FLORENCE — The streets of downtown Florence were empty in 2011, almost as empty as the buildings.

“It was actually a ghost town,” said Ella Frazier, a downtown retailer. “The only thing that was actually there was a barbershop, a beauty shop and Lady Kids, a retail shop down the street. That was it on Evans Street.”

Frazier has watched the growth over the past 12 years. Downtown has transformed from empty spaces and plenty of parking places to eight blocks of retailers, restaurants and bars, offices and pocket parks featuring sculptures and other public art installations.

Cars fill the parking spots, and people stroll the sidewalks.

It can be difficult to find parking in front of stores and restaurants, Frazier said. Fortunately, the city built a four-story free parking deck at the edge of the historic downtown.

“It’s been exciting to see the growth over these past years. I love to tell them it’s not over yet,” Frazier said.

In 2009, Frazier founded Ella’s Boutique Etcete’ra on North Irby Street, a major artery that connects north and south Florence.

Electrical problems forced her to seek another location.

She drove around Florence for four months but couldn’t find a place she liked or could afford. Finally, she walked around historic downtown and noticed a for-rent sign at 169 W. Evans St.

The owner wanted a five-year lease. Frazier didn’t want to commit to more than two. After a few months of negotiations, the owner decided to sell the building to Frazier and financed the sale.

“I was the first boutique there, and everything started building around me,” she said.

The Lake City native moved to New York when she was 16. She lived there for 36 years. She returned to Florence in 2001. After earning a master’s degree in health education, she sought a job in that field for three years. Potential employers kept saying they were looking for someone with more experience.

Health care was Frazier’s first option. Fashion was her second, and she made plans to open a boutique.

Fate stepped in to delay her boutique plans.

Someone asked if she was looking for a bed-and-breakfast location as she was touring Florence to find a boutique site.

Frazier wasn’t, but she was directed to the Francis P. Holman house at 111 Kuker St. near downtown.

She and her husband, David, liked the Holman house. They bought it and converted it into the Ambrias Garden Manor Bed and Breakfast.

In 2009, she restarted her pursuit of a boutique — first with her Irby Street location. The move to the former downtown J.C. Penney store came in November 2011.

Today, Ella’s Boutique Etcete’ra is filled with dresses, women’s suits, jewelry and hats.

Customers call her at all hours to make appointments. Customers travel from as far away as Georgia, Charleston and Greenville to find the perfect outfit for any occasion, she said.

“I call it a one-stop shop because women can come in and find anything they need for whatever occasion they need,” Frazier said. “Women don’t come in my store just to shop. … They became friends and talk to each other. … It’s a good time. It’s women coming together and helping each other.”

Frazier credits the city and the Florence Downtown Development Corp. with the rebirth of downtown.

Suburban mall effect

The Downtown Historic District began its decline in the 1960s as shopping malls became the rage.

In 1976, a downtown renewal project was launched to update storefronts to attract shoppers. The project attempted to create a covered concrete promenade attached to the historic storefronts to attract mall shoppers.

It didn’t work. The promenade was removed in the 1980s. Three other revitalization attempts failed.

A 2006 downtown master plan and citywide structure plan — “Florence … Cultural Heart of the Pee Dee Region” — created the groundwork for the rebirth of downtown.

It identified downtown as a key to Florence’s growth and ability to attract industries and workers to the city. It focused on creating a pedestrian-friendly area with trees, open spaces and revitalization of historic downtown buildings.

The plan also created Downtown Florence Renaissance Inc., a nonprofit corporation with board members from the city, county, Chamber of Commerce and the community.

Downtown Florence Renaissance morphed into the Florence Downtown Development Corp. in the city’s 2010 downtown development master plan. The board was revamped to include members in real estate, banking, fundraising and business management.

It also was charged with helping new businesses develop business plans and apply for grants and tax credits to renovate the historic downtown buildings.

City leaders, stakeholders and community focus groups created the plan, which addressed housing, public spaces, employment, mobility, infrastructure and economic development.

“Concurrently, the City should begin to put in place the programs and institutional structures leading to a sustainable climate of reinvestment,” according to the 2010 downtown master plan update.

In 2013, a group of local investors purchased a building at 126 W. Evans St. They converted it into Hotel Florence and Victor’s restaurant. As historic downtown’s first anchor, it was a major catalyst to change public perception.

In the decade since, downtown has seen more than $300 million in public and private investment.

Residents and visitors can see the results of that investment.

A stroll in the eight-block historic district will take you past 10 public art displays, including statues of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax at the downtown splash pad, a kinetic sculpture called the Big Bleu Birdnanna and a sculpture of William H. Johnson, a world-renowned African American artist and Florence native.

As you continue the walk, you will pass Florence County Museum and its Waters Gallery as well as the Francis Marion University Gately Gallery. All feature permanent and traveling art exhibits.

Retailers, office spaces, condos, apartments, bars and restaurants dot the downtown landscape on North Dargan and West Evans streets. Remember to look up to take in the architecture of the historic buildings.

The Downtown Florence Development Corp. has played a key role in the revitalization campaign and in helping restore civic pride.

In March, the organization received the Great American Main Street Award, which recognizes communities that have excelled at preservation-based commercial district revitalization. It is the second city in South Carolina to receive the award and first in 20 years. Greenville received the award in 2003.

The development group supports downtown Florence small-business ventures through technical support, free small-business training, business plan development and grants, said manager Hannah Davis. She also manages Florence’s Main Street program.

