BWF Responds to Vision Statements-Seeks Feedback
Worthington’s Future: Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow The members of BWF believe the work of the Visioning Committee is critical to our future. Below is how we are interpreting each of the visioning statements and how we will incorporate these themes into future marketing, communications, and educational programming.
We would love to hear from the community about your thoughts regarding this response which will help us understand what we could add or reconsider. Let us know by visiting the following link: https://forms.gle/iuxAYyuBHnq2Bc8L9
Vision: Worthington is a diverse and equitable community
· We are dedicated to encouraging and participating in constructive dialogue where all voices play a crucial role in fostering openness through collaboration to make equality and diversity a reality. We have demonstrated this through our active engagement of a diverse set of community groups who support a variety of positions on current community issues to foster greater understanding.
· To increase diversity in Worthington we encourage mixed-use developments with a variety of housing stock.
· We recognize that the community needs to be intentional with its efforts to encourage underrepresented groups to call Worthington home. This means things like incentivizing affordable housing, addressing source of income discrimination, and sustaining DEI programming and education.
Vision: Worthington’s economy is balanced and resilient
· We understand that the bedrock upon which to form a stable & thriving economic foundation must be a diverse, market-driven, and flexible workforce. To make Worthington a desired destination for business investment and relocation, we advocate for attractive, desirable building inventory through the development of new Class A space or the creative renovation of existing stock.
· To make Worthington a “Destination” we must embrace growth that the current market demands. This will lead to a diverse workforce and a thriving community. Tax dollars that come from Economic Growth help our schools, public services, and allows the opportunity for Worthington to become more sustainable in the years to come.
· We support developments that will create energy and vitality in our downtown core to support our small business community.
· We understand that to attract employers you must have Class A office product that is part of a Live-Work-Play environment which is often subsidized by residential development.
Vision: Worthington’s leadership is open, forward-thinking and collaborative
· We strive to partner with leadership to encourage and inspire them through creative, out-of-the-box thinking. This was demonstrated through our active engagement in the NCR Stafford Village approval process and the initial meetings held on the High North project.
· We aim to promote unity in all that we do; to base decisions and statements on facts; to address divisiveness using truth.
· We want to help leaders understand how to leverage our unique and protected historical assets to promote economic growth.
· We encourage leading instead of reacting.
· We want to Inspire confidence in city leadership to make decisions focused on the long-term benefits to the city.
Vision: Worthington offers a high quality of life
· We know that a high quality of life for all begins with a strong economy resulting in a solid tax base so that the city can invest in its citizens. We actively advocate for
procedures and policies that make the Worthington Community attractive to outside investment ensuring financial stability.
· We should aggressively recruit and retain employers with payrolls who can help stabilize the city’s income tax base.
· We need to encourage the appropriate density using mixed-use as the means to strengthen a "live, work, play" environment. Only 14 percent of Worthington residents work in Worthington. Our peer cities are at or above 40%.
· A desire for a high quality of life makes it imperative that Worthington supports economic development and the growth of new and existing businesses within its boundaries. Worthington residents rightly advocate for sustaining existing city services, excellent schools, more pedestrian and bike access, and other projects that enhance our residents’ lives. We will help the community understand the connection of the importance of a fiscally stable city budget to the delivery of these desired amenities.
Vision: Worthington is dedicated to the vibrancy of its downtown
· We know that the downtown is more than its precious historic street frontage but extends both East and West. It is capable of diversification and densification through infill development allowing investment for growth without compromising that which we value and wish to maintain.
· We are focused on respecting Worthington’s heritage and improving our quality of life while ensuring the city’s continued economic vitality into the future. The vibrancy of our downtown is a significant component of our quality of life here in Worthington. We understand that the vibrancy of downtown business has everything to do with the number of customers available. We need sufficient density within walking distance of our downtown to make shopping, dining, and being entertained in downtown Worthington THE thing to do.
· We should allow higher density in the areas surrounding the downtown to increase the number of customers for businesses in the historic district.
Vision: Worthington is a model for environmental stewardship
· We advocate for a sustainable future by endorsing new, zero-carbon footprint development while its commercial and residential citizenry are encouraged to reposition existing building stock to leverage embedded carbon augmented via overlaid green technologies.
· We recognize that in addition to projects being environmentally sustainable, they must also be economically feasible.
Vision: Worthington is connected
· We envision and will help illustrate that the Worthington Mile is an achievable, worthwhile project to create a lively, walkable, and safe corridor for its citizens to enjoy a holistically conceived experience from the historic downtown to a re-envisioned mall.
· We encourage resources to be dedicated to activating the bike and ped plan.
· We want to change the perception around Central Ohio that Worthington is not open for business and/or difficult to work with compared to our peers to be more open and capitalize on our unique position as the center of the northern outer belt.
Remember, please provide feedback by visiting the following link: https://forms.gle/iuxAYyuBHnq2Bc8L9
What is Building Worthington’s Future?
Building Worthington’s Future (BWF) is a non-profit organization focused on respecting Worthington’s heritage and improving our quality of life while ensuring the city’s continued economic vitality into the future. It is our primary goal for the Worthington community to be fully informed about the benefits and impact of development within our boundaries.
Understanding the significance of development to the city, schools, business community, citizens and other stakeholders will help drive educated decision making. BWF advocates for the economic and social well-being of the people of Worthington. We believe successful communities are diverse, accessible, and work to create a strong sense of belonging for all residents.
BWF members are residents and businesses within the Worthington School District. Our initiatives are entirely supported by this dedicated membership – not outside interests
