By Lisa E. CrowleyBrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Surrounded by family and friends, Guilherme “Will” Barbosa celebrated the grand opening of new cultural clothing shop, Criolo, and full-service promotion, event planning and design business Downtown by Design in what was once an empty space on Main Street in the heart of downtown Brockton.
“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work and no sleep,” Barbosa told the crowd that included Mayor Linda Balzotti, representatives of MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce, and fellow business owners who were on hand to celebrate the new store’s opening.
“This is just the beginning,” Barbosa said, noting it is not only a new beginning for him, but also downtown Brockton which is poised for what could be a much-hoped for revitalization of Brockton’s center.
Barbosa, 30, a Cape Verdean native (Pictured above, second from right) who has lived in Brockton since 6th grade said he and his partner Hostelino Ribeiro believe downtown Brockton is the right place at the right time for Criolo’s unique cultural clothing line and more likely money-maker Downtown by Design.
“If you’re going to be successful you should be able to do it in your hometown,” Barbosa said. “I feel something. I sense something’s happening here,” he said.
Barbosa joins a handful of other small enterprises like Hogie’s Hobbies, Your Local Office, Marvelous Cuts, KingsWear and Natural Health Supplements, which over the last three years have popped up in some of the countless empty offices and shops that line Brockton’s Main Street.
Many are looking forward to the day when some larger projects on the table bring about what is hoped to be a downtown revitalization.
Last month Trinity Financial submitted plans for a $100 million project that would include more than 220 rental apartments, nearly 40,000-square-feet of office space and another 6,000 to 8,000-square-feet for retail operations that would replace the ramshackle and dilapidated building that once housed local newspaper The Enterprise.
Just a block away behind the Enterprise building and city hall at the corner of Montello and Lincoln streets, Capstone Communities has finalized permits for a 25-unit apartment complex called Station Lofts, that would replace the so-called George Knight building that is adjacent to the MBTA’s downtown commuter rail stop.
Later the Knight building was bought by Stall & Dean, a more than 100-year-old company that makes baseball and hockey uniforms, including shirts for hockey teams like the Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox until operations were moved to Perkins Street about 10 years ago.
The building has been vacant since.
The Trinity and Capstone projects would be added to other large projects like Brockton Neighborhood Health Center that celebrated the completion of a $2.5 million expansion in June 2010 and is set for another $11 million upgrade.
The Trinity and Capstone projects hinge on state and federal financing and incentives and many hurdles have to be overcome, but cautious excitement has built around the two large projects that officials say will not bear fruit for at least two or three years, however, other improvements are on the way.
Marc Resnick, Brockton’s newly hired eexecutive director of the reformed redevelopment authority, said the city has received a $2 million streetscape grant to improve lighting, sidewalks and other aesthetics along the Main Street corridor that will help make it a brighter and, many hope safer place for customers to visit.
Resnick said while there are a lot of plans in the works for the downtown, many factors will shape the city’s center in the future.
“When the economy collapsed a few years ago, no one’s been interested in building in downtowns anywhere,” Resnick said. “Now, market conditions are improving—even for Brockton,” he said.
Resnick said an important piece of urban redevelopment is creating vibrant pockets with businesses and foot traffic, similar to the two ends of Main Street from Irving Ace Hardware and Marvelous Cuts on the Court Street end (pictured at right) to the courthouse, long-established businesses like Gourmet Café, and Joe Angelo’s Café and Deli who have been joined by newcomers like KingsWear, Natural Health Supplements and Tamboo at the Belmont Street end.
Those pockets have increased traffic in the city’s downtown, but problems persist.
Justin Hayward, co-owner of Natural Health Supplements and People’s Best Care at 263 Main St., steps away from the corner of Belmont and Main, said one fact about the downtown has to change.
“People don’t want to come to the downtown because it’s dirty and dangerous,” said Hayward, who opened the natural health supplies and chiropractic office about a year ago.
Homeless people and other assorted characters like 58-year-old Fernando “Freddie” Graca walk the streets of the city center. Some ask for money. Some ask for cigarettes.
Most are harmless like Graca--a well-known denizen of Brockton’s downtown who changes costumes and can be spotted dressed in bright red tartan patterns as a Scottish leader like last Friday, or he could appear as Abraham Lincoln, or even an angel.
Media reports of murder, violence, drug and gang activity create a real snapshot of Brockton that some believe is a skewed perception of the downtown and the city overall.
“That happens everywhere,” said Lynnel Cox, co-owner of Your Local Office, a virtual secretarial and data processing business for lawyers that opened about three years ago at 214 Main St.
“Homeless people beg for money at all the T-stations—Boston, Abington, Braintree, Wareham, Middleboro…I’ve been to them all and it happens everywhere,” she said.
She also noted that much of the violence Brockton is known for does not usually happen in the downtown, except for noted exceptions at the city’s pubs and nightclubs, including two incidents over the last year at Joe Angelo’s.
Even so, Cox said during the three years she has been on Main Street, she has had less problems at her business than at her home in East Bridgewater.
“Brockton is the hub of Plymouth County. It’s time for the downtown. It’s time for people to step out of their comfort zone and come down here and see what’s happening,” Cox said.
“I’ve been here for three years and I’ve had two planters outside my office and no one has bothered them. I’ve put out pumpkins too, and no problem. I can’t even put pumpkins out on my doorstep at home--they’re gone or smashed within a few hours,” she said.
Brockton native Bill Hogan, (Pictured at right) who opened Hogie’s Hobbies at 138 Main St., a few doors down from Criolo about eight months ago, said he is struggling, but hopeful the many initiatives on the table will help bring a renaissance to Brockton’s once proud downtown.
“We’re not going anywhere. We’re a work in progress,” Hogan said. “We need people to come down here and do some shopping,” he said.
