Meet Barry Hicks, the New DDA Executive Director
STORY BY INGRID SJOSTRAND
Photo by Bernie Laframboise
Design by Lindsy Carman
ON OCTOBER 19TH, The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority hired Barry Hicks as their new executive director. With over 12 years working in city planning and urban development and degrees from Michigan State and Eastern Universities in urban and regional development, Hicks will bring his knowledge and experience to Ferndale. Here Hicks gives residents an idea of who he is and what to expect.
Ferndale Friends: You officially started your new role as executive director of the DDA on October 19, 2015. Can you give us an overview of your role?
Barry Hicks: Basically as the Executive Director of the DDA, my role is to act as the facilitator for a lot of different things. The DDA does events. We also address any concerns that affect downtown, the number one of which I’ve heard since I walked in the door is parking. Also, creating a vision and getting everybody on the same page with how we want to go forward. Ferndale is at this tipping point and, like all cities, Ferndale is a living breathing thing. If you looked at it 15, 20 years ago it didn’t look how it does now. So what’s it going to look like in five, 10, 15 years? Ferndale is at this point where we want to grow. How do we do that without losing the unique identity that people come visit us for? I look at myself as sort of the facilitator of helping craft that vision, of getting people on the same page of this universal message of “We’re Ferndale, this is what we want and this is how we are going to grow.”
FF: How are you enjoying the position so far?
BH: It’s great. Everyone here has been very welcoming. I think there’s a lot of civic pride here, involvement from the citizens and from business owners. Everyone’s very invested and wanting to see success here. I think everyone is saying ‘what does success look like?’ I’m glad to see everyone so engaged and that will make my job a lot easier. People really care here and that makes a difference.
FF: What are some of the projects you are currently overseeing?
BH: For me, a lot of my stuff right now is organization and structure and trying to put a few systems in place internally. In the near future, you are probably going to see that we have been working with the city to address, in the short term, the parking issues on the weekends. There are going to be some pilot programs we roll out.
This year you will start hearing a little more about prospects for development. I know we are talking about parking decks and something like that. There is no set plan but I think we are getting closer to the idea of what that’s going to look like. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next year you hear more about that.
FF: You previously served as Urban Planner and Economic Developer for Sterling Heights, and held other similar roles in Jackson and Albion. How will the skills learned in those positions benefit or prepare you for your new position as executive director?
BH: I’ve been in the community development game for a few years, and all the cities I’ve worked in have been pretty well built out and had very limited resources and room for development. I think that’s going to translate to a direct benefit for downtown Ferndale because I’ve had to work on those projects that are a little tricky. A lot of the projects that I’ve worked on before, from the ma and pop start-up shops to Chrysler… we’re taking a site that’s currently developed and we’re putting something else on it, and that’s kind of what you have in downtown Ferndale.
How do you make sure that what you’re putting in is going to directly contribute to the success of the business downtown and make it thrive, and be vibrant, and safe, and walkable and all of those things? With my background in community development – which encompasses economic development, city planning and civil engineering, I can help answer questions like (that.)
FF: What drew you to Ferndale as a community? What are some of your favorite things to do in the city?
BH: Before I took this position I would come down here to go a couple different places; one of them was Rust Belt Market. I find that whole concept of Rust Belt really interesting and it’s an opportunity to see a lot of different, unique things from a lot of different artists. I came to the DIY Festival. It’s a nice mixture of that social hangout and all the art. That’s another cool thing about Ferndale, its artists community and all the events we do to support that.
FF: For anyone in Ferndale that wants to give feedback or get more involved, how would they do that?
BH: Our email is info@downtownferndale.com if people want to get more involved or volunteer. There are volunteer opportunities through our website, and we’re on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. The city’s master land use plan is being redone right now and there will be opportunities for people to give input, the DDA is involved because it will affect downtown. I would say just keep an eye on the DDA and city websites, we always post volunteer and public input opportunities and we actually read all the emails people send. People’s voices are heard.
FF: What would you like the Ferndale community to know about you?
BH: I’m a person like anyone else, and like everyone I do lots of things in my free time. I’m really into cycling. Before I moved to Royal Oak I was in a cover band for almost 10 years booked all over mid- Michigan; maybe people here have seen me. I haven’t done that in almost two years now, but still love music and still play the guitar. I think it’s just important that people know I have a passion for doing this type of work, one thing that attracted me to Ferndale so much was that I know the people here are just as passionate about seeing the continued success of downtown as I am passionate about ensuring that those types of things happen and those projects land in our lap.
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