The Florence Downtown Historic District is home to around 100 businesses, including restaurants, retailers and offices. Approximately 40 percent of the small businesses are minority- or women-owned, Davis said. More than 2,000 people work in the district. In 2022, the eight-block area accounted for 6 percent of all retail sales in Florence, a city of approximately 45,000 people.

“We have focused on streamlining processes by making it very easy for people to come in with an idea and be shepherded from idea to open,” Davis said. “We help set them up for success.”

The organization partners with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, the Francis Marion University Kelley Center for Economic Development and SCORE.org for small-business training. It also guides small businesses through the city’s planning, business license and building departments.

Today, the historic downtown district is running out of space for businesses. Fewer than 10 vacant storefronts are available.

The organization will continue to recruit and develop businesses downtown, but it will expand its services to include Irby Street as a commercial corridor, Coit Street as a neighborhood commercial corridor, Cheves Street as an education and medical corridor and Palmetto Street as a connecting corridor, Davis said.

The development organization recently approved its Downtown Florence 2030 master plan, which includes adding 1,000 apartments, townhomes and single-family homes, continuing business development and enhancing the South Carolina Cultural District on Dargan Street.

The S.C. Arts Commission has designated nine cultural districts, defined as a geographic area that has a concentration of cultural facilities, activities and assets. The others are in Beaufort, Bluffton, Camden, Columbia (Congaree Vista), Greenwood, Lancaster, Rock Hill and Spartanburg.

The organization will continue to host its Florence After 5 block parties, the annual S.C. Pecan Music and Food Festival each November and other events to bring people downtown and encourage residents to spend time at downtown businesses and restaurants, Davis said.

Continued revitalization 

Florence’s recognition as a 2023 Great American Main Street Award winner will fuel even more downtown redevelopment, Davis said.

The city has projects planned in the historic downtown district and around it — an area called the downtown district overlay.

In May, site work will begin on a four-story parking deck and apartment complex for Project Urban Square. The agreement between the city and Styx Land Development will bring housing, a hotel and a retail/business center to the city block bordered by West Evans, N.B. Baroody, Coit and McQueen streets.

“This is the next step in expanding our downtown beyond what people consider as the historic district,” said Clint Moore, assistant city manager. 

Work on Project Urban Square will be completed in several phases, he said.

After being discussed for years and delayed by the pandemic, tree removal and site demolition will begin soon. Grading and other work will come next. Then, construction on the 320-space parking deck will start, Moore said.

It will have green screens to soften its facade, he said.

The hotel will be located on the corner of Coit and Evans streets. A 30,000- to 40,000-square-foot retail/business center will be located in the middle of the block on Coit Street.

Project Urban Square is located in the city’s downtown redevelopment overlay district, which extends from the National Cemetery on Cemetery and Cherokee roads to Lucas Street. It is bordered by the railroad on the east and Park Avenue on the west, Moore said.

In the historic downtown district, the city is developing plans to turn the old Carolina Theatre on Dargan Street into an events center. A general contractor is being sought, with renovations expected to start in late summer or early fall.

“The concept is to create a space that can host a multitude of events, from concerts to weddings,” Moore said.

Once open, the event center is expected to bring more activity to downtown, which would benefit retailers like ChocoBella.

Downtown is unique and a perfect fit for the hand-crafted chocolate shop, said co-founder Ranny Starnes.

Located at 114 N. Dargan St., ChocoBella opened in November 2020 during the height of the pandemic. A $5,000 grant from the Florence Downtown Development Corp. helped the business survive, Starnes said.

Events hosted by the Downtown Development Corp., like the Downtown Florence Chocolate Crawl, bring new customers into the store, Starnes said. Tickets for February’s crawl sold out quickly. Participants tasted chocolate treats and chocolate-infused cocktails and wines while visiting downtown shops and restaurants.

Starnes started her chocolate-making journey in 2016 at Dolce Vita, a downtown café, coffee shop and wine bar. She came to Dolce Vita to launch its coffee program. Her co-worker Marvin James was making most of the café’s chocolates.

The chocolate-making process intrigued Starnes, who started researching the process and watching tutorials. That research led Starnes to the world of painted bonbons, which also help feed her inner artist. (Starnes has been selling her art work on Etsy since 2011.)

Eventually, Starnes enrolled in a three-month Belgian chocolate academy to hone her chocolate-making skills.

At the same time, Dolce Vita owner Dr. John Keith was completing renovation on the Eleanor building. Keith encouraged James and Starnes to open ChocoBella at the downtown building on North Dargan Street.

James and Starnes applied for Downtown Florence incentive programs. When the business plan was being developed, they wondered if chocolate would be enough. In her research, Starnes saw that other chocolate shops had success also serving gelato.

She wondered if Florence was ready for the frozen Italian treat, because it wasn’t being served elsewhere in the city. Customers quickly embraced gelato and ChocoBella’s highly decorated chocolates, she said.

“Community support has been overwhelming,” Starnes said.

The shop attracts people who are exploring downtown but also has customers from downtown businesses, condos and apartments who stop by weekly for bonbons or other chocolate treats, Starnes said.

“Florence has really embraced us,” she said.

Downtown Florence is an economic and cultural force. The city and county use the vibrant downtown to help attract industries and employees for those recruits.

Project Urban Square and the Carolina Theatre renovation will bring more residents and events downtown, keep the parking spaces filled and retailers, restaurants and businesses busy.