A information session on Hidden Spaces/Secret Places tours was held Tuesday, Sept. 27, by California Progress Inc. (CPI) at the California City Hall meeting room.
Stephanie Bell, past president of Downtown Jefferson City, conducted the session which drew about 20 people.
The topic of tours of renovated facilities in the older parts of the city meshed well with the overall goal of CPI, which is to promote the community and make it a better place to live.
Bell spoke of the successful tours and how it featured property owners and private citizens and the properties they have developed. She pointed out the decreased vacancy rates in properties in downtown Jefferson City, in both loft apartments and the ground level businesses. She pointed out that the tours can also be used as fundraisers. It is also a good idea to have some tour locations for which the renovations have been completed, and others in various stages of completion in order to demonstrate the possibilities for the people taking the tour.
Finding partners in the community, such as the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations, to help with the event is one of the first steps. Picking a date for the first and subsequent tours is important. Bell suggested spring and fall for the tours. A good reason for this, is avoiding extremely hot or cold weather. This is important, because some of the older buildings and facilities included on the tour will be in the process of being renovated. This may mean no air conditioning or even heat in spaces under renovation. In some cases, especially residential, the tour would only be in designated areas of the building. It was also pointed out that for Jefferson City, Sunday afternoon tours have worked best.
The Downtown Jefferson City group aims for 10 properties to show for a tour. Those on the tour ideally would include a mix of commercial and residential properties, both completed and prospective redevelopment. This also allows new showings, and repeat showing in subsequent tours. A repeat showing allows those on the tour to see what has been done since they last saw it.
The Jefferson City group tour ticket sales are helped by the trolley rides between the tour sites. A map of the tour sites is included and bottled water made available. There are coupons and a "scavenger hunt" in which the tour participants look for certain features inside or outside the locations on the tour.
Sometimes, workshops on various parts of redevelopment are included.
One thing to make certain of is that enough volunteer greeters are available for each property, and that they have information to answer questions.
"We were surprised, " Bell said. "We didn't expect it to be so popular. And every year it has grown."
Several of those present said it definitely should be considered. Building the partnerships necessary and getting the timing right may take some time.
"It has some potential," said Gail Hughes.
David Jungmeyer, who chairs the Economic Vitality Committee, is interested in having a tour of available and renovated buildings in California in the near future.
CPI has been active for since 1989 working to find parts of the city which could use positive changes. The group's focus was, and still is today, multifaceted community betterment, economic development and historic preservation. The organizers knew that these goals were all intricately related.
Restoration and preservation of historic structures in the community was considered an important part of this work. An effort to prevent additional decline of the structures should result in an attractive, vibrant older historical section of town - one which would promote an interest in living and working in the area.
The effort of CPI to achieve this development still continues, nearly 30 years after the founding of the 501(c)3 Not-For-Profit Corporation. Current board members are: Charlie Roll, Beth Jungmeyer, Norman Rohrbach, Mary Jo Garnett, Heather Allen, Emilio Juarez, Cale Brown, Connie Walker, Alex McGill, Eleanor Tiefenbrun, Gail Hughes, Linda Imhoff.