NARROWS, Va. – Town leaders in Narrows are picking up their efforts of the revitalization of abandoned and overrun buildings in the town.
“Narrows was really the hub of Southwest Virginia,” said Allen Neely, a Narrows resident of 77 years. “When you’d come to the Town of Narrows on the weekends, believe it or not, you’d have to walk in the road because the sidewalks were so full of people.”
Neely has lived in Narrows his entire life, and in his time, he has seen Narrows go from a thriving small town to a town needing help.
“It’s heartbreaking really,” Neely said.
Neely restored the town’s original hotel years ago, and he said he would love to see the rest of the town follow suit.
“When I bought it, parts of the roofs were caved in, half the ceilings were in the floor and 15% of the floors were in the basement,” Neely said.
Town leaders said there is a plan to bring buildings back.
“We actually have gotten some grant money that we have been able to use with local businesses to revitalize their facades,” said Terry Nicholson, Narrows Town Manager.
They said now they have to log these buildings to know what they’re dealing with.
“The next steps that we are looking at is for us to be able to inventory those buildings,” said Nicholson. “The idea there is to get a feel for what we’ve got in our community that needs work.”
We talked to one woman who grew up in town and she said while it is nice to see some changes, she is hesitant to get her hopes up.
“It’d be nice to see these buildings do something because, like I said, it’s a cute town,” said Nicole Clark. “Everybody loves it here, we just need a little bit more.”
She said she would love to see the buildings she’s seen empty her entire life filled with people.
“We have all these abandoned buildings and they’re just kind of going to waste and I think it would help the town a whole lot just to bring a little bit more fun into the town,” Clark said.
Town leaders said with this plan, they’re hoping to attract potential business owners to the area.