Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com

 

SALISBURY — Downtown Salisbury is continuing to see growth and improvement, and with the Downtown Revitalization Grant that was awarded last year, that growth will come in the form of more residential and retail spaces.

Salisbury has three grant programs that are specific to downtown that operate out of the Planning and Neighborhoods department last year, said Sada Troutman, downtown development director.

These include the Municipal Service Improvement Grant, the Industry Improvement Grant and the Downtown Revitalization Grant, which was awarded last year to Alley and Main, a project at 119 and 121 N. Main St., Salisbury.

Troutman said that they received $150,000 for this project to go toward their four residential units and two retail spaces that are going in.

“They are hoping to open those this year,” she said. “So we are really excited for that to come because the downtown residential has been really key for Salisbury particularly the upper story that is being developed.”

Troutman said that when she started three years ago, there were approximately 170 residential units and when the Alley and Main project is completed, it will take that number to more than 200 units, “so a lot more residents for the downtown.”

As for the timeframe for when the different phases of this particular downtown project are to be completed, she said that the first phase, “as part of their agreement, has to be completed construction by October 2026.”

As for phases two and three, she said there are no deadlines because they want to “give them a fair shot at getting the first section done as they’re working through the fundraising for the next phases.”

Dependent on the city’s budget, grants are typically available after the budget passes in July, she said, as the city council has to approve the money in the budget for these grant programs. Therefore, she said, “I’ll add the caveat up front, it’s always budget dependent.” 

Troutman did add that the grant programs do open annually after the passing of the budget. Information about these programs as well as who the staff liaison is and the application deadlines are updated on the city’s website.

When asked how many the grants help, Troutman said they have the three different grants and also who applies varies from year to year. As for the facade grants, she said these are smaller and matching grants and that number would be between eight and 15 people annually. These grants, which include the Municipal Service District Grant Program and the Industry Service Grant Program, help with visual improvements to the fronts of buildings, including planters, signage, awnings or painting.

There was only one application submitted for the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program last year; therefore, there was just the one person that was awarded it. But, Troutman said, “in the past, we have had as many as four or five recipients to that grant.”

Having these new residential and retail spaces and revitalization taking place in downtown means a lot of things to the city, said Troutman.

“I would say the most impactful, because it has multiple definitions for us, is the vibrancy,” she said. “It really improves the vibrancy of our downtown because in downtown Salisbury we don’t want to just be somewhere people pass through, we want to be a destination. And we want to be a destination for residents and visitors and businesses alike. We want to be able to serve all of those stakeholders to be able to live, work and play in downtown.”

Mayor Tamara Sheffield said they are “very excited for this opportunity for our downtown. We’re looking forward to leveraging the grant.”

Sheffield credited Salisbury Rowan Utilities, which has “done a great job in doing some pre-work over the last few months so that hopefully we don’t have any big surprises. We’ve also had the opportunity to learn from some other communities on how to move it forward as fast as we can but do it in the right way and we’re excited for our businesses once we get through this to do a real huge revitalization as downtown as it continues to grow and thrive.”

In addition to the project included in the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program, Troutman said there are other projects taking place in downtown. One such project that many ask about and are interested in is the Empire Project.

In October 2024, developers purchased the first phase of the building, she said, which was 15,000 square feet at the corner of Bank and Main streets. Called the Efird’s section, which they are working on, she said they are putting in two, two-story row homes, seven, one-story apartment units and one retail section. 

Demolition has begun and where windows were once bricked up, “you can see there are windows again, so it’s really exciting,” Troutman said. 

Plus the fundraising stage for the second and third phases are taking place, which will include hotel rooms, the ballroom, more retail spaces and a steakhouse.

“The Empire is very impactful for the downtown,” she added.

Another project that the city is working on in the downtown area is the former Wells Fargo Building, located at 130 S. Main Street. 

It is “under planning to become more of an event center and offices for city staff. So that’s going to be a big change bringing people to downtown,” said Troutman.

In the Downtown Salisbury impact report, it shared that there is a Main Street Project that will improve sidewalks, streets and infrastructure. More information will be coming on this project and she said there are others coming that are pending at this time.