Main Street plans ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ tour

Special to the Sun

Just in time for preservation month, the Linden Main Street Program will host an “Imagine the Possibilities Tour” downtown to correspond with the recent statewide launch of DowntownTX.org by the Texas Historical Commission, a software application designed to revolutionize how downtown programs connect potential investors to development opportunities in Texas’ historic downtowns.
The tour will be Friday, May 19 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will begin at Linden City Hall.
Linden’s event is one of a series of similar tours being held across the state during the month of May.
“I am excited to hear everyone’s new ideas for new business and speak to potential business owners,” said Linden Main Street Manager Allie Anderson.
The tour will showcase vacant downtown properties as a way to engage the community, potential investors, entrepreneurs, developers and anyone else who has imagined themselves running a business, owning a building, living, shopping, working or playing downtown.
Some of the properties featured on the DowntownTX.org site will be open and accessible to the public and tour attendees can obtain additional information on downtown development and business resources at a central gathering point.
DowntownTX.org is the first site of its kind. 
“It will be a great tool to encourage people who want to open a business or own a historic property and show them that downtown Linden is the place to be,” said Anderson. 
The concept originated in 2015 by the Town Square Initiative, an affiliate of the Texas Main Street Program, which focuses on the challenge of vacant and underutilized historic properties. The website officially launched by the Texas Historical Commission on May 1 as part of Preservation Month, with about 30 cities online. 
Additional cities participating in the THC’s programs will be continually added through 2017. 
For more information on the site or to join DowntownTX.org, contact Emily Koller at emily.koller@thc.texas.gov.