Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz was spot on recently when he spoke about his vision for the space where the historic Niles theater and Reisman’s Furniture buildings once stood.

“I want people to enter the downtown area over the viaduct and the first thing (they) see is something that is eye-catching … Something that really makes (them) say ‘Wow’ Mientkiewicz said recently when speaking with our reporter, Mason Cole.

Since the 1930s, the two buildings stood on the corner of Main Street and Water Street and welcomed visitors to the city as they crossed over the viaduct. Whether it was as a theater and furniture store, a haunted house, which Mientkiewicz said was the case when former city auditor Phil Rickard owned the theater building in the 1980s, or a pair of abandoned buildings, the two have been a staple in Niles for quite some time. Their demolition brings change, though, and change brings opportunity, of which Niles seems ready to take full advantage.

When envisioning what the city wanted to do with the space that the recent demolition provides, Mientkiewicz said he looked at a place like Cleveland’s Public Square, which is at the heart of the city, welcomes residents of all kinds and provides options for different types of activities.

This is the type of action that we can support when it comes to what the space should become.

Niles seems ready to take advantage of a great opportunity, and it should truly think of its residents when deciding what to do with the space. It should be an area that is welcoming to different groups from around Niles, while also being open and inviting to all sorts of events like farmers markets and community gatherings for different holidays and celebrations. That is exactly what brings a community together.

However, the city also should consider how the area will appeal to visitors and residents when events are not going on. Is it inviting to visitors? Does it truly welcome them to the city? And does it give the right type of impression to someone who has never visited before?

After all, first impressions are crucial, and going with a big and bold approach to welcome visitors into the city could truly entice visitors from the very beginning.

Right now, the area is filled with a pile of rubble that has been slowly added to over the past few months from the ongoing demolition of two historic buildings. But it will soon be something new.

“To me, it really symbolizes a sort of fresh start,” Councilman Aaron Johnstone, D-2nd Ward, and chairman of the city’s community development and neighborhood stabilization committee, said.

We can’t wait to see what that fresh start brings in Niles, and it seems the city is on the right track.

editorial@vindy.com