TYLER, Texas — In a few years, downtown Tyler is going to look drastically different. Work is underway on a brand new courthouse that will be the centerpiece of the square along with a new, five-story parking garage across the street. But it turns out – that’s just the beginning.
City leaders have a grand vision to transform downtown Tyler into a more dynamic, trendy area where people want to live, eat, shop and do business.
"We are very passionate about bringing residents and visitors back to making downtown a destination again rather than just a through port into the city of Tyler," said Lindsey Froneberger, downtown specialist for the City of Tyler Main Street Program.
Froneberger and other city leaders are looking toward the future with an eye on the past.
"We want to create a space that reflects the history of downtown Tyler and Tyler's community but also create space for possibilities of what could be," Froneberger said.
Several of those spaces are already being transformed.
Renovations are nearly complete at the historic Wilcox building on South Broadway Ave. with crews working to transform the space into luxury apartments.
Real estate development company NORF also has plans for three more downtown buildings.
"We're just kind of looking at every option on what we can do to get the building to get financing in place, to get the numbers to work to be able to move forward," said Ilse Stough, director of development for NORF Companies.
Work will start soon on the historic Lindsey building and the company plans to convert the former Carlton Hotel into a 100 unit apartment building.
"The goals and dreams that these property investors and owners have for these buildings is really cohesive and amazing and everyone's goal is to stimulate the economy downtown again," Froneberger said.
Tyler Mayor Don Warren is on board with the vision. He said downtown Tyler is currently riddled with empty commercial space.
"They're eyesores. We don't want them. There's other eyesores. We've got to get rid of them," Warren said.
The mayor is looking at other East Texas towns – like Sulphur Springs - that have brought their downtown spaces back to life.
"By doing this work on the plaza just like in Sulphur Springs once you have this new redeveloped downtown those buildings will get redeveloped," Warren said.
As the excitement builds for the future of downtown Tyler, several business leaders are pumped about the extra boost these projects will bring including East Texas Brewing Co. co-owner Annie Gilstrap.
"To have looked at abandoned buildings for the last seven years that we have been opened being transformed into new, exciting places people want to live, people want to go. I mean you can't ask for anything more than that," Gilstrap said. "We're slowly seeing people venture downtown, which is what we want to see. The downtown of any city, you want it to be the heart of the city."
The city of Tyler will soon launch a website to keep the community updated on projects taking place downtown.