A new program will identify blighted properties in downtown Greenwood and reconstruct its salvageable materials into useful products.
UPCYCLE, an initiative to show waste can have social value, is a collaboration between Main Street Greenwood, Delta Design Build Workshop, ArtPlace Mississippi and the city of Greenwood.
“One of the tenets of our business is we believe waste is a social construct — buildings, real estate, things that are tossed out and considered not of value,” said Emily Roush-Elliott, a social impact architect with Delta Design Build. “We can use almost anything and get further leverage.”
The program will consist of three parts — combating blight, redefining concepts of waste, and employing underskilled residents in job training and craftsmanship.
It is being funded by a $20,000 grant awarded by Delta Regional Authority to the city and ArtPlace.
Blight, according to the grant proposal, whether in the form of dilapidated properties or demolished ones, “continues to devalue real property in the city.”
According to Roush-Elliott and Brantley Snipes, executive director of Main Street Greenwood, the project could also potentially save the city money on landfill fees.
The program includes the hiring of three apprentices, who under the direction of Delta Design Build will help with tearing down dilapidated properties, salvaging reusable materials and constructing them into new products.
The apprentices will learn carpentry and demolition skills, painting, and concrete casting. By the end of their apprenticeship, they should become certified by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, according to the grant proposal.
By hiring these apprentices, the idea is to make Greenwood a successful place to live and work for young adults, Roush-Elliott said.
The apprenticeships could also open the door for the trainees to pursue new entrepreneurship opportunities or enter applicable trades, she said.
The smaller numbers will allow her to invest more time in the apprentices, she said.
After the buildings have been torn down and materials salvaged, the final phase of the project will be reconstructing those materials into useful products, such as benches or picture frames, Roush-Elliott said.
ArtPlace Mississippi will team up with the apprentices, local artists and project leaders to plan and design the products.
“This step may serve as a demonstration project for other small towns in how dilapidated structures with negative connotations can be transformed into creative, community-sustaining opportunities,” the grant proposal said.
The products will then be sold at the Downtown Greenwood Farmers Market and Main Street Greenwood’s Trade Days, a new event expected to be started later this year that will feature local artists’ and craftsmen’s work at the Rail Spike Park Pavilion.
All proceeds from the items created by the UPCYCLE program will go back into it.
Apprentices and craftsmen will also hold hands-on activities and information sessions to educate the community about turning waste into useful items.
Roush-Elliott said they have already begun salvaging materials to make benches for Trade Days.
“We are trying to capitalize on diverting things from the landfill,” Roush-Elliott said.
•Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
