Newton’s downtown has a 92 percent occupancy rate.
That’s the result of an unscientific walking survey conducted by Newton Now, looking at some 185 locations in the city’s central businesses district, consisting of Main Street from First to Eighth Street and including the side intersecting streets from Fourth to Seventh Street.
The number represents a small uptick from the 90 percent occupancy found by Newton Now in 2017.
Scott Sewell, director of the state’s Main Street program said a strong downtown represents an important asset for Newton.
“If you look at sales tax, property tax, the number of jobs downtown, I couldn’t guess how many jobs are in downtown Newton, but if you looked at it as a whole, it’s probably as big an employer as any in your community,” he said. “It’s really important as city leaders or community to look at it collectively, then you can start realizing that it’s important for us to support this.”
(Read more: Harvey County Now)