Town hall meeting aims to begin the revitalization of Dorr Street Corridor
The meeting is the first step in what will be a lengthy process.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Economic development: something we often associate with parts of the Glass City such as downtown or Westgate. But because of that, some neighborhoods have been neglected and the people in them left without answers.
So tonight, the goal of a town hall organized by the Dorr Street Coalition was to answer questions and respond to the concerns of Junction-Englewood neighborhood residents. The community meeting also provided an opportunity for ideas to be shared — as well as hope for the revitalization of the Dorr Street corridor.
“This meeting is bringing the community together to talk about what we would like to see on Dorr Street: bringing back economic development to our community,” said Suzette Cowell, president of the Dorr Street Coalition.
Turnout for tonight’s meeting made a statement: that the neighborhood cares and is ready for some overdue changes.
“People are energized. They want to see something different,” Cowell explained. “One of the things that the community asked us to do was to build the credit union on the corner of Dorr and Detroit and we’ve done that. And so now it’s time to come back and see what the next steps are.”
Plenty of city officials were in attendance, including Director of Public Safety Brian Byrd, Council Members Nick Komives and Dr. Tiffany Preston Whitman, County Commissioner Gary Byers, State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson, and others.
Department of Neighborhoods Director Rosalyn Clemens said it best. She’s tired of attending meetings to raise expectations, just for things to stay the same. She hopes more community members will get involved and work to attract more businesses to the corridor, with the help of the city.
