Williamston Downtown Acceleration Program (WDAP) Puts Williamston on the National Map!
Leadership from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) visited the Town of Williamston last Wednesday, May 1st. Their purpose was to view firsthand some of the ARC-sponsored streetscaping improvements accomplished over the past year and a half. Representatives from the Washington, DC area included Tim Thomas, the federal ARC Co-Chair; Scott Hamilton, ARC Executive Director; and Guy Land, ARC Chief of Staff. From the state level, the team included Michael McInerney, ARC State Alternate and Caroline Griffin, ARC SC Program Manager. Steve Pelissier, Executive Director of the Appalachian Council of Governments (ACOG) and Arlene Young, ACOG Grants Services Director coordinated the visit at ARC’s request.
Mayor Mack Durham, Roxanne Hall, Chair of Envision Williamston, and Sonya Crandall, Executive Director of Envision Williamston, hosted the site visit along with several other leadership members of the Williamston community. They showed the site visit team members several of the results from the Williamston Downtown Acceleration Program (WDAP), as part of a walking tour of the downtown area. The tour included several artistic murals, aspirational decals, decorative banners, facade improvements, adopt a rest stop sites, and one of our greenway landscaped areas. They also pointed out several potential redevelopment sites for economic revitalization. The strong local showing underscores the active engagement of community members in various facets of the recent revitalization and that the accomplishments made are a team effort. The local project exceeded many of its original goals, and leaders are now ready to move on to the next phase of redevelopment.
For more information, go to www.envisionwilliamston.com. Want to be involved? Community members may sign up to become an EW Ambassador. Forms are available online and at Town Hall.