Back in July, the downtown revitalization project began in Findlay, working on sidewalks and curbs along Main Street. Now that construction is complete, and the City of Findlay kicked off the new downtown with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The celebration was held on Small Business Saturday, which gave the chance to honor small businesses in Findlay, especially those that are downtown, and those that took a chance amid the construction and planted their roots in the city.
"We’re happy about it; I think that what we’ve got here is definitely a major construction project, and it’s been a bit of a pain for our merchants, but at the end of the day what we’re trying to create here is a safer environment and one that people want to continually invest in," said Findlay mayor Lydia Mihalik. "Even during the course of the project, we’ve seen so many new businesses open their doors on Main Street and on the surrounding areas around Main Street in the downtown area central business district, and I think that just speaks to the faith that people have in what we’re doing here."
After the ribbon cutting, the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce encouraged people to spend at least $10 at local businesses as part of a "cash mob" to help those businesses out after a long construction process in downtown Findlay.
"It’s been a struggle, we all know what: there’s been orange barrels on both lanes of traffic, parking spaces closed down, and we know that downtown businesses particularly are struggling, so we want people to take this day, which is the celebration of small businesses anyway, and just go a little bit extra before they get in their car to go back home, to spend $10," said Laurie Poland, Membership Manager for the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. "It’s not a huge amount, but for a small business owner, you multiply that exponentially, that could be a huge day for them."
The construction project was funded by a state grant as well as a donation from Marathon Petroleum.
