AT HOME IN HOUSTON COUNTY 2018

Perry comes together in downtown
By Catherine Edgemon
Perry Main Street coordinator
For nearly two centuries, Perry’s central location at the “Crossroads
of Georgia” has made it a natural stopover for travelers.
More recently Perry has become the place “where Georgia comes
together,” due to its progressive leadership, excellent quality of life,
and ongoing economic development efforts.
“Perry is consistently rated among Georgia’s best small towns for
safety and quality of life,” Mayor James E. Faircloth Jr. said.
“Residents often refer to the community as ‘Perrydise’ because it is
an attractive place where you can live your entire life, raise a family,
have access to excellent educational opportunities and medical
services, start and grow a business, retire, and enjoy numerous parks
and leisure activities.”
Perry strives to honor its agrarian tradition, small town charm, and
rich heritage while growing business and industry. This dedication is
particularly evident downtown.
Locally-owned restaurants offer a range of delectable treats that
range from fine dining to traditional Southern fare and gourmet
sandwiches and salads.
A recently established restaurant district allows a customer to
take an alcoholic beverage in a plastic cup on public spaces within
the district, including sidewalks, rights of way, buildings, and public
parks between 11 a.m. and midnight daily.
“The restaurant district encourages local dining, enhances the
community’s quality of life, contributes to the festive atmosphere
downtown, and generates taxes to support government services,”
Perry Main Street Coordinator Catherine Edgemon said. “This
district will also facilitate restaurant recruitment downtown.”
The Perry Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is thrilled about the
exciting things happening in Perry’s thriving downtown, especially
the restaurant district, CVB Executive Director Allison Hamsley
stated. Many cities are establishing these districts, and the district is
vital to downtown’s continued growth.
“The establishment of the restaurant district downtown will be a
huge selling point for us when marketing to group tours, conventions,
families, and other groups, along with tourists looking for a quaint
and energetic city to visit,” Hamsley said. “It will attract visitors to
visit downtown Perry and linger longer, exploring everything that
Perry has to offer that makes us such a wonderful community to live
in and visit.”
The style of architecture and choice of building materials for newer
construction, such as the Walgreens and CVS, harken back to that
of older buildings, such as the former Houston County Bank, now
a surveyor’s office, and the tin-front building that once housed the
Toomer Funeral Home, which is now a private residence.
Many of the buildings are one-story, creating a more intimate scale
for shopping and congregating for events, and the numerous planters
and hanging baskets provide splashes of brilliant color.
Enchanting buildings are home to
boutiques, retail and service-oriented
businesses, professional offices, and a
bookstore. Property owners are increasingly investing in downtown
building rehabilitations to make downtown even more attractive and
vibrant.
“Several businesses downtown have outgrown their original
locations and moved to larger, renovated buildings,” Perry Main
Street Advisory Board Chairman Trish Cossart said, noting that her
own design business is among that group. “Downtown is so vibrant
that we have a low vacancy rate and property owners rarely advertise
a move-in-ready space for long.”
The community is excited about the city’s plans to construct a new
city hall on Carroll Street and Legacy Park at the intersection of Main
Street and Gen. Courtney Hodges Boulevard. These developments
will attract more pedestrian traffic to downtown by linking the historic
downtown with Rotary Centennial Park and increasing connectivity
and walkability downtown, as well as adding much-needed green
space to enhance curb appeal and outdoor activities.
Downtown is such a desirable location for businesses that the Perry
Area Chamber of Commerce moved its office from the Welcome
Center near Interstate 75 to 900 Carroll Street in 2018.
“Here (downtown) we are better able to connect with our members,
community, and visitors,” said Perry Area Chamber of Commerce
President Darlene McLendon. “This prominent location offers us the
opportunity to have new, front-line interaction with our downtown
visitors while expanding the marketing benefits of our members.
“When guests step through our doors, we want them to experience
a sense of welcome and excitement,” McLendon said. “We are thrilled
to host them and share examples of what makes us all ‘PERRY
PROUD!’”
Perry’s master and strategic plans zeroed in on improved signage
and connectivity along the corrid ors into downtown, targeted retail
and restaurant recruitment, increased support for existing small
businesses downtown, and enhanced parks and trails among the steps
to boost tourism and revenues in downtown.
Implementation of the Main Street Program and designation in
2015 as a Georgia Class Main Street community are propelling towards
these goals. Main Street, a program established by the National Trust
for Historic Preservation, utilizes historic preservation as a catalyst
for downtown revitalization.
Facade improvements, public arts programming, redevelopment of
vacant properties, a shop local initiative, and events hosted by various
groups have helped to turn downtown into the place where Perry
comes together.
Incentives to assist downtown business owners include facade
grants, crowd-funded micro-grants (BOOST), Rural Zone tax credits,
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At Home in Houston County
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