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| Vol. 41, No. 2 -- Feb. 2006 | |||||
Vol. 41, No. 2 -- Feb. 2006
Rebirth of Smithfield's historic downtown complete
Tourist drawn by charm of brick sidewalks, striped awnings, quaint shops and restaurants
by JoAnn Hall
Joe and Carol Johnson made a day trip to Smithfield while visiting Colonial Williamsburg in late October. They loved crossing the James River on the ferry Pocahontas and driving along rural Route 10 where farmers were in the midst of picking rolling fields of white cotton. The couple, in their mid-60s and just retired, chatted about the contrast to their hometown of Pittsburgh and speculated about the little town in Isle of Wight County that they hadn’t visited in 20 years.
“We had seen a story in Coastal Living magazine about Smithfield and it looked so different from the place we saw in the 80s when we came here for a friend’s wedding,” Carol said. “Joe and I decided to take a day and come back. What a difference there is now! Smithfield is charming – it’s just like a little Williamsburg. We love the shops and the friendly people and my husband is crazy about those Smithfield ham biscuits.”
The unremarkable little downtown Smithfield the Johnson’s remember from two decades ago has been replaced by a thriving commercial district where it’s said that even the wealthiest entrepreneurs have to get on a waiting list for space. Gone are the dilapidated buildings that once lined the block, the unsightly tangles of utility wires and poles, the deteriorating sidewalks and drainage problems.
These days you’d be hard pressed to find a vacant storefront on Main Street. Property owners take pride in their buildings as evidenced by their pristine maintenance, their attractive striped awnings and the wealth of merchandise that runs the gamut from antiques and collectibles to shiny ceramic pigs crafted by the local senior citizens.
John Edwards can tell you about the Smithfield of 20 years ago. Publisher of the local weekly paper, The Smithfield Times, he watched as the “commercial center” of Smithfield moved out to the shopping centers and downtown began to deteriorate. Those who remained, including him, were reluctant to invest in their properties when the economic outlook appeared so grim.
Several efforts had been made to pump new life into Smithfield’s historic downtown, the most notable being a study during the 1970s by a group of Virginia Tech architecture students. That effort failed, primarily because those involved thought they could pay for the improvements with federal money that was never received.
Downtown Smithfield is home to an assortment of new shops and restaurants.
Then, in the late 1980s, things began to happen. “At that point we knew that something had to be done,” Edwards recalled. There were several empty businesses and others that were threatening to close. Sidewalks and other public areas had fallen into serious disrepair as tax dollars went to other more pressing needs. “It was pretty grim,” the newspaperman said.
The turning point came during a conversation Edwards had with Joseph W. Luter III, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork processor and hog producer. “We were talking one day and he said he wanted to know what he could do. He wanted to get involved and I took him up on his offer.”
Luter, Smithfield’s corporate benefactor, pledged to donate matching funds to begin the work. Within a few weeks, Edwards and a group of downtown business people created Historic Smithfield, a 501 (C) 3 corporation formed for the express purpose of revitalizing the historic district. With Luter’s promise to put up $200,000 in matching funds, the group began the arduous task of raising an equal amount of money to pay for the project.
“There’s no doubt that Joe (Luter) was a driving force behind all of this,” Edwards said. “He trusted Historic Smithfield and that trust never wavered. His and other donations were accepted on a handshake.” In the end, the group had commitments of more than $350,000 in private donations, in addition to $250,000 from Luter. All but about $5,000 of those pledges was collected.
“When you talk about Smithfield, Joe (Luter) is always a driving force behind the scene,” agreed Peter Stephenson, Smithfield’s town manager of 10 years. Although Stephenson wasn’t around for the first phases of the revitalization, he’s seen Luter’s influence all over town, providing seed money for improvement projects that otherwise would have been left on the drawing board.
With Luter’s offer in hand, Historic Smithfield didn’t want to waste any time. In January of 1989 the group hired an architect to begin formulating plans for the renovation. A few months later they were able to convince former two-time Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. to become the group’s “spokesman” for the fundraising job. “Mills was a tremendous help,” Edwards said. “He helped us get several foundation grants that we probably never would have gotten without him.”
Within a few weeks it appeared the plans would work. More than $125,000 was raised at the outset and, with Luter’s pledge, the group felt comfortable in moving to the next step: winning the support of the town government. Because longtime Town Manager Elsey Harris had worked closely with the group from the start, they were optimistic the town leaders would give them their blessing.
“We didn’t want to go to the town until we had most of the money,” Edwards said. “But when we did approach them, they gave us their full support. They worked together with us and that made a big difference in the success that we had.” The Town Council agreed to hire Weeks Engineering and get the project underway.
One of Historic Smithfield’s major fundraising projects was selling personalized bricks that would eventually line the new sidewalks that flanked the first block of Main Street. While that project eventually netted about $14,000 – and still provokes conversations today – Edwards says he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t undertake it again.
