BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast · Audacy

Joe Bednar talks with Jillian Duclos, executive director of the Northampton Downtown Assoc.

June 7, 2024·23 min·1 clip

Duclos says downtown businesses need week-to-week communication before Northampton’s redesign starts.

Joe Bednar opens the conversation by introducing Jillian Duclos, the executive director of the Downtown Northampton Association. She explains the group’s mission in plain terms. The organization supports downtown businesses and entrepreneurs while also working on economic development. Duclos says the association recently became a nonprofit on its own after being under the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. That change gave it more room to define its own work. Events are one of the main tools it uses. She describes them as part of a broader effort to keep downtown lively, welcoming, and worth visiting. Maintenance and beautification also sit near the center of the association’s agenda. So do marketing and advocacy. The interview then moves into the question of construction downtown. Duclos treats communication as the main issue. She says the business community needs to know what will happen and when so owners can plan their days. To support that, she has been holding monthly downtown business-owner meetings. Those meetings give people a place to compare notes and say what is working and what is not. They also help the association hear where help is needed. Duclos stresses that business owners should have a real role in shaping the response. She wants the people closest to the street-level impact to help drive the process day to day. The goal is not to pretend the disruption is not happening. The goal is to keep downtown feeling open, active, and worth the trip. She also talks about the need to bring in customers from outside the immediate area. In her view, downtowns need a wider flow of visitors, not only local spending. She points to initiatives like the Iron Horse as part of that effort. The larger message is that Northampton’s future depends on steady coordination, clear planning, and a downtown culture that keeps moving even when conditions change.

As heard by us

A practical look at downtown business support and the pressure of change.

Joe Bednar's conversation with Jillian Duclos stays close to the ground. It follows the Downtown Northampton Association's work on downtown business support, events, beautification, advocacy, and day-to-day economic development.

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Need a clear look at how Downtown Northampton is trying to stay open and active through change?

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