands of visitors from the NCAA Tournament that weekend. YOU caused harm to our visitors. YOU hurt my business. YOU hurt my downtown. YOU hurt my home price. YOU hurt my community. YOU hurt me and my family. 

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Blair Williams is owner of The Art Spirit Gallery.