The future of one Alabama railroad town is under construction. The City of Opelika is revamping their historic downtown and News 3 hit the sidewalks to see the plan for progress.
The train still runs through Opelika every day, but it stopped bringing people a long time ago. Now the City is relying on a new appeal.
John Seymour is the Opelika City Administrator. He is working to convert blocks of historic store front into a polished retail district, “We are basically trying to take the old streetscape and update it to make it a nice area that supports retail.”
Seymour says the rail road tracks that split the town, “are the heart of Opelika, and it's still from a retail perspective, a cultural and quality of life perspective, it's still the heart of the city.”
Pam Hope co-owns Southern Crossing, a boutique of finds across from the tracks. She says she is happy to be a part of the revitalization and Hope says it’s already working, “People are telling us that downtown Opelika is becoming the place to shop.”
Seymour says, “Stores are looking at it from the perspective it is building a synergy which is what it is all about.”
Hope says, “Not only is it good for us, it is good for the whole downtown community and the more business that wants to come in downtown Opelika the more successful we'll all be.”
The City is working with a consulting team and will host a new round of public meetings in October to talk about more changes, but until then history's last stop is at the railroad.
The City says stimulus money will pay for the next block of the revamp. The City also says they would like to make plans to connect Opelika to downtown Auburn with a trolley.
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