Business & Tech

Downtown Ferndale Honored as 'Perfect'

Ferndale and 5 other communities were celebrated by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson at the Rust Belt Market for a perfect scoring in the National Main Street Center program.

For the sixth time in 10 years, Ferndale scored a perfect 10 out of 10 for its annual evaluation by the National Main Street Center in Washington, DC, as part of the Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) program.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson honored Ferndale on Wednesday morning, along with five other communities, for their national accreditation in a ceremony at the newly opened at Woodward Avenue and Nine Mile Road.

Among artisan wares and fares, Patterson handed out awards to the various Downtown Development Authority directors and city officials. By holding the event at the Rust Belt, Ferndale was on display.

"The Rust Belt Market is the kind of business we need," Patterson said. "What (owners Chris and Tiffany Best) have here is a stroke of genius in (Ferndale's) vibrant center."

Patterson extended congratulations on filling the building that the Rust Belt now calls home. The space sat vacant for four years after Old Navy left. "I don't think you have any more vacancy left," Patterson said. "You're knocking it out of the park."

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According to the , Ferndale's vacancy rate has decreased from 30 percent in 2000 to less than 5 percent today.

Of the 32 downtowns in Oakland County, 26 of them, including Ferndale, are Main Street Oakland County communities. MSOC's goal is to maximize the economic potential of these downtowns and, as several people who accepted awards Wednesday said, provide a structure to succeed.

"We think of ourselves as a crown jewel among the Main Street program," Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said after accepting the award along side Ferndale's DDA Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius. "What it means is that we have a vision and the energy and the volunteers, but Main Street provides a structure to get it all done."

Patterson laid out numbers gathered since the inception of the program that, he said, prove it is a successful program.

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Ferndale 2010 Ferndale past 10 years  Oakland County 2010 Oakland County past 10 years Downtown reinvestment* $7.8 million $57.5 million More than $22 million More than $560 million Full-time (net) jobs created 204 1,244 1,084 5,122 New businesses (net) established 26 85 144 551
Buildings rehabilitated 37 More than 175 246 More than 1,100 Volunteer hours 4,100 hours 17,647 hours More than 23,000 hours 169,870 hours


"Of all the government programs, this is my favorite," Patterson said. "It's not only working, but you can see it work. You can actually see the metamorphous between an old city and a new city."

Patterson said he started fighting for Ferndale many years ago as prosecutor to remove an X-rated theater, which is currently the . "We didn't want to see that in Oakland County. As prosecutor, I fought to close it down," he said. "You can't have a vibrant downtown with an X-rated theater.

"Now, Ferndale is one of the most vibrant communities in Oakland County. I want to see continued expansion here, like this building we're standing in."

Sheppard-Decius said the numbers have been great over the last decade, but what sticks out the most is of the $22 million invested in Oakland County downtowns this year, nearly $8 million of that went into Ferndale.

"Though (the Rust Belt Market) isn't part of the investment numbers this year, it shows that people want to invest in Ferndale," Sheppard-Decius said. "They wouldn't do it if they didn't believe that Ferndale was a great place to do business."

"This certification is further recognition that Cristina and the downtown Ferndale crew are doing an outstanding job for Ferndale and reinforcing what we already know: Our DDA does a first class job," Coulter said.

Patterson also presented awards to Farmington, Lake Orion, Ortonville, Oxford and Rochester.

*Investment includes public and private investment throughout the downtowns, including DDA/TIF investment, public improvement dollars and private sector investment leveraged within the DDA districts.


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