By Rebecca Adcock
The Town of Stuart and the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce announced the “Downtown Stuart District” recently was named to the register of Historic places on the state and national levels.
Downtown Stuart is a culturally rich, geographically unique, and an economically significant area. The Historic Downtown has its beginnings in transportation, having been the site of a hand-operated train turntable for the Danville & Western rail line.
Currently, the downtown area is home to the Stuart Farmers’ Market, the Mayo River Rail Trail, the Chamber of Commerce, and several other businesses. This area continues to be important for traffic and commerce. The area encompasses from the dry/cross over bridge, down Patrick Avenue and ends with the inclusion of the former Pannill knitting building. There are 19 contributing buildings to the Historic Designation. This designation opens the possibilities for tax credits on rehabilitation and renovation to the buildings.
“With several buildings currently on the market, the increased interest in local real estate, and now adding the availability of tax credits, this could be a real game changer in seeing redevelopment of the downtown Stuart area,” says Rebecca Adcock, executive director of the chamber. “I am happy that the Chamber and the Town of Stuart could work together on this project to help save the historic relevance of the area and also work to help revitalize it.”
For more information, contact the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce at (276) 694-6012 or via email at patcchamber@embarqmail.com or the Town of Stuart at (276) 694-3811.
