'Revitalize Ashland' tour opens door to opportunities

Sep. 13—ASHLAND — Ashland's city manager and mayor noticed a lot of nodding heads during the "Revitalize Ashland" walking tour on Tuesday, and not just when they asked if everyone could hear them on the headphones provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission for the annual conference.

Mike Graese and Matt Perkins guided dozens of folks from various towns throughout Appalachia on a journey that included the old (such as the historic Camayo Arcade) and the new (such as Art Alley). They conducted the tour at 8:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m.

The conference's theme in 2023 was Appalachia Rises: Resilience, Strength and Transformation. Graese said Ashland epitomizes that well.

"That's us, in my humble opinion," said Graese, the city manager since 2017. "We're redefining ourselves."

While at Broadway Square on 16th Street, Graese used a sneaky trick to get heads turning toward the giant purple "Create" mural that summarizes Ashland's motto — "Create With Us" — as several whipped out their smartphones for a quick photo.

Ashland is aiming to climb back to its population peak (31,283), which occurred in the early 1960s. In 2022, Ashland's population was 21,342.

Sometimes, Graese said, it feels like the city is "taking two steps forward and one step back, but I think we forget sometimes how much progress we're really making, and that we are posturing ourselves for the best success."

Many of those who participated in the tour provided feedback to Perkins and Graese. What they gathered was a number of Appalachian communities and Ashland share similar challenges.

The mayor and city manager also learned about a few opportunities, such as Port Authority Grants, to look into in the near future.

"I spent a lot of time with the mayor from Hazard and the judge-executive from Perry County," Graese said. "They said, 'would you be open to our staff having a visit with you?' Absolutely."

Perkins also remarked about the networking relationships this conference sparked.

"We got some great feedback," said the mayor. "There were a few who were like, I'm from Tennessee, or I'm from New York, and this is what we've done. We didn't see this work, but we saw this work. We'd love to connect with you. ... That's what's great about this kind of event. It's about bringing people together, people who are trying hard to do the same things in the community."

Perkins said several complimented Ashland's attention to detail through its revitalization efforts, such as the street light renovations, attractive business signage and upcoming plans to convert Winchester into a two-lane avenue with roundabouts and reverse-angle parking. Work on that streetscape project will begin Monday, Graese said.

"Seeing their reaction and hearing questions, it gave us a sense of appreciation for what we're doing," he said. "It's highly, highly encouraging."

The last tour stop was the Delta Hotel, which is another symbol of change. Five years ago, Graese told the crowd, there was no hotel he could recommend in downtown Ashland. Now, with the Delta Hotel and a parking lot where the old Ashland Oil building once stood — which will eventually become a conference center, if all goes to plan — there's plenty of which to be proud.

Graese said all of the positive changes regarding utilities impressed those who visited the city, too.

"We take things in the community for granted sometimes, and this was a reminder we're a great community that is headed in the right direction," Graese said.

One of the next challenges, both Perkins and Graese agreed, is to create more residential opportunities downtown.

"We hope that will be done with aggressive marketing," Perkins said. "And it's not just a need for high-end residences."

"There are plenty of empty floors begging for that," Graese added.

The city manager said the memorable Tyler Childers concert on Monday night at the Paramount Arts Center and fireworks on Tuesday night served as "the cherry on top of the frosting."

One of Perkins' highlights was landing on John Calipari's page on X (formerly Twitter) after the mayor gave the Kentucky men's basketball coach a key tot the city.

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com