Trenton DDA News

Riverside Treasure Shoppe

Published October 3, 2011 | By Trenton Trib

By Terey DeLisle

Anyone who visited downtown Trenton this summer likely saw the work being done to the former Riverside Wedding Chapel at West Jefferson Avenue and Harrison Road. All of that hard work led to an Aug. 15 opening of The Riverside Treasure Shoppe, owned and operated by Renae and Brian Raboczkay of Taylor.

The Victorian home, which is over 100 years old, had been vacant for two years and needed a lot of work, including structural, plumbing and electrical renovation. The Raboczkay’s paid for and completed all the indoor repairs and renovations themselves, and the building now boasts a beautiful mosaic tile foyer, hardwood floor, and new staircases, along with a completely restored exterior.

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Boutique-style shopping options are growing

Published July 14, 2011 | By Trenton Trib

Consignment boutique shopping is the latest specialty segment to attempt to build a strong foothold in downtown Trenton. Two new such shops are in town, adding a couple new dimensions to this emerging local market sector.

Mom’s little Secret opened its doors at 2723 West Jefferson (between West and St. Joseph), and Riverside Treasure Shoppe is at 2305 West Jefferson, in the former location of the Riverside Wedding Chapel.

They join existing shops such as The Perfect Dress and Diva on a Dime, which are relatively new to the downtown themselves. Each shop is attempting to carve out a special business niche, and from all appearance the shops that have chosen to locate here complement each other very well.

Mom’s Little Secret carries top-of-the-line maternity wear and children’s clothing on consignment. Owner Dionne Sparks is looking for great, gently-worn clothes and will pay 50 percent of the sale. She said the store is open Mondays through Saturdays and offers a “Drop and Run” service for busy parents who want to drop a bundle of clothes and fill out paperwork later.

“Quality children’s clothes and maternity wear are so expensive; we want to offer great items for great value and we know there are even tour groups who take buses to shop at quality consignment (stores), which we hope to get involved with,” Sparks said.

Sparks is a friend of Kim Hillen, who owns Diva on a Dime, which is a high-end second-hand shop a few blocks north at 2355 West Jefferson.

“We joked that we should open a Little Diva’s and Mom’s Little Secret developed from there,” Sparks said.

Hillen’s shop features gently-used designer fashions and accessories for women of all ages, in sizes 2 through 3x in most current trends. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

“Business has been pretty steady here,” Hillen said. “We are growing from word of mouth and because of our great selection of designer clothing.”

Another new shop to recently join the growing mix of unique specialty stores is Riverside Treasure Shoppe, which aims to offer combination of candy, gifts and consignment artwork throughout the two-story historic home at the corner of West Jefferson and Harrison.

The Perfect Dress, 2710 West Jefferson (between West and St. Joseph), specializes in offering designer bridal gowns “at reasonable prices.” The shop also has a wide variety of special occasion dresses for prom, homecoming “or any formal event where you want to look your best.”

Posted in Trenton DDA News | Tagged boutique, consignment, dda, michigan, news, Trenton | Leave a comment

DDAs designed to assist older downtown areas

Published July 14, 2011 | By Trenton Trib

The concept behind Downtown Development Authorities was to give local communities a multidimensional approach for redeveloping and, in some cases, reinventing their core business areas.

The Trenton DDA was created by the City Council in 1996 with those and other thoughts in mind. The bottom line in creating the DDA, though, was that it just made sense to take advantage of all the governmental tools available to encourage and incentivize new business growth where help is definitely needed.

Our DDA is located within an area roughly bounded by King Road, the Detroit River, Slocum Street and Fort Street, excluding the industrial park area near King and Fort. The district comprises primarily commercial (business) and residentially zoned properties in the area referred to by most residents as “downtown” Trenton or “old town.”

DDAs can serve as a mechanism to eliminate blight, improve public services and encourage controlled growth within the zoning district identified in the DDA Development Plan. Although Trenton’s DDA district is located in just a portion of the city, the entire community is served through the DDA’s protection and enhancement of assets that are shared by all residents.

By maintaining and improving community infrastructure, the DDA can help lessen the impact of overall property value declines, like much of Michigan has experienced over the past four to five years.

Some of the noteworthy projects conducted with the involvement of the DDA include a series of street-end parks along the riverfront, the Trenton Pier condominium project, the multi-phase Downtown Streetscape Project, and the shoreline restoration project conducted just north of Helen Street.

The DDA is working proactively with the new owners of the former Riverside Hospital to help redevelop the site into new commercial and residential uses, and is prepared to assist additional projects as local market conditions and the economy improve.

The current Authority is comprised of nine members, eight of whom are appointed by the City Council. One of the seats is reserved for the current serving mayor.

Additional information about DDA services and capabilities can be obtained through the city’s administrative office at City Hall, or by calling Assistant City Administrator Scott Church at (734) 675-6500.

Look for additional helpful information about DDA programs in future issues of the DDA E-NEWS.

Posted in Trenton DDA News | Tagged dda, downtown development authority, michigan, news, Trenton | Leave a comment

It’s been a busy summer downtown…..

Published July 14, 2011 | By Trenton Trib

Congratulations to the Mid-Summer Festival Committee for an outstanding event. This year’s event attracted strong crowds all three days and drew rave reviews from vendors and sponsors alike, who were pleased with the turnout and the fact that festival-goers were not only having a great time, but spending money as well.

“We had great comments from all the crafters and vendors,” said event Chairman Scott Barr. “Sales were up for all the food vendors and crafters made more than expected this year. Many crafters sold out of items, like the Cheesecake booth and Fudgy Wudgy.

“We attribute a bit of the success to not competing with Wyandotte Street Art Fair this year, even though we did contend with the competing Uncle Sam Jam in Woodhaven again this year.” Barr said. The Wyandotte event was held the following weekend, and also reported an increase in traffic.

First-time vendor Deanna Pappas liked what she saw.

“I have been a visitor of this festival for years and this year I got to get the privilege of being a crafter there and having my own booth,” Pappas said. “This was my first show and it was absolutely awesome … I cannot wait to do it again next year.”

Sponsors seemed upbeat as well.

“This has been my first year as a sponsor for the Festival and I am so pleased with the results I am signing up again for 2012,” said Ketura Brandes, owner of Brandes Agency, and sponsor of the Festival’s popular Classic Volleyball Tournament at Elizabeth Park. “As a sponsor we received pre-press coverage, ideas on how to market my business at a festival and more. We collected emails for our business and are very satisfied with the responses we received.”

The festival committee also conducted on the street interviews with downtown business owners and uploaded them to their YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/trentonfestival. They also used Facebook and Twitter to make people aware of the event.