The Rush County Economic Community Development Corporation (ECDC) has teamed up with Ball State University’s Building Better Communities program to bring a vision to the heart of Rushville.

A handful of area business owners showed up Wednesday evening to discuss and listen to plans to re-energize Rushville’s historic downtown district. Also present were ECDC representatives, community leaders and James A. Glass and Dick Heupel of Ball State University. They stressed the importance of utilizing Rushville’s best resource to build up its downtown district: heritage.

“Heritage is an asset to economic value that no one has tapped,” Glass, who holds a PhD in architecture, said. “Heritage is something that others who visit Rushville want to experience. We know that you as business owners have no competitive edge against Wal-Mart, but your heritage is an economic value that Wal-Mart cannot compete with.”

Most of the business owners present were passionate about the revitalization of the downtown district, looking over leaflets, brochures and booklets that illustrated what Ball State students had done for other historic communities, but stressed that the economics of the vision were the real problem with respect to the stagnant state of redevelopment.

“If you let the folks who say ‘you can’t do that!’ get in the way of your vision, you will get nowhere fast,” Heupel told the group. “So what that people are afraid that Rush County isn’t growing ... you can prosper without the extra growth.”

Elizabeth Innis of Elizabeth’s Keepsakes on Main Street considers herself a newly transported outsider. A resident of Rush County for 11 years, Innis opened her antiques store in 1998.

“Like everyone else, I want so much to get this project going, I want to fix my storefront, but like everything else, it takes money,” she said. “But I know this vision will take place someday soon. When I moved here, people looked at me and said ‘Rushville? Rushville? Why?’ but I know that this community needs me, and I am going to keep on trucking!”

Heupel also addressed community concerns, or as he put it “the things that keep you all up at night.” Among those items addressed were:

u Community Center: “The Community Center and the money that the State of Indiana is holding hostage really gets me,” Kevin Snyder, of Snyder Insurance, said. “They owe the community of Rushville $2.5 million dollars whether it gets into the form of that building or not, and land was committed as well. They say we’ll see it, but then again, they’re politicians.”

u Public Transportation: Lack of a public transit system of some form was addressed. Opinions voiced during the session agreed that people would shop more in Rushville if they had a way to get from one place to another.

u No downtown attractions: Area business members felt that downtown had nothing to offer travelers. To that Heupel said, “Perception is 9/10ths reality. The facts are not the same thing as perception. You’ve got one of the best courthouses in the state of Indiana. Utilize what you’ve already got, and then build other attractions around it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘who are we?’” Glass said. “You have to address this question to find the path you want to take in the development process. But don’t brand your community as something it’s not, and don’t be ashamed of who you are as a community.”

For additional coverage of the Building Better Communities Initiative with Ball State University and the ECDC see Friday’s edition of the Rushville Republican.

Rushville Republican staff writer Elizabeth Gist can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 or via e-mail at elizabeth.gist@cnhimedia.com. To add a comment visit our Website at www.rushvillerepublican.com.