Group forming to resurrect Main Street program in Winder

A group of local business people, community leaders and government representatives met for a “Brainstorming Session” on Feb. 25 to share their vision of downtown Winder. The meeting on “Resurrection: Main Street Winder” was hosted by local historic preservationists Gwen Hill, Helen Person and Mace Strickland.

After participants answered questions about what a revitalized downtown Winder would look like, what challenges revitalization faces and how the community might be involved in the effort, Person gave a presentation on bringing the Main Street program back to Winder, this time in the form of an independent non-profit. Winder has participated in the National Main Street Network since 1983, but withdrew in 2010, citing funding concerns and a lack of positive results. During that time, the program was under the umbrella of the city government.

The group consensus was that “people need a reason to come to downtown Winder,” and in recent years, due to shifts in shopping trends, suburbanization, traffic congestion and the depressed economy, sufficient reason is lacking currently. Rebooting the Main Street program, Person said, could provide the plan and people power to bring downtown Winder back to life.

“We’ve got some great people, some great businesses and some great buildings here,” Person said. “We’ve got the bones and the infrastructure, now we just need a plan.”

For the full story, see the March 2 issue of the Barrow Journal.