Downtown Plaza Open in Time for Holidays

The town's new "Downtown Plaza" is open to the public--just in time for the holiday shopping season.

The tree-covered sanctuary for downtown visitors at the corner of Main and Lombard Streets still has a little work remaining to be finished, but its beautiful sidewalks, benches, greenery and design was a welcoming sight to downtown businesses and town officials.

"It's beautiful," said Mayor Jody McLeod. "It's hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago, this was an empty lot. What a wonderful place for shoppers to meet and relax."

The $300,000 project, designed by Ashley Grady of G2 Design, incorporates granite installed on the site more than a hundred years ago as part of the old Ashely Horne home that once stood there. Workmen have planted Elm, Pistach and Ginkgo trees.

The downtown "centerpiece," which includes 30 premium parking spaces, was championed over the last few years by the Mayor and Town Manager Steve Biggs as a way to help with downtown revitalization.