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City sidewalks wear holiday construction

By ZOË HAGGARD - zhaggard@t-g.com
Posted 11/30/21

When Danielle Armbruster came to Shelbyville from Cleveland, Ohio, she loved everything about the historic downtown square. It “felt like home.”    

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City sidewalks wear holiday construction

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When Danielle Armbruster came to Shelbyville from Cleveland, Ohio, she loved everything about the historic downtown square. It “felt like home.”    

The Belmont University graduate knew she wanted to make Shelbyville the place of her dream antique store. The old library building located on the corner of South Main and McGrew Streets came up for sale. Taking it as a sign, the Armbrusters bought the old place and made it what it is now―The Shops at Main and McGrew.  

It’s filled with “something for everybody” and antiques ranging from...well, just about everything you can imagine.    

And like any small business, the Armbrusters are preparing for the holiday shopping season, while working around the sidewalk construction project.    

For four weeks, the Main and McGrew storefront was off limits as both gas lines and sidewalks were being prepared.    

“We’re excited about the Square’s improvements, but the timing hasn’t been great,” Danielle Armbruster said.  

Bad timing  

During those four weeks, Armbruster said she had tons of calls from customers asking if they were still open. They were, but access from the front had to be reverted to the back door. There was no walkability, which many of the stores on the square rely on.  

Even though the project has moved passed Main and McGrew, the construction on the corner of Main and Depot streets hinders many from walking down.    

When they bought their building in October 2016, the City said new sidewalks would be in within six months.  

That six months turned into five and half years later.    

So the big question is why now?  

“The project has been delayed for years, due to funding, engineering and design, and other factors,” said Shelbyville City Manager Joshua Ray. “Due to those delays, we were running out of time to complete the project before we lost funding.”  

“We do not want to do part of the project now and then have to come back at a later date to do something else,” explained Ray.    

“When the City Council approved the contract for Curl Construction, the contract provided that Curl Construction would be responsible for the timeline. We have worked with Curl Construction to keep the project moving forward, and they have done a really good job.”   

 The project is set to be completed by next March.  

At that time, the City will work to finalize the areas that are not included in the project and then pave the streets around the square, according to Ray.    

Oops...  

But like living on a construction site, accidents are bound to happen — like when one of the workers backed some equipment into a four-foot brick wall at Main and McGrew’s alley way knocking down a chunk of it.  

Armbruster said she wasn’t mad. But it’s been two months since and it hasn’t been fixed. And with the kickoff to their holiday season on Nov. 27 — Small Business Appreciation Day — she hopes to have her business looking presentable for visitors and customers.  

“During the holiday season, I encourage everyone to continue to patronize our local businesses,” Ray said.  

“The holidays make up an important part of their annual revenues. Individuals may need to come early to find parking or to navigate the construction zones, but we hope that people will take the extra effort to shop at your favorite shops downtown.”  

Parking is available at the City of Shelbyville Parking Lot, 201 S. Main St. and at the Fly Arts Center, 204 S. Main.   

Communication is key  

Armbruster said anytime she had a question, she said the city was very responsive in both their answers and their help.    

“I think that’s key — having communication not only business to business but also communication among business and city and customer,” said Armbruster.    

“The most effective way to communicate during this project is to either communicate directly with Mike Clanton [Curl Construction contractor] or to contact me,” said Ray.  

A project meeting is held every Tuesday morning to discuss any issues that have arisen.      

“I’m excited for the end result of this project,” Armbruster said. “People have pride in this town... The community does a great job supporting small businesses.”