Florence Downtown

But this southern belle is becoming even more sophisticated as its downtown undergoes a major revitalization.

Among the exciting developments are the construction of a performing arts center and a city playhouse on separate sites within an emerging arts and cultural district – public-private, multi-partnership collaborations that will further establish downtown Florence as the cultural and economic hub of the Pee Dee region.

“There has already been a lot of invest­ment and commitment by a number of people to make all of this happen,” says Phillip Lookadoo, director of urban planning and devel­opment for the city of Florence. “We are finally at the imple­mentation phase, and it is very exciting.”

The Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, a local philanthropic organization, donated $20 million in grant money to the efforts. Half of the grant money was awarded to Francis Marion University, which will partner with the city of Florence to build the FMU Center for the Performing Arts downtown – a 900-seat auditorium, black-box theater, art galleries and classrooms, along with an outdoor amphitheater, reflecting pool and fountain. The second half of the grant is funding a new Florence Little Theatre, which will serve as a 400-seat home for the city’s 80-year-old commu­nity theatrical group.

In 2008, construction on the Center for the Performing Arts is scheduled to begin, and by May of that year comple­tion is expected for the Florence Little Theatre.

Already a popular downtown desti­nation is the 83,000-square-foot Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library. Adorned with classical columns and arched windows, it was completed in 2004. The foundation covered more than half of the library’s $17.5 million cost, hence the name.

“On any given day you can observe a full parking lot and lots of people making use of the facility,” Lookadoo says.

Fertile Ground for Development

This increased activity has caught the attention of residential and commercial investors, and new and renovated build­ings are popping up all over.

Plans have been approved for a pair of new three-story apartment buildings – roughly 60 units total – at the corner of Coit and Darlington streets, and plans for a new Walgreens have been approved at Irby and Palmetto streets, Lookadoo says.

A historic church, severely damaged by termites, is being reconstructed true to its original architecture on South Coit.

Local leaders at Turner Padget Graham & Laney, the largest law firm in the Pee Dee region, have expressed a desire to be an anchor tenant in a new mixed-use office building downtown that is still in the planning stages. 

“We believe it’s vital that any progres­sive, growing city have a vibrant downtown area, and it seems particularly fitting that a law firm be at the forefront of that,” says Michael Roberts, an attorney and shareholder in the firm’s Florence office. “Access to the courthouse is important to many of our attorneys, and we have made a conscious decision to be part of the downtown revitalization project.”

Pockets of Green

BTC Properties Inc. shares that sen­timent. The company owns and leases space in office buildings, and it recently created a nearly half-acre park on previously barren ground at the corner of Evans and Coit, adjacent to the office building occupied by Bank of America.

The park is landscaped with trees, shrubs and flowers, and it includes picnic tables, brick walkways, flags and lights – a nice place to picnic or just take a break.

The company also demolished a dilap­idated building at the corner of Evans and Dargan streets and landscaped the spot with grass, trees and flowers.

“We think it’s a good thing to do if you’re a good business citizen,” says Vipperman, who estimates the cost of the improvements at around $100,000. “We have great expectations for the future of Florence. We see a concerted effort to transform the city, and we’re very excited about that.”