On Friday night, we held our Upper Floor Tour. This event featured the upper floors of 4 historic buildings and the entire County Administration Building. We printed 300 tickets and we sold 307, another sold-out event!
This event allows us to celebrate our beautiful historic buildings. The buildings that still stand strong. The buildings that have housed hundreds of different businesses over the years. The buildings that hold dear memories for many who grew-up here - current residents and those who have chosen to move away. The buildings that we drive by on a daily basis, and usually take for granted.
I have lived in Greenville my entire life and there are times you feel like you have seen everything there is to see here. There are many times we easily forget just how beautiful this town is. Seeing the upper floors of these buildings can give you a fresh and unique perspective of our town and give you inspiration for the future. It allows us to learn new things about who we used to be and give you ideas on who we could become. I truly get giddy with excitement thinking about these spaces, seeing them, and then brainstorming about what we could do.
This event was created to inspire others. To encourage people to get involved in our efforts. To encourage people to see downtown Greenville the way we see downtown Greenville. If you spend a regular amount of time downtown, you know and understand what a great place it is to be. Revitalization does not happen overnight. It is an on-going process. It takes a lot of money, time, resources, energy, and lots of people who care. We are not the only town working towards revitalizing our downtown. A little bit of research and you will find this is happening across the country and the demand for young professionals is encouraging this process. Greenville is lucky. We are actually quite ahead of the game and I am so thankful to the citizens and members of Main Street Greenville who came before me.
During our event, we had visitors from Logan & Randolph County. They wanted information about what we are doing and how we are doing it. We also noticed grandparents, parents, and their children taking the time to enjoy the tour together, which is very encouraging to see. We should ALL be proud of this.
During the tour, we showcased spaces that were finished and spaces that were unfinished. Our design committee chose these locations so people could have an idea of what is available for renovation and to allow people to see what can be done. We also reached out to those with available spaces (for rent or for sale) to help showcase buildings that are currently on the market.
Recently, one of our downtown buildings sold to new owners. The new owners are Greenville natives, Daniel and Kristin Jones. I had a meeting with Kristin yesterday and I asked her why they decided to purchase a building downtown. She told me they attended our Upper Floor Tour last year and it inspired them to purchase a building and start a business this year. THAT is what this event is all about and I am so thankful they were willing to let me share this story.
Thank you to everyone involved with the creation and success of this event and thank you to everyone who attended. These events would not happen without the help of those who care about our downtown and its future. THANK YOU!