Spartanburg’s West Main St. receives $2.5 million makeover.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Renovations on Spartanburg’s West Main Street are expected to begin any day. Locals said that they hope the improvements will boost both the community and local businesses.

Owner of South Style Cutz Barbershop, Torry Allen Sr., said that he has been cutting hair on West Main Street for decades; “I am professional barber, master barber, I have been here for 25 years serving the area,” Allen said.

Allen explained that many businesses on the street have closed over the years, but with the new developments on the horizon, he believes better days are ahead.

“A lot of things have been closing down in this area,” Allen said. “I think with them bringing the new baseball field it’s going to bring new light to this area, to downtown, it’s going to open it up.”

On Monday, the Spartanburg City Council unanimously approved a $2.5 million dollar project bid to revitalize more of West Main Street. The project will be steps away from Allen’s barbershop.

“This is our West Main Street, Streetscaping Project. It’s about improving the gateway to downtown on West Main Street, from the intersection at Saint John, up to the railroad tracks,” Christopher George with the City of Spartanburg said.

City officials added that the project will not only help “beautify the area,” but will create a more inviting space.

“Extra space there to carve out some space specifically set aside for a multi-use trail, this will be for folks that are running, walking or on other kinds of transportation and a protected bike lane,” George said.

George said construction is expected to start late this month or early October, and will take around 180 days to complete, if the weather permits.

“There are lots of parcels along that stretch that are kind of ripe for development, that haven’t seen development in a very long time and so we know if we can make this investment now, one it makes its much nicer coming in watching the baseball team in the spring but it also helps us pitch those sights for developers,” George said.

For Allen, he hopes the changes are a win for small businesses.

“We really make up a good bit of this area around here and we have been around for a long time. So. I am just really hoping to see a lot more benefits and see a lot more productive small business grow with this new project,” Allen added. “look forward to new clients and customers stopping by.”

The city told 7NEWS they received state funding to cover the project costs.

There will also be detours for drivers during certain parts of the construction.

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