When the personalized bricks came in they had to be laid out one by one in a downtown parking lot so they could be inventoried for accuracy. Then, as the bricklayers began building the sidewalks, members of Historic Smithfield had to supervise them every step of the way. “We pretty much had to watch them put in every brick so we could make sure families were grouped together, things like that,” Edwards said. “It was a nightmare to administer.”
Probably the most positive thing to come out of the brick project was a sense of community involvement in the revitalization. “People were talking about it and buying bricks left and right. It was very successful in getting broad support for the project,” Edwards said.
While local supporters were raising money, the architects and engineers were working on plans to renovate the first two blocks of Main Street. The plans were finalized and sent to town council for approval in January 1991 and six months later the contract was awarded.
Construction began in late summer of 1991. Edwards said at times it seemed like it would never end. For two years it was difficult, to say the least, to travel down Main Street whether you were in a car or walking. Businesses suffered and cost overruns had project leaders on the edge of their seats.
“It took nearly two years to do it and it was a mess,” Edwards said. “There was a lot of handholding going on by that time. The biggest contribution of the businesses was surviving through that time. It hurt, but in the end it was worth it.”
Bill Blevins remembers that time well. Blevins owns the Ben Franklin variety store right in the heart of downtown and he says if business was bad before the project began, it got down right dismal while the work was going on. Parking was a nightmare -- even driving down Main Street was an obstacle course. “I don’t even like to think about it,” he says today. “There were many days when I didn’t think it would ever be finished.” But Blevins, like many of his neighbors, held on through the rocky period and they are reaping the benefits today.
As construction neared the end, other things began to happen as well. Downtown businesses, more confident now, began to invest in their properties. “Simpson’s (Pharmacy) was the first to upgrade their building,” Edwards said. “It was a great boost to have them step out and do that.”
By the time the project was finished, every building in that renovated section was occupied. “You couldn’t rent a space,” Edwards said, “and it has pretty much been that way ever since.” Along with the underground utilities, new sidewalks and curbs and gutters, landscaping made a huge difference. So did the pretty benches. And Joe Luter donated a gorgeous George Lundeen statue of Ben Franklin sitting on a bench that still sits on the sidewalk in front of Edward’s newspaper office. Ben was the first of five major statues that Luter would bring to town, making Smithfield the home of one of the largest Lundeen collections anywhere.
In September 1993 a street celebration was held to officially dedicated the project. But that wasn’t to be the end of Smithfield’s comeback. Almost immediately plans were in the works to tackle a third and fourth block of downtown.
Stephenson, the town manager, said things were on a roll by the time he got to town in the mid 1990s. The town was able to secure about $640,000 in federal grants for the next phase of improvements and the town kicked in about $800,000. Smithfield Foods contributed $1 million and the Gwaltney Beautification Fund donated $250,000.
But the cost of the project kept going up. Originally targeted at $3.1 million, the price tag eventually rose to $5 million. But project leaders were determined to keep the momentum going and they were other positive things happening in town that contributed to their optimism. Both commercial and residential buildings along Main Street that had fallen into disrepair were being renovated and converted into beautiful homes and thriving businesses.
Luter, always in the background, made a monumental decision to move his corporate headquarters to Smithfield and contributed money toward a new community conference center across the street. The Chamber of Commerce converted an old gas station and moved to the town’s busiest intersection. New businesses were opening and older ones were expanding or experiencing a revival. Tourists were starting to make their way into town, charmed by the brick sidewalks, the striped awnings and the growing variety of shops and restaurants.
Stephenson and the Town Council worked toward protecting the integrity of the historic little village that was being reborn. They created an entrance corridor overlay committee to develop guidelines that would ensure an aesthetic quality in tune with the town’s historic district. The Historical Review Board was designed to make sure new development blends in with the old.
The third phase of improvements were completed in time for the celebration of Smithfield’s 250th anniversary in 2003. Once again, plans were already in the works to make improvements to another section of downtown and fundraisers are hard at work as we speak.
“It’s an exciting time to be in Smithfield, no doubt about it,” Stephenson said. “We’ve been able to do something here that a lot of towns have tried and failed. We were lucky – but there was a lot more. We have dedicated business people with a vision. We have a very, very generous corporate sponsor. We have a supportive and generous community.”
Edwards can’t help but be proud of the changes that Smithfield has seen since that auspicious conversation with Luter many years ago. “The timing was right,” he says now. “I’m not saying we couldn’t put this all together now, but it would be difficult.
Looking out his office window, the publisher has a perfect view of the bustle along Main Street. He knows that tourists, like Joe and Carol, and locals that he’s known most of his life, are out there vying for parking places and seats in the best restaurants while many businesses are racking up sales like they’ve not seen before.
“It has been good for Smithfield, but sometimes I’m not sure I like it,” he said with a slow smile. “I don’t want it to change too much.”
About the author: JoAnn Hall is administrator of the Isle of Wight County Museum.
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