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Lloyd Purdy, executive director of Main Street Oregon City, has been working tirelessly to draw attention – and revenue – to the streets of Oregon City’s 166-year-old downtown area.

“Putting downtown Oregon City on the map is my biggest challenge – on the map for developers, for entrepreneurs, and for local residents who may have forgotten about this old downtown,” he said.

The attempt to revitalize the downtown has faced many challenges, including the 18-month closure of the Oregon City Arch Bridge. Many feared that the closure would thwart the community’s efforts to encourage new business.

Purdy and many business owners now view the closure as a chance to take some time to upgrade the streetscape as a way to improve infrastructure, recruit development professionals and transform the downtown.

“When the bridge reopens, the downtown marketplace should look as good as the new bridge,” Purdy said.

To work toward that goal, he has helped secure $2.5 million for streetscape enhancement. Revitalizing the downtown is not just about achieving an attractive physical design. It’s also about building community, which requires economic development and a celebration of local identity and culture.

“My personal and professional experience has convinced me that commerce, culture and creativity go hand in hand,” he said.

Before moving to Oregon City, Purdy lived in what he calls two thriving and artistic areas: Ithaca, a city in upstate New York, and Austin, Texas. By investing locally in each of those cities, Purdy found special characteristics in each unique community. It’s a process he’s repeating in Oregon City

“That’s what my job is, to work with communities that have some potential that needs to be realized,” he said.

So far, it seems to be working. In the past 20 months, 30 new businesses opened in Oregon City’s downtown.

Future business developments also may arise out of an economic development initiative called “Blue Collar Creative,” which is campaigning to reimagine the downtown as an authentic urban environment that is ready and waiting for the arrival of creative firms and entrepreneurs.

“I really believe that every place in which people live has something that’s unique and special about it,” Purdy said. “My problem has been to uncover those special characteristics.”

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

“I remember a quote I used to see taped to the inside of a drawer in my father’s desk. It said something about a duck, looking serene and calm on the surface … but paddling like the dickens underneath. For me this is a reminder that making good things happen takes a lot of work, even if it looks easy at times.”

Who was your mentor, and how did he or she shape you as a person?

“Throughout the different stages of my life, I’ve sought out role models from whom I could learn. An economist in Gainesville, Florida, taught me how to understand how our world works. A small business owner in Austin, Texas, taught me how to treat customers and employees – make it right and make them happy. An artist-entrepreneur in Ithaca, New York, showed me how to build partnerships that result in transformative change in a community. An urban strategist in Syracuse, New York, taught me how to merge the language of design with public and private sector interests.”

Tell me something about yourself that most people wouldn’t know.

“The success of my work is the result of bringing together the right partners, at the right time, for the right project.”