Block 22 Project Still Impacting Downtown Pittsburg

May 10, 2022January 20, 2023 Ken Ward 0 Comments

Story by Amijah Jackson

Block 22 and Root Coffeehouse at the intersection of Fourth and Broadway streets in Pittsburg, Kansas on May 6, 2022. *Photo credit Joel Viets*

PITTSBURG, Kansas—Downtown Pittsburg has gone through a lot of changes in the past several years, especially since Block 22 opened in 2018, bringing more attention and businesses into downtown.

Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce President Blake Benson said it has been a long process.

“The redevelopment of downtown Pittsburg has been ongoing for at least 15 years,” Benson said. “Pittsburg coordinated a downtown streetscape effort in 2007, which provided new sidewalk, light posts and completely rebuilt Broadway through the downtown area.”

Block 22 is apartment living housing offered to PSU students. Since opening, it has brought a new wave of traffic to businesses in the downtown area.

“Block 22 has definitely increased traffic in the downtown area and helped draw Pittsburg State students to our downtown,” Benson said. “Most of our downtown businesses are retail-based, so increasing the foot traffic in the area is important to their success.”

The Block 22 project required input from a lot of different people to make the ambitious project a reality.

Pittsburg State University Chief Strategic Officer Shawn Naccarato said the project had a positive impact on downtown.

“It has had a very profound impact on businesses downtown,” Naccarato said. “It created a synergy to work and grow together as well as to focus on our community.”

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease seen in traffic downtown.

“Most of the struggle that we have experienced has occurred through and from COVID and supply chain challenges,” Naccarato said. “PSU has a great working relationship with the city, and we feel like it went smoothly.”

Now that downtown gained has more attention from the citizens, the city has plans to tackle issues with business structures.

“We’re now at a point that we have very few vacant buildings, which is a good thing,” Benson said. “I think that, moving forward, we’ll be working with our city partners to help property owners address more of the structural issues facing some of our downtown buildings.”

Changes Within Small Businesses

Existing downtown businesses were also affected by Block 22. Signet Coffee Roasters has been downtown since 2011.

Root Coffeehouse employee Hannah Oertle makes a smoothie for a customer on May 6, 2022. Photo credit Joel Viets

Signet co-owner Leah Posterick said she has enjoyed the changes of downtown revitalization over the years.

“We’ve been very fortunate to start our business in 2011,” Posterick said. “We kind of feel like things have revolved around and we have been able to enjoy the changes that everyone is doing.”

Small businesses were greatly impacted during the pandemic, as many shops were forced to shut down if they were not vital necessity to the community.

“Looking back, we were unbelievably blessed by so many customers, making sure that we were taken care of, and that’s part of a small business mentality in this town,” Posterick said. “I think everyone looks at how they can help small businesses make sure that they are taken care of through this time.”

The Posterick family started their business years before downtown had the attention that it does now.

Customers get ready to order at Root Coffeehouse on May 6, 2022. Photo credit Joel Viets

“When we moved here 13 years ago, we loved Pittsburg, Kansas for what it was,” Posterick said. “We also realized that when we found a place downtown, so many people said ‘No, you don’t want to be downtown because its empty and there’s not much to offer.’”

While Block 22 introduced new life downtown, it also added new pressures to existing businesses. In the case of Signet, those new challenges came in the form of Root Coffeehouse, another locally owned coffee shop that downtown.

But Posterick wants all small businesses to succeed—even if they’re serving up the same coffee she is.

“We’re not in competition,” Posterick said. “There are other coffee shops downtown, we love them, and we work with them and that’s how we all succeed.”

In the future the city has plans to continue expanding the downtown area.

“It has been inspiring to see the city grow and expand so vibrantly over the last few years and honestly, it is feels like it is just getting started,” Naccarato said.