City eyes downtown for arts and entertainment district

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Months after Bowling Green city leaders identified a desire to form an arts an entertainment district in downtown Bowling Green, city staff presented city commissioners with a budget Tuesday night that includes a main street planner or coordinator position to bring it all together.

The downtown planner coordinator would serve as a liaison between merchants, attractions and community leadership as well as plan events to bring people into downtown Bowling Green.

“We have identified a need for a downtown planner or a coordinator, somebody that’s the liaison between the merchants, the attractions, anybody that has events in the Bowling Green/Warren County area so that we might be able to breathe some life into downtown,” City Commissioner Sue Parrigin said. “We’re just very excited about the possibility of moving forward and showcasing the heart and soul of our city.”

The idea is to promote the area to both residents and visitors.

City leadership wants to see the storefronts full and the sidewalks bustling with activity.

Parrigin is currently in the process of polling downtown businesses about the plans for establishing an arts and entertainment district like other cities have established such as Paducah, Owensboro and Lexington.