The Sedona Main Street Program is proudly nominating
the Sedona Center Park and Bus Area for Best Economic Restructuring
Story.
Sedona Center owners and management converted an
eyesore driveway in front of Canyon Breeze restaurant into a public park
area, much like you would find on the streets of Paris or Rome. Its
open-air seating and large colorful umbrellas immediately attract
attention from weary shoppers looking for a place to rest. The park is
open to the public, so anyone can enjoy it.
Sedona Center Park also serves as a new Uptown venue
for live music and entertainment. The park is equipped with a stage area
for bands, as well as a grassy lawn area for families and children to
run around barefoot or dance to live music. Because the park is in front
of Canyon Breeze restaurant, tourists can easily grab a cup of Starbucks
coffee or a sandwich – or even bring their own snack – and sit under the
large, misted umbrellas to take pleasure in a myriad of free, public
events – including poetry readings, art shows, Native American dancing
and/or singing, and music from local bands ranging from folk to jazz to
rock to blues.
Sedona Center Park and bus lounge are conveniently
located in the center of the Canyon Portal Shopping Center, in Uptown
Sedona. This location provides easy access to visitors arriving on foot
and by bus. The site was designed to give Uptown Sedona a venue to draw
both tourists and locals back to Uptown Sedona, which has been labeled
in the past as a non-pedestrian friendly area.
In conjunction with the development of the Sedona
Center Park, owners of the 10-acre Sedona Center complex also converted
several car-parking spaces next to the Park into free bus parking for
tour and charter groups. The bus parking, which can accommodate four
busses at one time, is easily accessible from Highway 89A. Because
Uptown Sedona is such a well recognized tourist location, Sedona Center
owners and management realized the importance in providing an accessible
and safe area for busses to park and unload. In years past, tour
operators told management they were frustrated with Uptown Sedona for
various reasons, including a lack of space to park busses and few group
discounts for their tour participants.
Because of their feedback, Sedona Center management
now gives group discounts to its on-site restaurants – Canyon Breeze &
Vista Cantina – for any passenger unloading on Sedona Center property.
The 32 tenants of Sedona Center have also joined forces to offer coupon
books to special tour groups. This coupon book goes into effect at the
end of July.
In addition to discounted meals and shopping, bus
drivers and tour operators are given free meals – compliments of Canyon
Breeze restaurant -- as well as all of the amenities of home via the
“Bus Driver Lounge,” located through a door accessible on the Sedona
Center Park premises.
In this private Bus Driver Lounge, bus drivers and
tour coordinators can watch TV, use the Internet, make free phone calls,
and have free snacks while waiting for their groups of tourists. This
lounge is equipped with a comfortable leather sofa, fax machine,
computer with printer, and refrigerator! This space reflects and meets
their needs, reminding them that their visits to the Uptown area are
needed and appreciated by all stakeholders.
This vital service raises the competitive bar for
Uptown and helps retain this critical market segment, since amenities
for buses were provided in nearby communities and we were losing tour
bus traffic in years past. Tour operators and their staff utilized the
Lounge as soon as the doors were open due to the direct contact Sedona
Center’s management team had about this exciting change to Uptown. Staff
has also heard from various company executives, who are thrilled that we
have established an environment that helps make drivers – and their
groups -- feel welcome to Sedona and Uptown businesses.
Underused space on Main Street – an old driveway –
was converted into a vibrant “center of Uptown” in order to attract and
retain visitors to the Sedona area, including tour busses, and promote
economic viability. This revitalization effort has increased the
positive reputation of Uptown Sedona, and since its creation, businesses
have profited and tourists are taking notice of an improved sense of
small-town values and ideals.
Photos included with Nomination
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1 & Page 2
