Daily Inter Lake | 1/1/2019 | Duncan Adams
In 1964, singer Petula Clark turned the song “Downtown” into an unlikely international hit. A downtown booster group could have penned the lyrics.
Fifty-four years later, Clark’s song could describe continued efforts in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls to crank up the volume in their downtowns.
This fall, Kalispell celebrated the collaborative effort that yielded the Glacier Rail Park, a project proponents say is destined to transform the city’s downtown by ultimately removing railroad tracks cutting through town.
Kalispell City Council also unanimously embraced a new Downtown Urban Renewal Plan that sets the stage for creation of a tax-increment finance district to pay for varied infrastructure improvements in the city’s heart.
In Columbia Falls, the ongoing revitalization of Nucleus Avenue and vicinity continued, with new businesses, new condos and more.