Main Street SC, SC Community Development Association spotlight Aiken and North Augusta

Last week brought together two programs of the Municipal Association — the SC Community Development Association and Main Street South Carolina — for a joint meeting in two cities — Aiken and North Augusta. Attendees heard from many local officials, like Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon, North Augusta Mayor Robert Pettit as well as city managers and Main Street SC directors, among others, and toured projects and downtowns in both communities.
Here are some highlights of the session:

• A walking tour of Aiken with Aiken Downtown Development Association Executive Director Haley Knight and City of Aiken’s Tourism Supervisor Mary Rosbach. 
• A spotlight of the Riverside Village developments in North Augusta with City Administrator Todd Glover, and the North Augusta Forward Main Street program with its Executive Director Avery Spears-Mahoney. The City of North Augusta won a 2019 Achievement Award from the Municipal Association in the Economic Development category for the project. 
• Greenville Mayor Knox White delivered the keynote address, sharing the story of Greenville’s impressive growth and development and touching on many of the things that have made downtown Greenville so successful — an intense focus on mixed use to bring residential space downtown as well as focuses on walkability, public art and other elements that make people genuinely want to be downtown. White will also speak at the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting, taking place in Greenville July 18 – 21. 
• SCCDA toured Aiken’s brand-new J. Carrol Busbee Public Safety Headquarters, rebuilt out of a vacant grocery store building, which houses space for police, fire, a courtroom, offices, emergency operations and a dispatch center. 
• An “Unwrapping the Big Box” panel discussion for SCCDA included not only an explanation of Aiken’s public safety project from Assistant City Manager Kim Abney and Planning Director Ryan Bland, but also a discussion of the redevelopment of the Aiken Mall and the former Aiken County Hospital. Moncks Corner Community Development Director Doug Polen discussed the revitalization of a visible corner that had been home to a shuttered drugstore. 
• Main Street directors from across the state shared recent successes and challenges confronting their downtowns.
• National Main Street Conference scholarship recipients from Aiken, Camden, Laurens and Summerville highlighted their experiences at the 2019 conference: best practices in building resiliency, cultural tourism districts, downtown housing in addition to networking with other economic development professionals nationwide.