Monthly Archives: July 2017

New trolley bus route geared toward shopping, other activities in River District

Posted by Danville River District News on July 17, 2017
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A new trolley bus route is coming to Danville next month.
Starting Aug. 4, the service will be available 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every Saturday and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. the first Friday of each month.
The Mainline trolley bus route will run from Ballou Park to the River District (including the Danville Science Center/Community Market/Crossing at the Dan) to North Main Street at Moana Place.
It will include 40 stops along the route, said Danville Transportation Director Marc Adelman.
Fares will be $1 per ride with a half-fare discount for seniors and disabled people until noon on Saturdays, Adelman said. Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult will ride for free.
Signs will be at each stop displaying boarding times for that particular location, Adelman said. The trolley bus will hit each bus stop location every 45 minutes, he said.
The route’s schedule — based on responses from a survey — is geared toward shopping and other activities in the River District downtown, Adelman said.
“It helps provide shopping opportunities and recreational activities,” he said, adding that it could increase activity in the area around the Community Market.
The route will complement shopping and dining in the River District, he added.
“This is a common service provided by many transit systems across the country,” Adelman said.
It will also provide transportation in the North Main Street area including the North Theatre, 616 Farm to Table, and Moon River Thai.
Danville City Councilman James Buckner introduced the idea and a subcommittee was formed. Buckner — who chaired the subcommittee — credited its members for helping make the idea a reality. The members were Linwood Duncan, Earl Reynolds, Alexis Ehrhardt, Debbie Flinn and Ernecia Coles.
The route follows Danville’s old Mainline from years ago, Buckner said.
“It could really serve the community in so many different ways,” Buckner said.
The trolley bus will be one of two trolleys that the city has. They were renovated last year and one has been used as a spare for Danville’s fixed-route bus service and for special occasions for reserved rides for 10 or more people, Adelman said.
Bus trolley features include new flooring, vintage lights and a front destination sign.
Adelman said the new route may not cost the city anything, depending on ridership volume. The city will receive state and federal funding to subsidize the service’s operating cost, he said. Cost for operating it will be $30 per hour of operation.
The trolley buses each have a capacity of 26.
Other services coming next month include expanded bus service to Goodwill Industries and Centra Danville Medical Center on Aug. 1, and a new Averett Cougar Express bus route.
John Crane reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.

Former Ritz Theater purchased in River District

Posted by Danville River District News on July 17, 2017
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The former Ritz Theater building at 534 Spring St. has been purchased with an eye toward renovating the structure for a new life in the River District.
Agostino Pugliese and his wife, Brandi — also owners of Dell’Anno’s Pizza Kitchen on Main Street — purchased the building for $26,500 in May, according to city records.
Pugliese said he has no firm plans for the building, other than to secure the site and “see what the options are.”
He said he wants to find a good use for the building after he fixes water damage to the interior.
“Maybe in the fall we’ll decide what the best solution for it is,” Pugliese said.
Most recently the building has been used as a church, but originally it housed the city’s only black-only theater. Pugliese said the original theater seats are still in the building, though the stage and other areas have suffered water damage.
He declined a request for a tour of the interior from the Register & Bee, saying it needs repairs before tours can be arranged.
The 5,680-square-foot building most recently housed the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, which owned the building. While still owned by the church, Corrie Teague Bobe, assistant director of the city’s economic development department, said she was able to tour the building.
“It’s a really neat building,” Bobe said. “It still has the stadium theater-style seating and you can see where the projection room was.”
Bobe said she was not approached by the Puglieses prior to their purchase.
“I’m as interested in finding out what will be done as anyone,” Bobe said.
Remembering the Ritz Theater
Danville residents remember the days when it housed the Ritz Theatre, long before the civil rights movement and desegregation happened.
Fred Motley — a Danville storyteller, actor and theater director — said he remembers the Ritz Theater, but in bits and flashes, since he was very young at the time.
“I remember that it was the all-black theater and that, like all theaters, it was always dark,” Motley said. “My mom would check the newspaper to see what was playing there.”
Motley said he remembers the Rialto Theater better, because he went there when he was a little older.
“It was where the school board building is now; blacks sat upstairs in the balcony and whites sat downstairs,” Motley said. “In the summer, we’d collect bottle caps to get in free. On Sundays all the kids got together after church to go to the movies there.”
Kirby Wright — founder/owner of Negril Inc., which serves residents with intellectual or mental disabilities, and W&W Luxury Limousine Service — said he fondly remembers the Ritz Theater, where he worked during high school.
“I used to be the projectionist. I worked there from ninth to 12th grade,” Wright said, and laughed. “My mother made me go to college; I didn’t want to … I was making $65 a week, and teachers only made $45 a week. I didn’t want to leave it.”
But his mother won that argument, Wright said.
Wright laughed again as he talked about becoming the projectionist.
He started off working at the theater part-time, taking tickets at the door and moving up to working the concession counter. Wright said he became friendly with the projectionist — who started to teach him how the equipment worked.
One night, Wright said, the projectionist and manger of the theater got into an argument, and the projectionist walked out in the middle of a movie, with the reel running.
The manager was in a panic, Wright said, until Wright told him he could run the projector.
“I got the job full time and I was only about 15,” Wright said.
The theater offered more than movies all week long. At least one night a month, there was a live performance.
“A lot of good artists came and performed,” Wright said. “They were real nice shows, stage shows with big names, and local artists. I’d shine the spotlight on them.”
There were five theaters downtown then, Wright said.
“We couldn’t go the Capitol Theater at all; it was only for whites,” Kirby said. “There was the Rialto, where we had to sit in the balcony, and the Dan Theater and Virginia Theater, where we had to sit in back.”
Motley, too, said blacks didn’t bother looking up what was playing at the Capitol Theater.
“You knew you wouldn’t be able to go,” Motley said.
The Ritz was considered “all-black,” though whites were not specifically forbidden from attending the movies and shows. Wright said no whites ever came to the theater that he was aware of.
Both Wright and Motley said they were pleased someone was planning to restore the former theater.
“But it does bring back memories buried a long time ago,” Motley said.
Denice Thibodeau reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact her at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.

