The new Jaxon's Night Market, and all other events in the downtown core, will gradually improve the image of the core, and thus ultimately encourage new residents to it.
Whereas there might be some validity to the rather limited view ... "Entice and invite residents and workers to the core directly ... somehow.... so as to occupy buildings, as doing so is KING when it comes to measuring revitalization progress" -- these new events suggest that it is possible for multiple events (Art Walk, Jazz Festival, One Spark, the upcoming Hemming Park Programming, Food Truck Rallies, and now the Jaxons Night Market) to indirectly encourage new residents and workers to the core by gradually removing the stigma that the core is dead, and unsafe.
Just as the building boom and density momentum in Riverside and Brooklyn is slowly encroaching upon the DT core, and will gradually move into it, the accumulating new core activities can, if they continue, gradually add to the energy and momentum, ultimately causing and encouraging new residents to move into the core. These two forces apply "indirect" pressure for solution and progress.
The momentum of energy via these two forces should give confidence to anyone contemplating projects in the core. It should give confidence to, and allow action by, lenders and those in the city who might see the benefit of measured incentives.
With the upcoming Atkins Barnett project too ... I am becoming more optimistic that we are seeing, cautiously, the beginnings of a respectable increase in speed on the journey to the goal of downtown core revitalization.
The fact that Atkins has had high signups, or at least solid interest in, the new apartments in the Barnett building, and the fact that I have a solid waiting list for the six apartments on my small (Gus Bldg) project, gives more reason for confidence in movement toward "the" goal.
