Downtown Carrington, North Dakota - Main StreetIn the January 12th Carrington City Council meeting, Lucinda Grandalen (Economic Development Director), informed the council that the JDA wants to purchase and DEMOLISH two downtown buildings - the Mel's Diner building for $6,600 and the Carrington Floral building for $5,000. According to Mayor Frye, the JDA has budgeted $50,000 for this project.
It looks like our historical downtown buildings are going to disappear one by one if Carrington residents don't take an interest and do something about it. Besides the fact that these buildings add character to our downtown, just think about what downtown Carrington will look like with big gaping holes between the buildings that remain!
It's sad to think that two great old buildings are going to be destroyed, simply because of lack of interest and/or ideas of how to make them beneficial to our community. Why can't the JDA use their budgeted $50,000 to support some constructive ideas toward saving these buildings?
Creative thinkers, please help!!! What can be done to save downtown Carrington?
It looks like our historical downtown buildings are going to disappear one by one if Carrington residents don't take an interest and do something about it. Besides the fact that these buildings add character to our downtown, just think about what downtown Carrington will look like with big gaping holes between the buildings that remain!
It's sad to think that two great old buildings are going to be destroyed, simply because of lack of interest and/or ideas of how to make them beneficial to our community. Why can't the JDA use their budgeted $50,000 to support some constructive ideas toward saving these buildings?
Creative thinkers, please help!!! What can be done to save downtown Carrington?
How about an artists' co-op? There are certainly a lot of great artists and craftspeople in this area. The Carrington Armory was absolutely filled with attractive arts and crafts at the local Crafts Fair last November. A building downtown with a storefront like the old Floral building would be a great place to display and sell local artwork. Also, it would draw not only local residents, but tourists to the downtown area, as well as provide income for local artisans.
The Historical Society has done a wonderful job or restoring and keeping up the Putnam House, and our community has been very supportive of their special events and activities. Could the Historical Society turn one of these old buildings into a downtown museum - an extension of the Foster County Museum which is already in existence? The current museum is chock-full of more than enough fascinating artifacts to fill up another building. Also, a downtown museum would be another tourist attraction to the Main Street area.
I'm sure there are lots of great ideas out there! Please use the comment section below to share them.
6 comments:
I live in Missouri and have been looking at moving to North Dakota for a few years. I'm going to go up there this summer to check some things out. I like Carrington, I like the old courthouse, the post office, the old buildings. I was reading an article about the town planning to tear down two old buildings and was absolutely shocked. The town I live in, Hartville, Missouri, tore down their neat old courthoue, put barn tin over one of the old buildings, and tore down the old gas station. Our town has lost its character. When you tear down one old building next to another old building, you can never make the side of the existing building look right. I was wondering if anybody knows when these buildings are supposed to be torn down? and could someone buy them if they were willing to fix them up? You can always tear these buildings down this summer - next year - or five years from now, but you will never get them back. Thanks, Mike & Becky Hutchison (417)668-5867
I contacted Lucinda Grandalen who informed me that the JDA had indeed bought the two old buildings known as Mel's Diner and the Floral Building. According to her, they have major water damage and need to be removed from Main Street. They are going to build a new building which will replace the two older buildings being torn down. I don't quite understand where the new building will be, or when it is scheduled to be built. Also, I can't picture how All That Jazz will look with the buildings torn down on each side of it. Hopefully, the Carrington town managers have a good plan in mind.
I also found out from Lucinda that the old Drug Store building on Main Street is up for sale again - this time for $49,500. It was sold earlier for $15,000 for the purpose of housing a restaurant. Those plans did not go through, however, and the new owner has put the old building back on the market. See Allison Shumann if you are interested in it. In addition to the large store area, there is an apartment located upstairs. It seems like a nice building with a lot of potential for good use.
I wrote e-mails to Mayor Frye and the members of the Carrington Town Council, requesting information about the two old buildings and the new building which is going to replace them. So far, no one has contacted me. As soon as I find out more information, I will post it on this website.
If you are interested in the vacant, rundown buildings downtown . . why don't you write a check, purchase them and run a business down there?
It's easy to say 'we need to do something' when you are not the one doling out the dough.
Anonymous, Thanks for your comment, even though it's a critical one. I'm glad you took the time to voice your opinion. I didn't mean to touch a sore spot with you... Just trying to come up with some ideas to save the "look" of the downtown area. As for doling out my own dough, I've already bought and fixed up one business building, a rental duplex, and a home. Can't afford anything else at the moment! By the way, what do you think of an artist's co-op? I might be able to go in on that, if enough other people are willing to be involved.
I wonder if in the new design the old facades could be saved, at least partially to save the historical look. I belive the term is facadectomy. As with anything, there are pros and cons to that.
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