Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman
♦ Editor’s note: We thank Kenny for applying his photojournalist’s eye for this project of capturing a sampling of the many vacant storefronts and buildings in Downtown Salisbury, N.C. Downtown’s many vacant apartment and office spaces were not within the scope of this photo gallery nor were the Downtown’s vandalisms, graffiti, and gang tags. A walking tour from 500 N. Main to the South Main Bad Lands will strike many as a tour of a depressed area fallen on hard times.
Sadly retailers and restaurants appear go in and out of business with great regularity due to the high cost of doing business and the lack of human traffic to the area. A fact of life in Downtown Salisbury is when a successful eatery is established another falls in its wake. For years the areas many cries for parking went unheard. The need for chain boutique retailers that might draw people to the area were thwarted. Night business is impractical because of the areas crime. The municipal services district tax, said to be the highest in North Carolina, to support the decrepit Empire Hotel remains on the books. The Empire Hotel’s alleged $20,000,000 project faces a wall of barriers before the developer might sign on the dotted line 2 years from now. Lest we forget the cost of rent or leases are prohibitive. With people moving away from Salisbury and bringing their spendable income with them–the future of the Downtown is grim.
Photo Gallery: City Councilman Kenny Hardin’s Downtown Salisbury Vacant Storefronts and Building Tour 2016
