Young and the restless

Part 3

by Kristen Lombardi

Terry Pindell's been looking for the latte life for nearly 10 years, though he doesn't describe it as such. The author of A Good Place To Live, a travelogue of America's "renaissance communities," has cruised country byways in search of our best urban centers and, inadvertently, has unearthed places actively catering to young professionals.

"Renaissance communities are recreating the sense of a physical and social center," he says, while picking at a salad at a restaurant in Keene, New Hampshire, itself a quirky place Pindell helped revitalize as former city councilor. "They had to rebuild downtown infrastructures to encourage people to be there on foot with money in pockets."

On foot with money in pockets, he reiterates, playing it up with a jab of his fork. "True renaissance communities have successfully pulled that [challenge] off," he adds.

He isn't talking New York City, San Francisco, or Seattle, either. Pindell's looked at 14 renewed cities, many in places demographers wouldn't have predicted. (Would you figure Missoula, Montana, Asheville, North Carolina, and Burlington, Vermont awesome places to live?) Yet they've managed to breathe life into decaying downtowns, inciting remarkable population booms.

They all have common elements, such as walkable downtowns with grass, fountains, and benches. They have bustling cultural scenes, strong, local identities, and a bevy of what Pindell calls "third places" -- gathering spots for people to meet friends or make new ones.

"Successful renaissance communities understand the importance of third places," says Pindell, who thinks his urban picks differ from Money magazine's survey because he's judging quality-of-life -- not high-paying jobs in town. (Nashua, New Hampshire ranked first in Money, but young people here say they don't consider it attractive.)

Young people, in particular, look for a city of third places, and this is why officials in renaissance communities like Wilmington, North Carolina and Portsmouth, New Hampshire have focused on social spots.

"Young professionals are a strong piece of any community's comeback," explains Bob Murphery, executive director of Downtown Area Revitalization Effort, a nonprofit organization responsible for transforming Wilmington from an old shipyard city into a hip vacation destination and place to live.

As a group, young professionals boast attractive qualities, officials say. They have higher educations and incomes, and often prefer city life. They spend more money on live music and funky shoes. And, more important, they're the demographic that attracts business.

"Industries really look at this component," says Murphery.

Wilmington's worked hard at keeping young professionals. Once a seedy port town, with a red-light district that drove citizens away, it's become a "marvel of everything," Pindell says. The tightly localized center abounds with third places -- 19 establishments, ranging from cappuccino bars to outdoor taverns to pool halls.

Murphery manages downtown as if he were a mall executive, recruiting business, enforcing regulations. In 13 years, he's managed to fill 90 percent of the city's 300 buildings with professional offices, hotels, even residents. The business district alone boasts 160 street-level shops and boutiques to lure crowds.

City officials have played a role, funding infrastructure revitalization like historic Thalian Hall, now a concert and performing-arts center. They cleaned up and rezoned Cape Fear River, building recreational docks and a boardwalk, then revamped regulations to allow for sidewalk cafes.

"The city undertook projects that made it attractive, unique, and a desirable place to work and live," says Mary Gornto, Wilmington's city manager.

The city then went a step further, by seeking out young professionals to refurbish lofts and apartments, Gornto says. The city offered special mortgage programs and tax deductions to anyone interested in fixing up its Victorian buildings, she adds.

The effort's paid off. In A Good Place To Live, Pindell notes the city's influx of newcomers, to which Mayor Don Betz responds, "Wilmington has a tremendously sophisticated professional population . . . and they will stay here because this is a place where you don't need to get in your car and leave town to take a vacation."

Wilmington isn't the only place looking to please young people. Providence has gained recognition as a renaissance city reversing decay by capitalizing on arts and entertainment. In 1996, the city designated a 10-block area of mill buildings as its "arts-and-entertainment district," jump-starting it with tax incentives for artists and property owners.

Once desolate and shabby, the district's now home to nearly 100 writers, composers, and painters, all of whom get personal income tax exemptions for living there. Landlords receive abatements to convert buildings into lofts, which are surrounded by theater and dance companies.

"We have a very hip mayor [Vincent Cianci] who understands the value of art and culture, economically, and spiritually," says Umberto Crenca, artistic director of AS220, a complex of lofts and galleries showcasing films, theater, poetry as well as cafes, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Not surprisingly, demand for more galleries, clubs, and so on came from 20- to 35-year-olds, says Crenca.

Such places offer amusement beyond the usual. And this has made the district a huge success among young people, says Patricia McLaughlin, chairperson of its managing group, the Arts Implementation Task Force.

On weekends, young people (and hip older folks) flock to the district to see Miss Saigon or rock out at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel. The district, along with city projects like Waterplace Park, have made Providence so attractive for young people, it's now considered one of 10 best places to live by Swing, a magazine for twentysomethings.

"This [district] is an attempt to keep young professionals in our downtown," says McLaughlin, adding that non-artists now view the neighborhood as hip and are applying for loft space. "We've provided as much cultural diversity as possible, because young professionals look beyond suburban movie theaters for excitement."

Kristen Lombardi can be reached at klombardi[a]phx.com

On to part 4