HDA presents annual report on downtown vitality

by Sarah Glass

Over 50 business owners and community stakeholders gathered to share lunch and hear the Hamilton Downtown Association (HDA) present its 2025 Annual Report at Hamilton City Hall on Thursday, March 12. Executive Director Matthew Zwicker elaborated on the nonprofit’s mission tenets – design, economic vitality, organization, and promotion – and how its members and partners worked to engage each to enact community transformation in 2025.

Said Zwicker, “Hamilton has grown immensely over the last five years… It has been exciting to see the new faces investing in our downtown and the old faces and old voices who remain true to ensuring that this community stays inclusive, welcoming, kind, and also very excited about the future.”

Pete Seifert, a business owner and President of the Downtown Hamilton Business Improvement District (DHBID), a partner of the HDA, explained how the downtown area comprises a tax district of nearly 100 property owners. Funded by nearly $34,000 in annual revenue, the DHBID works to support economic vitality in the downtown area. The renewal of the district’s designation and the amount that businesses are taxed will be considered by the board in about a year and a half, said Seifert. “Input is always welcome,” he said.

Zwicker joked that the media should amend “new” business owners to “newly established” and “old” business owners to “older established” before introducing two couples that embodied both distinct types of journeys.

Representing the latter of these two experiences were Alana and Gordon Hughes. Alana spoke about her experience being a third-generation business owner of a downtown property, saying, “Like many buildings along Main Street, it has lived several lives.” Originally the site of a funeral home and furniture store, Alana’s grandparents purchased the space at 327, 329, and 331 W. Main St. in 1948 to open an electrical and appliance store. “For our family, it wasn’t just a place of business, it was also a place full of memories,” she said.

Thanks to a partnership between the City of Hamilton, HDA, and DBHID, the Hughes property recently received a Façade Improvement Grant to help renovate the space in Hamilton’s historic downtown.

“The main floor is being prepared for a commercial lease space, and upstairs, we are working towards a future short-term or mid-term rental opportunity,” said Alana. “Much of the renovation has truly been a labor of love and, in large part, a labor of Gordon’s hands. He has personally been doing much of the renovation work throughout this long process, helping bring new life back into a building that has served this town for well over a century… Investing in this building is really about investing in the long-term vitality of downtown Hamilton. When historic downtown buildings are cared for and revitalized, they help attract businesses, they welcome visitors, and keep the heart of the town vibrant.”

Zwicker went on to detail the HDA’s flower and banner programs that beautify downtown spaces and promote community businesses, nonprofits, and civic organizations. He touched on the organization’s signature events, including the Hamilton Christmas Stroll and the street music festival, Rhythm and Roam. Finally, he spoke about the major downtown initiative of the Hamilton Downtown Foundation to bring a seasonal community ice rink to Hamilton.

“Why is downtown Hamilton important?” asked Zwicker. “Well, the success of downtown Hamilton in our small business community really relies on and helps these five points: we help promote a healthy, local economy; we enhance the quality of live, we help build community, preserve our culture, heritage, and local history here in Hamilton, as well as support local nonprofits and schools in our area.”