Future looks bright for new and improved downtown

The unsightly utility wires have been buried underground, the road freshly paved, and the sidewalks beautified with plenty of greenery, flush granite curbing and wrought-iron fixtures. Lining the street on both sides are a variety of shops and restaurants, including several new businesses that have flocked to the area in recent months.

Throw in the once-controversial banners and the morning and evening traffic backups, and the picture becomes clear: Welcome to downtown Canton circa 2011.

At the very least, it is an area that is on the upswing — a symbol of revitalization with an all-American charm and a distinctly “New England” look and feel.

However, it is the economic potential of this locale that has merchants even more encouraged. And while Kevin McCormick of Richard Lewis Formal Wear maintains that downtown businesses are merely “surviving” at the moment, they seem to have enough faith in the community’s willingness to “shop local” that Canton Center has once again become an attractive place to put down roots.

“I think that we’re getting better,” said McCormick, who has operated the popular tuxedo business as well as Kevin Michaels Men’s Fine Clothing under one roof since 1995. “I think that we’re becoming easier for people to go from store to store.”

A native of Canton, McCormick was 13 when he first went to work for Richard Lewis, and in the years that followed he watched as the downtown faced increased competition from the mall at Cobb’s Corner and other large out-of-town retailers.

But McCormick said the foot traffic has been improving in recent years, and he credits not only the town officials for their work on the Downtown Streetscape Project, but also developers like John Marini, whose successful mixed-use projects have brought more residents to the area.

“Marini in my eyes took a vision of what the forefathers of the town thought the downtown should be, and he went ahead and did it, and he did so with his own money,” said McCormick.

And it’s not just developers who have been willing to invest in the downtown, but some of the more established owners as well — people like Dr. Alan Rapoport, a second-generation optometrist whose practice has been in the center since his father opened business back in 1952.

Rapoport, who just remodeled his office and took over another space in the building to accommodate recent growth, cited the improvements to Canton Center as the “incentive to reinvest in the practice.”

Meanwhile, another longtime practitioner, Dr. Michael Rauch, has decided to take his chiropractic office in a new direction, renaming it Walk-in Chiropractic Center to better reflect its promise to clients of “convenience, flexibility, and affordability.”

The new sign for Walk-In Chiropractic Center, formerly Rauch Chiropractic Office, located at 575 Washington Street

Rauch, who moved his practice to Canton Center from the Village Shoppes in 2000, has done away with his appointment book altogether in favor of a more relaxed atmosphere in which clients, both new and existing, can drop in when it is best for them and still receive same-day treatment.

“It really is a new concept,” said Rauch. “Honestly, I only know of one chiropractor in the state that is doing it.”

In addition to remodeling his office, Rauch also installed a new sign on the red brick facade of his practice, and the new name, with its emphasis on “walk-in,” seems a perfect match for a downtown that has been redesigned to appeal, first and foremost, to Canton’s pedestrians.

Indeed, for Rauch, there is an obvious symmetry between the changing face of his practice and the ongoing revitalization of the downtown, and his willingness to invest is an indication of his high hopes for both going forward.

“I do think it’s moving in the right direction,” said Rauch, referring to the downtown. “I also think that, overall, people appreciate the change.”

For Renee Roberts, owner of Success Real Estate, the proof can be found in the results. Having previously been located closer to town hall, Roberts recently moved a few blocks further downtown and said the office has been “busier than ever” as a result.

“We have great visibility, better name recognition, and our foot traffic has substantially increased,” said Roberts, who already had the top-selling real estate office in Canton for the past two years, fueled by her team of “25 dedicated professionals, many of whom grew up and still live in Canton.”

Of course, another sign of the area’s health is the steady influx of new businesses, and in the past year alone there have been several new additions — from a Metro PCS store, where owner Randolph Nguemany sells “no-contract cell phones” with affordable monthly plans, to The Blue Door, a gift shop owned and operated by three local educators that sells everything from local artwork to all-natural personal products to educational items for children.

According to Blue Door co-owner Lori Cohen, the choice to locate in downtown Canton was an easy one, given her knowledge of the community as a longtime resident.

“Canton is a town made up of many generations of families who are committed and involved in the community,” Cohen said. “We believe that the townspeople will help in the revitalization of Canton by patronizing the local businesses.”

Another resident, Nicholas Carbone, had a similar line of thinking when he opened NCT Gold Buyers at 525 Washington Street earlier this year.

“In opening in Canton, my goal was to help the Canton community realize the true value of their gold and silver items,” said Carbone, who recently added a second location in neighboring Randolph.

Claiming to offer the “absolute highest payouts,” Carbone said the business is happy to provide this “local service that offers cash on the spot for old, broken, or unwanted gold and silver items.”

Yet another resident, Christina Hurley, also saw the potential of a downtown location for her handcrafted jewelry business. She realized her dream this past September when she opened Cristina Hurley Jewelry on Rockland Street.

Hurley, who fabricates the jewelry on the premises and also does a lot of custom orders, is among those who sees a “great opportunity for growth” for her business and others throughout Canton Center. The key, she said, is getting continued support from the community.

“I really want the people of Canton to know that there are alternatives to shopping at the bigger venues that are not in town,” said Hurley. “I think there was a time when there wasn’t much going on here for dining and shopping, and people grew used to not having choices, so they went elsewhere.

“There are more choices now, and shopping at smaller, local businesses helps the community as a whole; it keeps local people’s hard earned dollars circulating close to home and promotes the town’s economic growth.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Aug 3 2011. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.