At the beginning of the summer, the Blowing Rock Tourism and Development Association hired consulting firm HyettPalma to take a thorough look at the town’s business district in order to plan for the next five years.

Monday evening the Town of Blowing Rock held a special meeting at the Hayes Performing Arts Center to hear the results of that study.

HyettPalma director Doyle Hyett spoke for 90 minutes during the event and paraphrased a number of issues from the firm’s 104-page document titled “Blowing Rock: Downtown Retail Strategy 2009.”
The title of Hyett’s presentation was “Making Downtown Renaissance a Reality.”

“For the past 25 years I’ve worked with cities across America including the cities where both our vice-presidential candidates come from: Dover, Delaware and Wasilla, Alaska,” said Hyett. “There’s something very special about your community here in Blowing Rock.”

Hyett unveiled to the crowd of over 80 people the highlights of a retail strategy that focused on four elements: vision, market analysis, course of action and partnerships.

“When we look at Blowing Rock today, we see that its strengths include a positive opinion by merchants and residents, walk-ability, quaintness, scenic beauty and a uniqueness,” said Hyett.

“Add to these the old buildings and trees, the stone architecture and the availability of a downtown park, post office, churches and library and you have a lot of what we call anchorages that pull people to the downtown area.”

Hyett also mentioned regional attractions such as Tweetsie Railroad, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain and the Cone Manor that helped attract visitors to the Blowing Rock area.

“You also have what we consider to be a very prosperous community with a good mix of retirees, full-time residents, part-time residents and tourists,” said Hyett.

Hyett stated that he considered Blowing Rock to be a very pro-active community when it comes to its appearance. He noted the recent parking and traffic study and the new newspaper boxes on Main St. as examples of that vision.

“We see Blowing Rock in a state of transition right now, at a crossroads of sorts,” said Hyett.

“Vacation patterns will change radically over the next few years as the industry faces new challenges. We have to understand and not underestimate the value of a strong downtown. And that will depend on the quality of the retail, restaurant and commercial offerings. You want to maintain a certain level of quality. Quality in all things possible.”

Hyett and several of his associates compiled the report from observing the downtown area and from interviewing residents, merchants and customers in Blowing Rock during this past summer. The consulting firm was reportedly paid $25,000 from the Blowing Rock Tourism and Development Association for the report.

“The vision and market analysis findings were used to define a specific retail enhancement strategy for the Downtown project area,” stated Hyett and partner Dolores P. Palma in the cover letter of the report. “The recommended strategy was specifically designed to enable Downtown to attain the community’s defined vision as well as the identified market opportunities.”

Hyett’s presentation of the report on Monday night swung from the broad and basic such as how Blowing Rock should seek historic designation from the national registry to the particular such as suggesting that merchants open up their restrooms to customers.

“I know that if I use an establishment’s restroom, I am nearly always guilted into buying something,” said Hyett. “You have to remember that many of your customers in Blowing Rock are older with smaller bladders.”
Hyett also suggested that Blowing Rock take a good look at its zoning restrictions to see how they might encourage or discourage necessary growth in the town.

Some of the HyettPalma report’s suggestions were directly linked to concerns that the firm heard from Blowing Rock merchants and residents. One such concern was the number of real estate, law and other offices that seem to be taking over valuable retail space on Main Street and Sunset Drive.

Hyett suggested that these types of businesses be regulated to the upper floors of downtown buildings while retail shops occupy the street level areas.

“We heard you when you said you like your small town look,” said Hyett.

“We know you want to retain the mountain character of your town. You want a diverse mix of businesses and you want adequate parking. You want fewer chain stores and more mom and pop businesses. You want a clean green downtown area. But you don’t necessarily want uniformity or perfection. That’s what makes you Blowing Rock.”