General

A new video produced for the Downtown Abilene Initiative (Downtown ABI) highlights several properties available for redevelopment and features other successfully completed adaptive reuse projects. Noted urban explorer and documentarian Jonny Goodday recorded drone and hand-held footage, while accompanying Downtown ABI executive director Steve Dieterichs and residential housing developer Jim Sari on a tour in February.

Among the locations the team visited were the West Texas Utilities power plant, the old cotton warehouse, ruins of the Matera Paper Company, the Mill Wine Bar, SoDA District Courtyard and the private residence of Tim Smith.

Goodday edited the footage into a 90-second video, adding text inviting developers and investors to dream of new uses for the old downtown properties.

“With a robust state historic tax credit program, local incentives, and a development-friendly city management, downtown Abilene, Texas, is an ideal place for those looking to develop real estate projects in secondary and tertiary markets,” Dieterichs said.

The video is currently being promoted on LinkedIn and Facebook, with the hope of attracting developers, private equity fund managers and individual investors to consider construction projects in downtown Abilene. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Dieterichs at 325-704-5301 to arrange a tour.

Steve Dieterichs, executive director of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Downtown Initiative, was presented his credentials as a Certified Tourism Executive (CTE) at the conclusion of the 2018 session of Travel & Tourism College, a program of the Texas Travel Industry Association (TTIA).

In addition to completing the coursework, Mr. Dieterichs also completed a capstone project required for the certification designation. The project detailed his contributions to culinary tourism in the Granbury area, as a founding principal of Acton Local Market.

“Entering into alumni status is bittersweet,” Dieterichs said. “I’ll miss the intensity of the training, but at the same time, I’m excited to apply the skills in my new leadership role in downtown Abilene. As downtown becomes a better place for visitors, destination marketing will become more and more important.”

Travel & Tourism College (TTC) provides participants with an intensive professional education full of marketing, leadership and management courses taught by college professors and seasoned travel and tourism professionals from around the country.

“I am amazed by the amount of innovative solutions and ideas that I was able to add to my skill set over these past three years,” Dieterichs said. “The Granbury CVB’s 2015 TAMI and Marcom Award-winning advertising campaign was a direct result of a session I attended my freshman year.”

Over the past three years, Mr. Dieterichs attended TTC courses that covered such topics as the emotional IQ of today’s marketing campaigns, hands-on strategies for handling any crisis situation, how to create eco-friendly, sustainable tourism products, management excellence, positively outrageous customer service, essential strategies for tourism marketing success, and how relationships affect advocacy and engagement.

“With this CTE designation, Steve has taken his career a step further, increasing his knowledge and expertise in all aspects of travel & tourism marketing and management,” said David Teel, President/CEO, Texas Travel Industry Association. “He has increased his knowledge on current trends in the travel industry, social media and research, and is prepared to take on new and larger responsibilities within the travel industry.”