The city of Newberry hosted a strategic visioning session for the town’s downtown area on Wednesday, gathering input from stakeholders to help form an action plan. 

Jennifer Gregory, president of consulting organization International Downtown Association’s Downtown Strategies division, led the event, as her team is putting together the plan. An action plan, unlike a comprehensive or strategic plan, is a short-term vision for the next five years and will come with 20-30 suggested projects to help revitalize Newberry’s downtown. 

Over a dozen local business owners and citizens gathered to listen or give their input, including Chad Johnson and Jenn Garrett, candidates for District 22 State Representative and Alachua County Commissioner District 3 Commissioner, respectively. 

Many of the citizens who gathered for the strategic visioning session on Wednesday were small business owners who have storefronts in Newberry’s downtown. They voiced concerns about parking and a lack of widespread information about what Newberry’s downtown offers. 

Jamie Griffin, owner of Lighthouse Restaurant and 1906 Farmhouse Restaurant, said parking is the biggest barrier to the downtown’s success. 

“Until we work on that piece of infrastructure—we’ve already got sewer and water, so that infrastructure’s fine—but until you have a convenient place for people to park to go to these places downtown, you’re not gonna bring people down here,” Griffin said during the meeting. 

She said people are attracted to places where they can see others already enjoying a site, so large groups attract more customers.  

“If they don’t get the parking fixed, we’re doomed,” Griffin said in an interview. 

Gregory said in addition to the lack of surface parking, small towns often struggle with a perceived lack of parking because there is a norm of parking very close to the destination, instead of parking and walking a block. 

Gregory also noted that there were several open parking spots on Newberry Road close to peak restaurant business hours, and some attendees admitted there may be an existing assumption that there will be no parking. 

Others noted that parking on Newberry Road is also a safety concern, especially since a semi-truck crashed into the storefront of Main Street Sweets & Eats. 

One solution Gregory suggested is more signage to direct people to where they can park. The city is also working on an agreement with First Baptist Newberry and will have more paved parking available after the renovations and addition to city hall. 

When asked what they would add to Newberry if they could wave a magic wand to change anything, attendees threw out ideas from benches, flowers and gazebos to wider sidewalks, accessibility and historic signage. 

Though attendees came with a passion for Newberry’s downtown, they struggled to assign a central point that anchors the downtown. Some thought a park could be the center, others named city hall, but none with conviction. 

Frances Bradley, the owner of Main Street Sweets & Eats, said not enough people inside and outside Newberry know what is available downtown, but it is promising that the city has invested in the visioning process. 

Gregory said that Newberry has a unique desire to maintain its small-town feel and that its city government has been supportive of the downtown revitalization in a way she does not often see. 

“You see, a lot of times, a kind of hesitation… and all of these things, but I think your government recognizes that this is the heart of the community,” Gregory said. 

Bradley said Newberry will be able to maintain its small-town feel and become a destination if it leans into revitalizing the downtown area. She compared the downtown to Celebration Pointe in Gainesville, which she said would just be a shopping strip if it did not have an atmosphere that promotes lingering and enjoyment. 

“We won’t lose that small-town feel, if we are mindful of how we create a space and what kind of vibe, and what kind of space we actually create,” Bradley said. “Because we create experience.” 

Gregory said she will present the results of community input from the meeting and online survey to the city in about three weeks. Another three or four weeks after that, she said, she will present the first draft of the strategic action plan. After about a month of revisions, the plan will be finished. 

The plan will include an implementation strategy that assigns responsibility for different roles. Gregory said it will likely rely heavily on volunteers, but she has confidence in the stakeholders who are already investing their time and money in Newberry’s downtown. 

“You guys do have a real culture of volunteerism here… in a small town, that’s how things get done,” Gregory said.