Painesville is hoping to bring its historic downtown into the 21st Century. This month, the small city took a step toward large-scale revitalization when the Painesville City Council approved a resolution to designate an entertainment district.
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“I feel like I’ve been here forever, and there hasn’t been much new things, so it’s nice that we’re moving a little bit forward and doing new things,” Erika Nagel said.
The lifelong resident lives near downtown and said she appreciates the history and character of the 20,000 population town. But she’d also like to see more dining, recreation and entertainment options.
“I think every place has a little bit of potential,” she said.
Off of Painesville Square, Belen Flores and her husband are banking on downtown’s potential. They opened their Mexican snack and frozen treat shop, Mmm Yummy, in July.
“We are just listening to our community to see what they need, and we’re going to try to bring all that here,” Flores said.
Down the street from the business, the former Lake County National Bank and Chase Bank building is undergoing renovations to become student housing for Lake Erie College.
Wednesday, crews were finishing clearing trees on a hillside near the Kiwanis Recreation Park for a mixed-use residential, retail and amphitheater project called the Grand River Walk. The riverside development will anchor the eastern perimeter of a newly designated entertainment district.
Other entertainment district projects include the renovation of mostly vacant retail center Victoria Place, improvements on part of historic Main Street and a new splash park at the Kiwanis Recreation Center.
“We think it’s going to be awesome, not just for our business, but for Subway, for the other businesses that are here and especially for Painesville,” Flores said of the new development.
On October 16, City Council approved an application for the entertainment district. The designation created a new allocation of liquor permits, which the city hopes will attract new business.
“People want more restaurants downtown; they want a vibrant entertainment district, and we’re working to create that,” said Susan Crotty, Painesville’s Economic Development Director.
She noted an entertainment district designation requires a city of Painesville’s size to have a minimum of $50 million in development investment. The projects currently underway total nearly $80 million.
It’s a development boom in a historic city where the median age is younger than 31. Crotty said city leaders are hoping to preserve the history of Painesville while bringing new amenities to downtown for the young population.
“If you’re looking to attract other types of businesses in other areas in the community, the first place they’re going to look is the downtown,” she said.
Many of the entertainment district projects are expected to wrap up in 2024.
