Renaissance Ahead For Downtown Framingham?
Holli Andrews —executive director of the Framingham Downtown Renaissance — sees downtown’s multicultural appeal as a seed for economic growth. With community planning and open-space preservation experience in Vermont and Maine, Andrews is tasked with revitalizing this somewhat-forgotten area with new energy, plans for improved walkability and emphasis on its historic assets. She shares some of her vision here.
What are some of the challenges in unifying and growing a multicultural downtown?
Maybe our most important challenge in this setting is to meaningfully engage our immigrant and non-immigrant entrepreneurs in building upon their own potential and supporting a healthy local economic system. It’s been my goal since I got here to cultivate a climate of trust in our multicultural community that transcends our differences. I’ve developed unique ways to communicate who I am as downtown organizer, explaining that I am there for the businesses in a way they often aren’t accustomed to or perhaps haven’t seen before. It’s time consuming, but really interesting and very rewarding.
As a newcomer, how have you and your ideas been perceived by longtime Framingham residents and business owners?
There are many people here who are fantastic dreamers — my kind of folks. They either remember how things used to be or else they’ve been to really cool places with lively neighborhoods or village centers, and they envision that type of commercial district here. I do have lots of critics and many guiding pieces of advice to field through each and every day — but I chalk that up to collective passion, which is a good thing to have around you when you are trying to drive change.
What are Downtown Framingham's biggest obstacles to growth?
Downtown Framingham grew up around the intersection of several critical rail lines serving downtown factories, including Avery-Dennison and General Motors, up through the mid-1900s. While the industry declined in the 1960s, the downtown suffered a second blow as new, auto-oriented retail was built to the north at the highway interchanges. For the small businesses in our downtown, competition with big-name retail giants, shopping centers and parking convenience along Route 9 has often proven insurmountable.
Our downtown’s opportunities for growth are beginning to emerge from these looming obstacles of the past. The exciting new designs and plans to develop a less vehicle-dependent and walkable commercial district during a time when energy prices are increasing at a steady pace will shift the scales in favor of Downtown Framingham’s small businesses and local flavor.
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