The Florence Downtown Development Corporation (FDDC) is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization established by the City of Florence, South Carolina to foster revitalization in Downtown Florence. FDDC is a partnership with the City and is led by a 21-member Board of Directors elected to manage the corporation’s activities, affairs, property and associated assets. FDDC staff is comprised of two City employees, an Executive Director and a Downtown Development Coordinator, enlisted to provide day-to-day operations of the organization.
At the start of the revitalization process, FDDC and the City identified many issues that would serve to strengthen the state of Downtown. Some of these items included:
- Completing an intense study of and a plan for Downtown
- Forming zoning overlay districts and adopting them as amendments to the Consolidated Zoning Ordinance
- Preparing design guidelines and principles to apply within the overlay districts
- Creating a National Register Historic District
- Acquiring underused property for redevelopment
To date, a majority of the initial action items have successfully been completed. As with any revitalization effort, the process is lengthy; however small steps are made everyday that translate into great strides for a Downtown Florence renaissance. Following are highlights of the progress FDDC has facilitated and/or implemented:
- Outlined the geographical boundaries of the Downtown Redevelopment District
- Completed the Downtown Revitalization Strategy with the help of Hunter Interests Incorporated (Click on Phases I through III below)
- Aided in the development process of more than 100 projects including the construction of 8 new buildings in Downtown
- Secured approximately 150,000 square feet of underused space that will be available for developing restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues
- Obtained over $1 million in funding for streetscape and beautification projects
Downtown Revitalization Strategy