Downtown Florence welcomes new businesses
Florence leaders want to change the perception that many people have of the city’s downtown area.
Some development officials say many residents view the area as a place that is unsafe, and a place where there is nothing to do.
But they’re on a mission to change that, and it’s already begun with the influx of new businesses. There’s already a new Thai restaurant and a salon. And a police substation now sits near the corner of Evans and Dargan Streets. But the most prominent new building is Francis Marion University’s Performing Arts Center, which is currently under construction. It’s set to be finished in the fall of 2010, and FMU officials say downtown was the perfect location.
“We just think it’s the best of both worlds for us to expand our footprint, go into downtown Florence with the performing arts center and partner with our different community entities to do so,“ said Darryl Bridges, FMU’s Vice President of Public and Community Affairs.
Phil Lookado, Florence’s Director of Urban Planning and Development, says the fact that new businesses are choosing to locate downtown shows that the area has something to offer.
“It shows that there is, to the general public, there’s activity in downtown, there’s things to do, places to go and see, and so it’s a good start to the revitalization of downtown.“
And FMU’s Performing Arts Center figures prominently into those plans for revitalization. Bridges says its presence will draw other attractions as well.
Downtown leaders say they’re also working on moving the Florence County Museum to the downtown area, and they’d like to do some streetscaping in the area, as well.
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This type of “revitalization” is like planting a rose bush in the middle of a cow pasture.
To appreciate its beauty, you have to make your way through a lot of unpleasantness. And, you can forget about enjoying its fragrance.
So, by all means enjoy these islands of culture in the heart of our teeming metropolis… but watch your step.
“CardinalWoolsey” Good points all! Suburban sprawl has been dicredited as an ugly, unsustainable, form of unplanned development that must be abandoned. The best quality of life rests on planned, mixed use, appropriatly dense development in urban centers. Investing in high quality civic and public spaces encourages this type of development. Our future as a cummunity depends on diverting development toward these areas and away from tacky “McMansion” housing developments, strip malls, and big-box stores.
Florence is an incredibly ugly city. The downtown area looks like a small-scale version of the worst parts of Detroit, or Mogadishu. There are certain segments of the populace who feel right at home in such an environment, in fact, they helped to create it. They see no reason to change. Indeed, they fully committed to exporting their sense of taste and style to any new areas they can. And no one is slowing them down.
There is plenty of new development money being spent around Florence. You can see it everywhere, except downtown. Everyone knows who has the money for development and where they are spending it. Downtown development will only occur when those people decide it is in their economic interest to invest their money downtown, instead of putting it in the Oakdale, Forrest Lake, Pamplico Highway areas, etc. They would have to be “gently persuaded” to do so by government, acting in the best interest of the community at large. Problem is, those people control the government, so it’s not going to happen.
Even influencial Florintines have become so inured to blight that they can’t even see it. How long did the influential and wealthy parishioners of St. John’s Church put up with the burned-out motel directly across the street? And those of Central Methodist have endured the beautiful “plaza” across Irby Street for decades. Every Sunday, they ride through sections of incredible blight, poverty and crime, without giving it a second thought, while on their way to worship Jesus on cushions of red plush.
As long as a community’s most powerful, wealthy, and influencial elites are not concerned about a problem, it will never be addressed. Especially when it’s not a “problem” to them, instead it’s the primary source of their wealth.
Taxpayertoo:
May I ask what EVIDENCE you have that supports the FACTS of your opinions?
First, let me thank Conan Gasque, the person who wrote this article. It takes a lot of talent to make an article about nothing and make it into, well, nothing. But, it was well written. Ive got to say, speaking first hand, downtown is a horrible and unsafe area to go to. The revitalization program is a complete waste of time and money, heck, if I’m right, I believe the mayor is against it but it’s “grant money”. I agree putting a police substation right around the corner from the main station is pretty much as waste. A police substation is a good idea, as long as it doesn’t turn out like that thing (police substation) that sits at Church and National Cemetery. I don’t even know what they do with that eye sore.
Lisa, Councilman Powers is not the only person to benefit from this. You have to include Ed and his people. Ed hates to be left out.
The library, the Little Theatre, and the new performing arts center are the first worthwhile buildings I’ve seen in this town in recent memory. A community is defined by its great public and civic spaces and buildings. Furthermore, thoughtful, planned, development requires these types of buildings as the focus of a vital, urban life. Unplanned suburban development—the type that dominates in Florence—is crass, spiraling, tacky, and relentlessly commercial. This is the type of undesirable development that should be curtailed. The most forward thinking cities in the country have limited the outward sprawl of their communities, and focused on new, dense, urban city centers with ample public and civic spaces and an appropriate mix of small commercial and residential development.
This is where our hard earned Tax dollars are going, Improving Downtown. Building a performing arts theater 3 blocks from Florence Little Theater, now who in their right mind really thinks that Florence can support 2 Theaters. And on top of that it is being paid for by FMU and our Tax dollars, and it will continue to be subsidized by our taxes for a long time. Opening a new Police Substation, almost makes it sound like they are bringing in more law enforcement. This Substation is about 4 blocks from Police headquarters, Having 3 cops sitting in another office is not an improvement, it is a waste of taxpayers money. I wonder who owns that building is it the City or are the Taxpayers pumping money into the lease of some fine upstanding property owner with absolutely no ties to the City. So in reality there is one new business that has moved into Downtown that is not being financed by Taxpayers dollars. Not a great bargain for all the Money the City Council has been dumping into the revitalization program all these years. Well, that is unless you own a business or property downtown.
Downtown is a waste of time in terms of development. Who stands to benefit from this? Councilman Powers? Why do we keep wasting energy on building up the downtown.
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