The Power and The Glory

The second Florence After Five event is hitting Downtown Florence nicely. It's no slap, no haymaker to the jaw, but a sweet tap on the cheek that a grandma might give to her cute grandchild.

Villanova is performing at the June concert. Metamorphosis Art Collective continues well into the evening with art and hip-hop group Kyle and the Argyles beginning at 8 p.m.

Vendors on hand selling food, beer and wine will make people happy. All of Florence looks ready to embrace each other and sing and dance.

It's happy, bl'reader.

I'm happy.

I like Villanova. I like Kyle and the Argyles (Kyle performs nearly every Tuesday at Aroma Underground's Open Mic Night). I like food and I have sweet feelings for alcohol.
Downtown business owners are happy too...for the most part.

Talk to them and it's a mix of feelings.

Vanessa Weldon, owner of Fragrance Delite, is happy to see some attention being given to the downtown area, but she wonders why so much money has been given to projects such as the PAC and Museum, yet none could be found to spare for businesses already in downtown.

Antwan Wells, owner of Nubian Brothers Barbershop, wonders why a bit of the funds raised for downtown projects couldn't have gone to helping local businesses improve their façade. Wells asked, why not help out the businesses that have been here even before these ideas started taking shape? We've kept downtown alive and kept people coming down here, he said. He said he and other business owners in downtown are worried that revitalization will enforce stricter codes on building owners that may raise leases and force current downtown business owners out of the downtown area and into sections of Florence which may yield lower profits.

Jennifer Wilcox with City of Florence Urban Planning and Development, who is the go-to person for all things loans or grants or otherwise in Downtown Florence, said funds for grants and loans were there at the beginning, but dried up after they funded several failed enterprises. She said when local business owners approach her for help she directs them to the Center for Entrpreneurship at Francis Marion University, which provides information for local businesses on how to market and expand their business.

Yet, Wells said, all the current downtown businesses are asking for is for officials involved with downtown revitalization to be included in the vision for downtown. Current businesses in downtown have the same vision that the Downtown Development Corporation has for Downtown Florence, said Wells. We want to be a part of the vision, too, he said.

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