No matter how Albert Lea grows in other areas of the city, and no matter how fervently locals and local media (including this newspaper) welcome such growth, the downtown must be valued, maintained and bolstered. Why? Because no matter how nice other areas become, visitors ultimately judge the health and quality of a city on the health and quality of the downtown.

Albert Lea has a beautiful downtown that remains the financial center and is overall a healthy, central location for business. At the same time, the downtown could be stronger, more vibrant, more cultural, more cherished.

People in Albert Lea have visited other cities and seen ones with nice business districts on the outer fringes but decrepit downtowns. Recently, on a trip to the South, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board saw a bank building built to look exactly like a classical downtown building, pillars and all. However, it was near one of those automobile-friendly stretches of America highway with fast-food restaurants and strip malls. The building seemed to have the credibility of a downtown building, though it seemed out of place among the backlit signs and big parking lots. Meanwhile, the city’s downtown was rundown, almost abandoned. It begged the question: What happened?

The answer is clear: The city’s government and commerce leaders didn’t understand they could have success in both places — on the growing fringes and the downtown. Perhaps their focus was on one to the detriment of the other.

We hope Albert Lea leaders, and not just City Hall either, use the right economic tools to keep a vibrant downtown — particularly special events and cultural perks — and to encourage entrepreneurship downtown. A good-looking and busy downtown will make a strong impression to anyone looking to do business in Albert Lea, no matter where in the city they set up shop.