Village merchants are thinking future chic

Danny Hardaway, head of the Morton Street Village Board of Commerce, sees Greenwich Village as a role model. (Globe Staff Photo / Wendy Maeda)

The crossroads of Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan has many attributes of a thriving business district: Dozens of small businesses, bus lines, a commuter rail station, schools, churches, and a large resident population nearby.

Local business and community leaders would like the area - which several years ago was dubbed Morton Street Village - to become an official part of the Boston Main Streets program. The affiliation could make it easier for the area to obtain loans, grants, and technical assistance to support revitalization efforts.

"Main Streets is an option that could change the face of Blue Hill Avenue and Morton Street," said Spencer DeShields, executive director of the Mattapan Community Development Corporation.

While Morton Street Village does have many of the assets of a cohesive business district, it also has some things not conducive to a small-town feel.

Some 50,000 cars a day pass by on Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue, two major north-south commuter arteries that are also known as state routes 203 and 28, respectively. The intense traffic flow makes getting about on foot a challenge, and the clogged streets make the area hard to get to by car. Parking also is scarce.

And there are some prominent eyesores, including the boarded-up former police station next to the train tracks on Morton Street, and the fenced-off empty lot, formerly used by a contracting firm, across the street.

Much of the push to join Boston's Main Streets program, part of a national effort that combines historic preservation and commercial revitalization, has come from the four-year-old Morton Street Village Board of Commerce.

Headed now by Danny Hardaway, owner of the Final Touch clothing boutique, the Board of Commerce has 86 members, including local business owners and residents. The organization has worked with the city's Department of Neighborhood Development, Mattapan Community Development, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to renovate storefronts, beautify the area, and set up a revitalization plan.

"We're pretty much doing Main Streets now, but we don't have the Main Streets money," said Hardaway, who opened his Morton Street store in 2005.

Hardaway's vision for the area is New York's Greenwich Village, with trendy restaurants, cafes, and stores.

"It would be nice if we could create that same atmosphere on this stretch of Morton Street," he said.

City officials have voiced support for the idea of making Morton Street Village a Main Streets district. Started in 1985 in Boston, the Main Streets program now includes 19 business districts and is the city's principal neighborhood business revitalization program. There are 1,200 Main Streets districts nationwide.

"Overall, a Main Streets program would be beneficial because it can help to coalesce efforts to promote future business development," said Dana Whiteside, deputy director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and coordinator of a recent city economic development study of Mattapan.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation launched the Main Streets program in 1977 in several distressed downtowns, most in the Midwest. Under its guidance, merchants and local governments formed partnerships to recruit businesses, preserve historic buildings, and coordinate promotional efforts.

Whiteside said Morton Street Village has great potential and could overcome the obstacles presented by the heavy traffic. He noted that Brookline Village, also crisscrossed by busy commuter roads, is able to maintain its appeal as a business district.

Among its recommendations, the Redevelopment Authority probably would consider new zoning for the area to allow taller buildings and apartments or condominiums on the upper floors of commercial buildings, Whiteside said.

Evelyn Friedman, director of the city's Department of Neighborhood Development, said the agency would like to see a Mattapan Main Streets program that includes Mattapan Square as well as Morton Street Village. She said that once the business community in Mattapan agrees on a plan, the department will seek a formal proposal.

In the meantime, the Board of Commerce has been working with state and city agencies on a number of neighborhood improvement projects. Last spring, a sign was erected on Morton Street welcoming visitors to the business district, and nearby a Christmas tree was put up for the holidays. Several storefronts also have been renovated on Morton Street with city financial assistance.

The relentless flow of traffic is not all bad, according to Hardaway. He said he gets customers who stop by on their way to Rhode Island, Cape Cod, and other parts of Southeastern Massachusetts.

"We want to entice the people who are traveling through to stop and shop," Hardaway said.

Robert Preer can be e-mailed at preer@globe.com.