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Owensboro seeing private investment downtown

By Ben Garbarek - bio | email | Twitter

OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) - If you drive along Second Street in Owensboro, you might notice more workers fixing up store fronts. That's because the city has invested tens of millions of dollars to revitalize its downtown, and now others are following suit.

"There's a lot of private investors that have been downtown who have already made a commitment to their properties," downtown business owner Rosemary Conder said. "They see the redevelopment as an incentive for them to improve their storefronts and bring new businesses down."

Downtown developers say there's already a steady stream of investors looking at Owensboro and they expect a lot more interest in downtown once the convention center and hotel are built.

"Once that's done you'll begin to see other folks say, 'hey well I want to be close to that hotel' or 'I want to be close to that convention center'," Downtown Development Director Fred Reeves said. "A lot of those activities will begin to pop up."

Gambrinus Libation Emporium is a new upscale bar set to open on Second Street next month.

Owensboro's newest bar owner said he was chomping at the bit to be a part of the downtown revitalization.

"As soon as we found out the building was purchased, we were already brainstorming ideas to get down here and really just to do something different," owner John Condray said. "We want to be a part of downtown Owensboro."

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