Maryanne Johnson remembers the downtown department stores, the busy streets bustling day and night with business people, diners and shoppers.

But things are a little different now, Johnson, manager of Downtown Furniture, said.

"Things have changed, with people moving into shopping areas,"Johnson said. "And the problem that never seems to be solved is parking."

While some businesses still cling to maintaining that old, warm downtown atmosphere, the empty spaces and quiet nights are ever-prevalent in Bismarck's own downtown district.

But the city and the Downtowners Association are working to change that, with the Downtown Rehabilitation Plan, incentives for improvement, the Renaissance Zone Authority and seasonal events to liven up the streets.

Really a problem?

But what do most businesses want to start with? Parking.

Ask nearly any retail business downtown, and they'll tell you that their customers complain about parking. It's old news, they say.

Both office and hospital workers compete for parking spots. Then throw shop owners and residents in the mix, add restaurant workers and diners, then look around, business owners say, and see where the shoppers can park.

Stephanie Iwaniw, director of the Downtowners Association, says it's not that bad.

"At any given time, I can look down the block and find three open spots,"she said. "People will go to Kirkwood, they will park more than a city block away, and no one bats an eye. Why is it not a problem at the mall?"

Most of the street parking downtown has a 90-minute time limit from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There also are three parking ramps, the Third Street ramp, the Park-Aid ramp and the Galleria ramp, which have a total of 1,167 spaces, according to Jeannie Jacobs-Kopp, assistant manager in the city Parking Authority.

But it doesn't seem to be enough.

"I liked (being downtown). But it's getting worse and worse with parking,"said Jolene Morgan, owner of Treasures of Sea and Earth. "Just not enough parking, and people don't use the ramp. If I was to stay in business at all, I would move anyway." Morgan's planning to retire.

Iwaniw said the city was accepting requests for proposals for a parking consultant to assess the downtown area's parking needs. And to see if the "problem"is perception or reality, she said.

Revolving spaces

What is reality, however, is the revolving door of commercial space downtown.

There are fixtures:Walkers n' Daughters Jewelry, Westley's Jewelry, bridal stores. There are the coffee shops, the restaurants, the bars.

Building sales and leases are coming along: The old Bismarck Tribune building on Fourth Street and Thayer Avenue was recently bought by Tribune Building LLC, managed by Rudra Tamm with Sarah Vogel Law Firm. The law firm plans on moving into the first floor of the 21,000-square-foot building by April, Kumm said.

And an office building is going up on the corner of Second Street and Main Avenue, which Iwaniw said is going to be a "gorgeous building."

But just in the past month, several businesses have closed or announced the sale of their stores.

Paintballer's Paradise on Main Avenue closed its doors after 51/2 years at the end of 2006, citing decreased traffic and competition.

Treasures of Sea and Earth, 116 N. Fifth St., a shop that's had four different downtown locations in 20 years, is up for sale, said Morgan, who just wants to retire and spend her time volunteering at the Humane Society.

Downtown Furniture, owned by Scott Johnson and managed by his mother, Maryanne Johnson, will be closing within the next several months. After being in business for 12 years, Maryanne Johnson says it's time time to retire.

Scott Johnson will still own the building, and will entertain any proposals to lease the lower levels of the buildings, he said.

Hellman Brothers on Fifth Street is moving, too, but they decided to stay true to their downtown roots. The men's clothing store is expanding and moving to nearby 717 E. Main Ave. before the end of next year.

According to the most recent study, there's still 52,000 square feet of vacancy downtown, which City Commissioner Sandy Tabor said in September had grown by another 14,000 square feet.

Iwaniw is not deterred. She said she's had entrepreneurs in and out of the office talking about their ideas for revitalization and development, many of which are very promising.

"I feel confident that those spaces will be filled,"Iwaniw said of the spaces becoming available on Fifth Street."It's never a bad thing to move people in. You always regret and miss people that choose to leave, for so many different reasons. But it leaves more opportunities"

Opportunities abound

Iwaniw said the downtown district is still bustling from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but it's those later hours that they want to fill.

Ultimately, the Downtowner's Association wants to see a downtown destination, a place for people to live, work and play, she said.

"What we want to do, is have a downtown that is a breath of fresh air,"she said. "That has the elements of every cool downtown that people have been to. My vision is truly to have people living downtown."

With that in mind, the Bismarck City Commission adopted the Downtown Rehabilitation Plan on a 3-2 vote in September. The plan includes incentive grants for housing, facades and signage. It also includes using tax increment funds to repair walkways that have been hampered by the existence of subsurface vaults extending under sidewalks.

Applications for the grants were made available two weeks ago, Iwaniw said. At least eight applications were out by the end of last week.

And street fairs and events continue to grow and see annual successes, said Iwaniw.

"Progress is seeming to move slow, but it's still moving forward. We're still positive about where we're going to be able to go,"Iwaniw said.

(Reach reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)