Business leaders get update on downtown Florence revitalization
John D. Russell/Morning News
George Jebaily, Florence attorney and former chairman of the Florence Downtown Development Corp., talks Wednesday with business leaders at the corner of Evans and Dargan streets about ongoing downtown revitalization efforts in Florence.
FLORENCE — Sixteen business leaders from local companies met at Florence-Darlington Technical College’s Allied Health Building conference room Wednesday to get an update about plans for downtown Florence.
The attendees then climbed aboard a bus provided by the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority to tour the downtown area. Among the key sites they saw were the McClenaghan building, Fitness Forum, Art Trail Gallery, police substation and the old Bush Recycling site.
Pete Mazzaroni of Roche Carolina and Florence attorney George Jebaily coordinated the event.
“We had a 30-minute lunch at which the attendees were updated about downtown activities,” Mazzaroni said. “We also provided them with a booklet which highlights our past progress and our plans going forward.”
The booklet is titled “Downtown Florence Revitalization Plan Update.” It contains information on the plan update process and schedule. Also included are background materials that summarize the preparations and downtown development that has occurred during the past five years.
“It is vitally important that the area business leaders know that there has been good progress in our revitalization efforts, as well as understand it’s a long process requiring involvement from all aspects of the community,” Mazzaroni said. “A vibrant, attractive downtown is a tremendous asset to these employers, particularly when it comes to recruiting and retention of people. The local business community has to be behind this effort.”
Jebaily is chairman of the committee that is overseeing the revising and updating of the downtown master plan. He is also a former chairman of the Florence Downtown Development Corp.
“As a part of that process we’re meeting with different focus groups to get input and to let everybody know what has happened with regard to downtown and what the future plans are,” Jebaily said. “We are seeking their input into the process so that we can capture as many diverse ideas as possible.
“Now is the time for all segments of our community to come forward and give us their ideas to help us create the vision and help us establish what our future downtown is going to be.”
Jebaily said it’s not his downtown, not your downtown, but our downtown.
“We’re really trying hard to reach out to as many different people and as many different groups as possible over the next eight months,” he said. “This is the beginning of that process and there will be a number of other focus groups as well as public meetings that will be held.
“This meeting today incorporated the feedback session. I firmly believe that one of the most important and beneficial things we can do to help revitalization is keep the public informed of everything that is going on.”
The work process being used to update the Downtown Florence Revitalization Plan is patterned after the successful Greenville downtown revitalization process. The Greenville process was successful largely because the initial plan was adopted, regularly updated and several administrations stayed with the plan and process during a 25-year revitalization period.
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Reader Reactions
Florence needs to First get rid of the Lowlifes who have taken over Downtown. Second they need to make the Downtown property owners responsible for cleaning up their buildings, not the taxpayer. The Taxpayers are not the ones who are going to profit off this fiasco. We sure have a lot of property owners Downtown (and City Council Members) who are trying to convince use that spending our Tax dollars to repair their buildings is a better investment for the community then hiring more Police and improving our Firefighting and Emergency services. As for locating everything by the Interstates, That is where the money is to be made from people traveling on 95 and 20. There is nothing in Florence to attract outside Tourism, and before there ever will be, you have to get rid of the people who are taking advantage of the system and the people of Florence.
If it was modeled after an area like downtown Conway, that would draw in people, I think.
Florence needs a vibrant downtown with businesses that draw from all the people in Florence. Another barber shop isn’t going to do that.
Yes, let’s locate everything out by the interstates. That really gives the city some character. Without a downtown, a city has no heart & no soul.
The library, PAC and theatre are great starts. Now the focus needs to be on Dargan & Evans. The run down shops need to be cleaned up and the loiterers, drug dealers and criminals need to be exterminated like the termites that they are. We need city leaders who are going to say “we’re going to clean up this mess” and get started on it. That means helping those businesses & land owners who are willing to meet the city halfway. Most will not of course…they want things to stay the same. So they will need to be dealt with firmly….without kow towing to certain constituencies who would prefer the status quo and scream “that’s unfair”. It’s been done successfully in countless other cities. It also means a police substations right in those areas, along with very good lighting.
Law abiding citizens of all races need their downtown back.
“Right now the library and the new theatre look so out of place amongst the hovels.“
You’re right about that.
Having just driven down the northern end of Dargan Street just yesteday, IMHO the only way the downtown area is going to be revitalized is to tear it down.
Right now the library and the new theatre look so out of place amongst the hovels.
Should have taken the tour at night. Instead of lunch they could have given the business leaders a little crack and a hand job. By the way, where did they have Lunch? Was it Downtown, or maybe at the Redbone. This is our Tax dollars at work. And they are already telling us that its a 25 year plan. So don’t expect to see much return on our tax dollars in your lifetime.
So do you suggest we forget about it and let it go?
We care!
We want better than what we had.
It’s up to us.
If I were a businessman in Florence, I would never invest in downtown. We have seen the abuse of funding spent by the city over the years and completely wasted. Main Street looks worse than it ever has. The library, Little Theatre, and new concert hall should never have been placed downtown. You go the Little Theatre and you see numerous police officers around. You never saw that at Cashua Drive. First Baptist has had security problems for years and the church had to employ security/police protection. We allowed Walmart to move into a perfect area for a Library and arts area and the Florence community blew it.
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