Ten years ago I made up the Tour of Empty Buildings. I had moved to a town with 14 empty buildings downtown and was the new Chamber of Commerce Director. I knew it would be my job to fill those buildings.
But how?
I wanted to know what was in those buildings, what had been in them before, who owned them, how many square feet, and what they actually looked like inside (most were old buildings.) I couldn’t be the only one who was curious.
Turns out I was right. People were curious. More importantly, talking about the buildings and their possibilities helped to turn the tide against so much negativity. If you focus on the negative, you get negative. If you focus on the positive, you get positive. I believe people were happy to think about the what could be, instead of what they lost.
Funny thing about the past, it’s gone and hard to recreate. However, the future is wide open.
This month’s video from SaveYour.Town is The Tour of Empty Buildings. It’s only $9 and it might just give you some ideas for your town!
