Ginger Garrard, director of the Canton Main Street Program, gives a tour of the Jones building on Friday afternoon. The Jones building is located in downtown Canton and is looking for occupants to lease. In an effort to fill vacant buildings in downtown Canton, the Main Street Program is hammering out details for a marketing program called ‘This Space Is Not Empty, It Is Full Of Possiblities.’
Photo by Samantha Wilson
Photo by Samantha Wilson
Details are now being worked out by the Canton Main Street Program for a marketing program to showcase all the vacant spaces in downtown Canton.
A "This Space Is Not Empty, It Is Full Of Possibilities" tour will start with a reception downtown where maps for a self-guided tour of available spaces will be handed out. Members of the community, Realtors, business people and targeted businesses that would be a good fit for downtown will be invited.
"There are so many people in Canton who just don't know what is available," said Ginger Garrard, the city's main street program director. "Perhaps they will walk through a space and go, 'Oh my gosh, this is a really good business opportunity.'"
She said there are about six buildings with vacant space in the downtown district.
"We are trying to get exposure for these empty spaces in hopes of getting them filled," she said.
Wanda Roach, chairwoman of the city's Downtown Development Authority, said the city needs to try whatever it can to attract more people to the district.
"The more people that are coming to downtown, the more people there are eating at restaurants in town and shopping at the stores," she said.
She said part of the problem of having empty spaces in the downtown district is the economy.
"People have moved their businesses into their homes," she said. "I think people are getting cautiously optimistic that things are getting better. Somebody that has had a business in their home and would really like to have more visibility to the public, we would love for them to be downtown."
Mayor Gene Hobgood said the tour was a good idea in the city's efforts to promote its downtown district.
"We would much rather prefer them to be filled," he said about the empty spaces. "It is a positive that if there is someone wanting to move in, we have space readily available. We would rather be out of space as opposed to having extra space."
For more information, call Ginger Garrard at (770) 704-1548.
What is really needed is to free up many of the great street level storefronts that are now law offices and insurance agencies and replace them with retail and resturants that people want to visit.
Until that happens -- downtown Canton will remain a ghost town ...... it has nothing to offer.