It's my turn. Looks like I am the lucky one; today, yesterday, and for who knows how much longer.
The tractors,noise and sink hole are in front of my new business today.
Scottsville is dead, long live the snake bitten holler, just far enough out of reach of the paternalistic university city.
Recently renovated buildings sit vacant all along the road. One of the tax-shelter store owners who held two store fronts open for the past seven years is taking his ball and going home too.
Floods didn't kill it, although armies of them tried.
Hail to the new chiefs, THE "COME HERES" . They sold their family mansions in the Hamptons and purchased beautiful old houses with views of the river for less than an eighth of their profits. They put personalized license plates on their BMW's; Mr. Scottsville" they read.
They looked around at the tenacious, spirited small town where Jason Walton used to like to play the piano no matter how hard his Mama protested, and they were ashamed of Their new town.
Oh The Dew Drop In.
Although it was before my time here,eleven years, I have heard the tales of the days when the boys would get to drinkin, then they'd get to fightin and so and so was thrown right through the plate glass window. That was Scottsville. It was cheap, it was the place where those who wanted to be left out of the rodent race could just hang out with the rodents. Yes, it was decrepit, no matter how many dollars the old mayor got from the US Government to build the levee, it couldn't dry up the pervasive plague that finally took old Scottsville's life.
The plague of the "Come Heres" and their highly contagious "Gentrification" germs.
Eleven years ago, the average rent on the street for both residential and commercial spaces was between $250.00 and $300.00 per month. The same space that was $150.00 per month is currently $800.00 per month. That would be fine, you know, renovations cost of living etc.,fine, except it didn't stop there. No.
The levee went up in the early 1980's and saved the town from complete obliteration. After twelve dry years, some of us got comfortable enough to renovate the victim's of the first plagues.
One insane historian and builder personally removed every brick on six commercial buildings, and diligently re- placed them. Town was bustling, but it still had issues.
Issues, not problems, mind you.
Issues like there are barely any spaces to park a car.
Issues, like the "Come Here's" have a way of becoming Mayor, council, and committee, and they don't like growth or know very much about running a town.
They know alot about being arbitrary and self important and a whole lot about how to harass business owners.
Several business owners simply say enough is enough and take their business elsewhere, where they are appreciated. Several as in fifty businesses that I can name have come and gone in this town of two blocks in the past ten years. Fifty.
Business owners and property owners are harassed about everything from the color of their front doors, "We'd prefer another shade of twilight blue." to the brick detail on their architectural drawings for their six digit renovations. "We can't get used to the commercial building looking so commercial." and "I just can't get a good idea of what it's supposed to look like." Were comments I heard at meetings chaired by interior designers pretending to know something about city planning.
I know something too. It's a good idea to build a levee when the entire downtown is in a flood plane.
It's a good idea to renovate buildings and raise rents proportionately after it is apparent the water will stay out of the buildings.
It's a really bad idea to spend a million dollars (which is already not enough) to cut down all of the trees which used to line the streets, dig up the main street to bury utility lines creating at least six months of unbearable traffic, dirt and changing the parking status from limited to NONE!
Money has been spent to build a batteau park. It's big. It has benches. There is a batteau (an old river raft for commerce)sitting in the middle of a field. A fish out of water, which receives approximately four visitors per year. The space would be better served as a parking lot, a metered one at that.
A town with no parking, no business incentives, no town support is not going to receive more visitors because it's streets are prettier; or is it?
Scottsville is dead.
Pray for it's resurrection.
7 comments:
A friend just sent me the link to this blog. I find find that I must second this diagnosis of the health of the Town.
The Town has seen a lot of up and downs over the course of the past decade, far too many. After each downward turn, the leadership has announced a "renaissance" is on the horizon. How many can the Town handle? This is the worse downward spiral I ever witnessed to include the post flood eras of '69, '72 and '85.
The Town has been destroyed by the current leadership. I trully doubt their end product of Streetscape will be a cure-all or will esthetically pleasing. Look at the Batteaux Park...all that work and you end up with a glorified looking carwash with its main exhibit covered by a tarp. It really does not matter as no one visits the park.
They are taking down power lines for 2 blocks and replacing them with pad mounted transformers in the street. Where is the esthetics in that design?
This sad little town by the James is slowly fading away. What the River did not destroy is being destroyed bit by bit by the mayor and his cronies or is it the council and their puppet mayor.
They have for over a decade stiffled growth. Their actions are now evident. Shame on them!!!!!
It is sad to think over 50 businesses have come and gone in a 2 block section of Scottsville in the past decade. Many were the dreams of their owners; dreams that in some cases became nightmares as the owners saw there life savings vanish. Some did not have solid financial backing; some did not have a good business instinct; some did not have a good concept, but the most common reason for locking their doors was a lack of customers.
Sadly, Scottsville is no longer the destination or economic center it once was. Our way of life has changed over the generations and unfortunately, the Town did not adapt with the changes.
Despite the noble efforts to save to the town with the levi, the town has languished. The Town has not grown in population. Festivals and events have faded from their former glory. Public and private services have been lost. The long touted canal basin park did not bring in the hordes of visitors; a noble effort but poorly designed and executed.
What then is the future of Scottsville? It will take more than the burial of a 2 blocks of overhead cables.
Well done Madame!! Your observations hit the bullseye. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you for your comments! And Steven for spreading the interest. Hmmn? Who are you Dr. Who? Now I am confused.
Crisis and opportunity are often symbiotic. Seeing the crisis is easy, it blasts every fiber of the conscious being. Looking for the opportunity requires thought and foresight.
so sad!
"To incite emotion is to write well"
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