Town of Marshall
Economic need
Natural disasters are hurting the mountain town of Marshall. Flooding from hurricanes Frances and Ivan in 2004 covered downtown with up to 30 inches of water from the French Broad River. As a result the county moved its offices to the bypass on the outskirts of town, hurting businesses that relied on county employees and visitors. Many downtown businesses have since closed or relocated to the bypass. Downtown now consists largely of underused or vacant buildings and tired-looking public spaces.
Local residents are pressed to come up with solutions. Located in tier 3 Madison County, Marshall has a population of only 846 people. Compared with the state, local residents are disproportionately older and poorer. The municipal poverty rate is 23 percent.
History
But Marshall isn't giving up. It has developed a business area redevelopment plan that includes storm drainage improvements to minimize future flooding. It also plans to apply for National Historic Register designation for downtown. Some of the 82 downtown structure are being renovated for a mixture of office/retail and residential use. In addition, the Glove Factory building across the river is being redeveloped into office and residential units.
Vision/Goals/Expectations
With STEP, Marshall seeks to pursue a more aggressive downtown revitalization plan. Among its goals: to move 12 businesses into currently vacant buildings and add 20 people to the downtown residential population.
Just as important, it wants to build its leadership capacity for long-term economic development by strengthening skills and creating a leadership team.
Contact
Linda Giltz
Land-of-Sky Regional Council
25 Heritage Drive
Ashveille, NC 28806
Phone: 828-251-6622
Fax: 828-251-6353
E-mail: lindag@landofsky.org
