Main Street Alabama is pleased to present:

Adaptive Reuse of Warehouse and

Industrial Properties in Downtown Districts

  by Joe Borgstrom, Place + Main Advisors

At this training, communities will learn how to find new solutions and uses for former industrial facilities in their downtowns or neighborhood commercial districts. The objective is to provide resources and solutions for towns struggling to find suitable uses for vacant industrial, former manufacturing and textile buildings, as well as potentially contaminated former gas stations, dry cleaners, etc. 

We will hear from Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), the Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) and Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) during a panel discussion.

During the workshop, learn from real life experiences on adaptive reuse projects in Gadsden. Tripp Collins will discuss converting a former Sears and Roebuck Warehouse built in the 1940s into a brewery and taproom. Eric Wright, City of Gadsden, will discuss the renovation of a 70,000 sf former K-Mart building into a world class conference center, Venue at Coosa Landing, which is helping to draw waterfront retail and restaurants to the surrounding district.

There will be a 1-1/2 hour lunch break allowing participants time to visit nearby restaurants and explore Fort Payne’s Main Street District.

About Joe...

Joe Borgstrom is an accomplished professional in the fields of downtown redevelopment, community and economic development, Main Street and placemaking. His 20-year career includes executive management, project financial structuring and evaluation, fund development, foreign direct investment recruitment, program management, public speaking and consulting. He and his teams have used state and local incentives to leverage more than $2.2 billion in private investment into communities. Borgstrom is a principal in the consulting firm, Place + Main Advisors, LLC, which he co-founded with his wife, Kirsten Borgstrom. Place & Main Advisors specializes in downtown and traditional commercial district revitalization using Placemaking techniques and Main Street strategies. Their firm offers services to developers, statewide associations, Main Street Coordinating programs, and local downtowns and commercial districts. Their services include training and equipping developers, downtowns and commercial districts with the knowledge, skills and strategies they need to be successful. Joe has been a featured keynote speaker at statewide downtown conferences in Louisiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, North Carolina and Delaware and was a featured speaker at the White House Placemaking Summit.