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The Philadelphia Inquirer
APRIL 10, 2005
Reimagining region's historical Main Streets
Kennett Square is about to celebrate its sesquicentennial, and thanks to the public-private partnership Levin (Susan Bass Levin, commissioner of the NJ Department of Community Affairs) calls a key to downtown revitalization, the Chester Country borough truly has something to crow about, said Mary Skrzat Hutchins, executive director of the Kennett Square Revitalization Task Force (now called simply Historic Kennett Square).
A decade of public-private effort has turned a once-struggling six-to eight-block area into enhanced streetscapes with art galleries, shops and restaurants, Hutchins said.
"Things really started when Mike Walker, the former chairman of Genesis Health Centers, demolished a half-block of blighted buildings and built his corporate headquarters," she said. "He purposely didn't build a cafeteria, so his employees would leave the building for lunch."
As expected, restaurants and coffee shops appeared.
From the start of a revitalization effort, Kennett Square's Hutchins said, it's crucial to understand that "main streets cannot be what they used to be."
"With Wal-Mart and Home Depot a short drive away, you can't have a hardware store or a 5 and 10," she said. "You need to offer what the others can't: gift shops, art galleries, historic attractions, and, most of all, service."
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