WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | New Albany seeing new downtown businesses opening

New Albany seeing new downtown businesses opening

By Scott Reynolds - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

NEW ALBANY, IN (WAVE) - It seems all we hear about these days is bad economic news, but one Kentuckiana town is bucking the trend. Downtown New Albany has transformed with business after business opening and attracting the crowds.

You could find plenty of empty streets and for rent or for sale signs in New Albany just a few years ago.

"We were just talking about it, my city attorney and I, walking down here. We remember three years ago, you come down here at five o'clock take out a shotgun and couldn't hit anybody," said New Albany Mayor Doug England.

But now you have to hold your fire. The revitalization all started with the YMCA. For England, it was a mayor's field of dreams - they built it and the other businesses came. England said there is now a winery, a brewery and new restaurants, like Wick's Pizza. The popular pizzeria crossed the river to get in on the growth.

"We feel like we're gonna be a flagship down here, you know, kind of, I guess, pioneering the way," said David Renfrow, Wick's general manager. "Like I said, it's been great."

The new businesses have also stepped up to help City Hall. Because of the budget crunch faced by New Albany, many of the businesses stepped forward to pay for new landscaping around the downtown area.

The most pleasant surprise for England is the for rent and sale signs are disappearing and he is surprised at who is moving in.

"People are buying these buildings, renovating them. There's younger people buying them," said England, which is a surprise to him. "They are fixing these second floors into apartments for people who want to live downtown."

One New Albany resident said it is the atmosphere and the people that he likes.

"Ya know, you get everybody out and see all your friends and got a lot of new people these days," said Nathan Calvert. "It seems to be pretty kicking."

England points out two other big positives for New Albany that he says are necessary - nearly $7 million in stimulus money to renovate the run down Ellen Jones neighborhood and two more companies coming soon with a lot of jobs to support the growth downtown.

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