Bill Crump says he can remember a time just a few years ago when downtown traffic was so light that a motorist could drive almost the entire length of Howard Street just in the parking spaces.
The Alluvian hotel, Viking cooking school, spa and other businesses have helped bring more attention and traffic to downtown - but it's expected to get even busier. And Viking properties are the center of much of the activity.
Construction on the Lorraine building, which includes the spa, cooking school and Mockingbird Bakery, is done. Now work continues at other Viking buildings that will provide a mix of retail and living spaces.
Crump, director of governmental affairs and assistant to the president at Viking, said it's all in the name of creating a "downtown experience" for visitors as well as local residents.
Viking has had a part in this effort, but others in the community - such as the banks that stayed downtown - also deserve credit, Crump said.
"Having been here all my life, it's exciting to watch it come back like it was when I was little," he said.
The Fountain building, which includes Mississippi Gift Co., is the site of some big changes in both retail and residential offerings.
Workers are installing a mezzanine and performing other renovations at Mississippi Gift, which is temporarily housed next door at the former location of The Sweet Pea until the work is done.
Then when Mississippi Gift is ready to move back, the former Sweet Pea site will be renovated, also with a mezzanine, and Turnrow Book Co., formerly Dancing Rabbit Books, will move in.
Throughout the process, the historic look of the building will be preserved as much as possible.
The expanded bookstore, which will have a new name, will be able to carry a wider variety of books and also host more book signings and other special events.
Crump said the plan is to have Mississippi Gift back in its regular location by mid-February and then renovate the other side of the building with the goal of the bookstore occupying its new space by early summer.
The second floor of the Fountain building will contain two apartments and a yoga studio. The thirSd floor will have three apartments. The rents have not been set because the spaces are still being renovated.
"It'll probably be toward the end of the year by the time we complete those," Crump said.
The apartments will be available to anyone for rent. It's possible that they could be operated like condominiums, with some ownership of property, but that hasn't been decided, Crump said.
"As we start the renovations of those, we'll determine how those will be handled - whether they'll be just regular rental properties or condominium-type properties," he said.
Other features are still being worked out, but Crump said the units definitely would be "high-end" and include Viking kitchens.
"I think they will be unlike anything that currently is available in Greenwood - and will add to the whole new atmosphere downtown," he said.
Another project is the addition of four luxury extended-stay apartments in the Bright building, across the street from The Alluvian.
The Alluvian will manage these apartments - three one-bedroom units and a two-bedroom unit. The hotel will handle maintenance, marketing and other tasks.
These apartments, which will be designed like the rooms in The Alluvian, are likely to be done by July. Crump said they should fill a need.
"We anticipate new professionals moving into town needing a place to stay on a temporary basis," he said. "I know with the projected growth of the hospital, there will be a number of hospital employees and doctors who will need something for two or three months before they move into a permanent situation."
Conceivably, new employees at Viking also could stay there. However, Crump said the company is preparing to renovate a four-apartment building at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Park Avenue for that purpose.
The retail space in the Bright building will house Olde World Antiques. The apartments upstairs probably will be complete by summer, Crump said.
"They've already started the plumbing and will be starting the drywall within probably six weeks," he said.
The space above The Melon Patch and The Sweet Pea might include apartments, businesses or both, but that hasn't been determined. Crump estimated the upstairs area covers about 5,000 square feet.
Crump said businesses moving downtown into Viking spaces before Christmas reported strong holiday sales.
These included Russell's Antique Jewelry and Melon Patch, both of which had moved out of downtown and then returned.
Sara Ann Carter, owner of Russell's, said the store had its best Christmas ever. "The traffic is phenomenal," she said.
She had seen people from all over the country downtown and was hearing consistently positive feedback. "Everyone's on the upbeat, and everyone's complimentary."
And she believes this is just the start of better things. "I think we're just now seeing the very beginning of what it's going to be."
Renovations also are continuing at the Adeline building, which includes Russell's. The store will have a glass front that will look "spectacular" when it's done, Carter said.
Crump said that work should be done in the next two to three weeks. "The glass and stone were tied up in New Orleans with Katrina, so it's just getting here," he said.
Toni Pearson, owner of Melon Patch, said the holiday season was the best she has had since buying the business four years ago. Visitors came in asking all kinds of questions about Greenwood.
"We're seeing a lot of traffic from the hotel, which is good," she said.
The added traffic downtown has made parking spaces more difficult to come by, and Viking has tried to address that. A parking lot is being built for Alluvian employees, who now park in the downtown city lot. This will open the city lot for more customers as the traffic increases.
A parking lot between the Bright building and the spa has been completed, and another will be added directly behind The Sweet Pea and The Melon Patch.
"Parking was a real concern when we started trying to market these spaces," Crump said.
