Hiram is focused on the future as it seeks to bring more opportunity to the village.
The recently formed Downtown Hiram Revitalization committee is currently surveying the community about what the future of the village should look like, and they’re hosting events like a spring festival.
Mayor Anne Haynam said the village once had a thriving downtown that has been lost over the decades. The committee, which started as a task force through the mayor’s office, was created to help the village bolster economic growth, support the interests of the community and envision the remapping of the village to make it more accessible for residents and visitors.
Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam dropped in to take a look at the student poster contest entries, a part of Hiram's revitalization survey initiative. Jeremy Brown/The Portager
The Downtown Hiram Revitalization committee includes President Kimberly Ule, Vice President Daren Houck, Secretary Juan Fernandez and Treasurer Martha Schettler. The committee applied to become a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and was approved, which allows it to hold fundraisers and do programming.
In December, the committee, in coordination with Hiram College Associate Professor of Management Morgan Clevenger and students, created a survey that was released to Hiram College faculty, employees, students and, more recently, alumni and community members.
To date, the survey has revealed that additional food choices and more entertainment top the list of wants for the community, but Clevenger said the project is an ongoing initiative that could take a couple of years to get the full scope of results.
The revitalization committee is aiming to bring more business into the village that could complement existing ones, such as The M.O.R.E. Cafe, Gionino’s Pizzeria and Coyote Mexican Grill & Cantina.
Many of the student visions included new businesses and third spaces in the downtown area. Jeremy Brown/The Portager
Haynam said the expansion of businesses in Hiram hinges upon the availability of commercial properties.
“Part of it right now that is exciting is we’ve got four properties that the college put up for sale, and all of them are listed commercial,” Haynam said. “That's an opportunity for the village to bring in new business. The Bancroft house, the Jesse Smith house – which is connected to the traditional downtown – and Buckingham Place. These are good properties for businesses. We could plan all we wanted to, but if there weren’t properties available, it’s stagnant.”
The sale of Buckingham Place is pending and another of the four properties, Hiram College’s Stephens Memorial Observatory, was recently purchased by local realtor Julia Backos. Backos, daughter of The Hiram Inn owners Ed and Jen Backos, said she aims to preserve the history and function of the building, such as the revolving dome and the panoramic observation window, but her team is still in the process of exploring what to transform the space into.
“There’s a lot of planning; I think this is the most exciting part of it, but also the most challenging part, because you want to create something that’s exciting for the community, so we’re working out those possibilities,” Backos said. “We have a big vision and big plans for this place, but nothing that’s solidified at this point, so, stay tuned.”
Andria Morningstar-Gray [right] taking note of the details in students' visions for the future of Hiram. Jeremy Brown/The Portager
Beyond the survey, The Downtown Hiram Revitalization committee plans to raise money and apply for grants to carry out projects, which Ule said could include bringing events to the village; connecting sidewalks, paths and trails in the village to make navigating the area easier; making the Headwaters Trail more accessible from downtown; sponsoring a dog park; or getting new playground equipment.
“I personally want to connect with Garrettsville and Crestwood’s drama theater. They used to have this thing called Little Theater; this was a two-week camp for kids. You would drop them off at nine in the morning,” Ule said. “I’m trying to work on that. I just have to get ahold of people to start it.”
An upcoming event from The Downtown Hiram Revitalization committee is the Hiram Downtown Revitalization Spring Fest, which will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 on the lawn at Hayden Street in downtown Hiram.
“It's like a pre-Mother’s Day shopping experience,” Ule said. “Bring your mom; come shop. There'll be flowers, handmade items, lotions, tallow, gifts for moms, gifts for kids. It’s going to be a really fun time.”
As part of the event, there will be an awards ceremony for the winners of a children’s poster contest. The “Envisioning the Future: Downtown Hiram 2035” contest was held by Downtown Hiram Revitalization and the Scarborough School of Business and Communication at Hiram College and asked entrants to visualize what downtown Hiram should look like in the future.
Fernandez said the committee chose a children’s poster contest, because children have the unique ability to be able to see things differently than adults.
Sophia Sane from James A. Garfield Elementary was the 1st Place poster contest winner of the Intermediate School Division (6th-8th grade). Jeremy Brown/The Portager
“It’s really interesting to see how kids see the future: drone deliveries, a jetpack store. But something that really remains among a lot of these things is the notion of the physical community,” Fernandez said. “There are people who have drawn, more or less, the street grid of Hiram and put new things in there. They’ve brought things from the outside, whether it be a big-box store or a boutique store or a made-up restaurant, all together in a way that is really interesting. It speaks to the possibilities of new ways of zoning.”
The winners of the contest are as follows:
Elementary School Division (K-5th grade)
1st Place Wyatt Bogatay, Crestwood Primary School
2nd Place Hanna Mead, Crestwood Primary School
3rd Place Teagan Orleman, Crestwood Primary School
Intermediate School Division (6th-8th grade)
1st Place Sophia Sane, James A. Garfield Elementary
2nd Place Brylee Reese, Crestwood Intermediate School
3rd Place Rocco Conforte, Crestwood Intermediate School
Senior High Division (9th-12th grade)
No entries.
Honorable Mention from voting via The People’s Choice
Sophia Huntington, Crestwood Intermediate School
Jeremy Brown