Learning, Sharing, and Dreaming in Bellefontaine

Last Friday, our HDG Property Manager Courtney Danner and I traveled to Bellefontaine to spend the day with my friend Jason Duff and the Small Nation team. Jason and I love to tell the stories of our time as friends and ensemble mates in singing groups during our years at Ohio Northern University, before either of us had bought our first downtown property, about the time we were both stoking entrepreneurial fires and buying our first real estate.  

This trip was a quarterly gathering of our network of small-town developers who are passionate about breathing new life into historic buildings and downtowns across Ohio. Our group now includes representatives from Lima, Jeffersonville, London, Plain City, Old Hilliard, Enon, Urbana, Sidney, and of course, Marion.

Jason and the Small Nation team have been friends and mentors to us since the beginning of our work in Marion. They began their efforts about 10 years before we did and have now completed around 50 projects that saved old buildings and helped launch entrepreneurs’ dreams. Their projects include retail shops, hair salons, coworking spaces, restaurants, event venues, Airbnbs,

and much more. Seeing their work up close reminded me how powerful it is when vision, persistence, and community collide. I give Jason a lot of the credit for inspiring me to start this work in the first place.

One story that stood out was about the early days of Bellefontaine’s revitalization when very few people believed the effort could succeed. Jason and Brittany Saxton, now the owner of Six Hundred Downtown Pizzeria, shared how her restaurant became one of the first major anchors downtown. By creating a welcoming place for people to gather, eat, and celebrate, 600 Downtown helped shift perceptions and proved that a vibrant downtown was possible. That one business became a spark for dozens of others.

We also studied how Bellefontaine’s ecosystem works as a whole. It is not just about one building or one shop. The residential loft spaces, coworking, fitness facilities, hair salons, and retail shops all work together to create a place where people love to visit, live, and work. Walking through these interconnected spaces, it was clear how deliberate planning and supportive partnerships have built momentum over time.

A highlight of the trip was touring The Maxwell Event Venue, a historic church they are transforming into a small event venue. Standing in the middle of the sanctuary, you could feel the history of the building and imagine the new memories that will be made there.

The visit was not only inspiring but deeply connected to the work we are doing in Marion. Seeing another community a few steps ahead gives us a vision for what is possible in our own town. Vibrant storefronts, full upper floors, thriving events, and a sense of place where people want to belong are things we are already seeing, but that we can continue to grow and expand.

Trips like this remind me that revitalizing small towns is not a solo act but a shared movement. Every restaurant patron, boutique customer, or event guest helps sustain the momentum. By choosing to support our local places, you are directly investing in the future of our community.

I am grateful for Jason, Brittany, the Small Nation team, and all of the developers across Ohio who are proving that historic buildings can become launching pads for the future. Together we are writing a new story for our communities, one building, one entrepreneur, and one bold idea at a time.