Uptown Kellogg: The next step

EDITOR’S NOTE: BLAST FROM THE PAST is a weekly article where we turn back the clock and see what was on the front page of our local newspapers years ago.

This unchanged article and photo/cutline ran on the front page of the Jan. 12, 1995, edition of the Shoshone News-Press. If you remember this story, or other BLAST FROM THE PAST articles, let us know by writing us or commenting online.

By DON SAUER

Staff Writer

KELLOGG — The Kellogg the LID project completed this fall was only the first step in the revitalization of the uptown area and business owners are anxiously looking ahead to 1995 for the next steps in the rebirth of the town.

Brenda Stinson, a member of the LID design committee said that the committee had put together several ideas to further enhance the work begun by the LID and help make the uptown area even more attractive to everyone.

“We’ve been looking at the type of mix of businesses we need,” Stinson said. “We’re looking not only at attracting tourists but we want to improve things for local shoppers, give them a greater variety.”

Stinson said that the committee has looked at several areas where new and additional businesses would fit into the uptown area such as unique gift shops, more clothing stores, and possibly a candy store.

She also said that the area beneath Todd’s Office Supply could hold 10 or 11 small shops and added that there will be plenty of help for fledgling businesses.

“Anyone who wants to open a shop, we’ll be right there to get them started,” Stinson said. “We’ll help with things like permits, rent or anything else we can. We’ve already had a couple of enquiries.”

One major project for the upcoming year, Stinson said, will be in making a listing of all the empty stores in the uptown area and listing the square footage along with rental or sale price of each in hopes they can be refurbished to match the rest of the businesses in the area.

“We want to find out what the owners want to do with them,” Stinson said. “We would like to see something done with them, preferably having them made into a new business.”

Another goal for the group will be to market the uptown area as a destination of its own have the Alpine Village simply be a spinoff from the Silver Mountain gondola.

“We have to start thinking of ourselves as a destination,” Stinson said. “Why not have people come to see the village then visit the gondola, we can work very well together to do this.”

Further down the road Stinson said the businesses need to work on such things as a mutual marketing theme and a coalition to buy as a village by utilizing such things as shopping bags with a common village logo.

Other future projects might include signs to the village being placed throughout town, billboards and what should be placed on the street as far as flower pots, benches, and sculptures.

One thing Stinson stressed was that the businesses will be working toward concrete goals that will have long term benefit for the village.

“We’re working on definite projects, not just a few festivals,” she said. “We don’t want to spend the long hours it takes to put together a new festival or celebration when that time could be spent on something permanent which could draw more people to town.”