Bike share program off and cycling in Danville

Posted by Danville River District News on July 17, 2017
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The Danville bike share program officially opened Friday with a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Danville Rides Bike Share docking stations will consist of 10 locks and five bikes, allowing ride

rs ages 18 and older to travel from one unit to another without having to make a return trip, according to a news release from Danville Parks and Recreation.

Stations will be located at the Biscuitville, Main Street Plaza, Crossing at the Dan and Dan Daniel Park Riverwalk Trailheads and in front of the Danville Train Station.
The Crossing at the Dan and train station trailhead lockers opened Friday.
Bikes come outfitted with a retractable locking cable to allow riders to secure the bike to any fixed object during the rental period, the release stated.
Bikes can be accessed through the Zagster mobile app available for iPhone and Android. Bikes have a number that needs to be entered into the app to unlock the docked bike. Payment can be made through the app.
The first hour is free. Each additional hour costs $3.
The rental period ends when the bike is returned to any of the five locker locations.
Full article here (Source GoDanRiver.com)

Cottontail Weddings & Events nears opening in latest River District project

Posted by Danville River District News on July 10, 2017
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Another new business is close to opening in the River District: Cottontail Weddings & Events.
Owner Matthew Switick said he expects the construction — which is in its finishing phase, with air conditioning being installed last week — to be completed in the next few weeks and for the doors to open in early August.
The 3,600-square-foot space at 600 Craghead St. does have a historic feel, with original wood floors, beams and columns. However, elegant touches are being added, like large chandeliers, lighting in the floor around the columns and other decorative touches.
The space will include seating for about 150 people, with room left for dancing and live music, Switick said.
There is also a dressing room and warming kitchen.
“We’ll have the tables, chairs and tablecloths; people would bring in their own caterers, who would bring in food and dishes,” Switick said.
Switick said he has worked in the hospitality industry before and was looking for a place to open his own business in North Carolina.
“I’ve been thinking about it since college,” he said. “I always wanted my own business, but wasn’t sure what kind.”
When he married his wife, Shelly, four years ago, they held the event at Starlight Meadow in Burlington, North Carolina.
“A friend there really got us excited about the possibility of doing something similar,” Switick said.
They moved to the Raleigh area and he looked for property where he could open a barn-type event place like Starlight Meadow — but couldn’t find the right place.
Instead a family friend — Shelly is a Danville native — recommended they look at the River District, and in December 2015 toured the space on Craghead Street.
“I knew it was the right place,” Switick said.
And with Ballad Brewery next door, he said he is excited about the possibility of working with the brewery for some events.
Switick said he found the city’s economic development department a big help, particularly Corrie Teague Bobe, the assistant director of the department.
Bobe said Switick did not qualify for historic tax credit help in renovating the building since that is reserved for building owners/developers. Instead, the city was able to provide a $20,000 River District Enhancement Grant to help cover the costs of making the space right for Switick’s business.
“The grant reimburses business owners for capital improvements they make,” Bobe said.
A signed performance agreement for the grant requires Switick invest $60,000 in capital improvements, have two full-time employees and to stay in the location for at least seven years.
The department doesn’t just hand over the money even with the signed agreement, Bobe said. Instead owners have to turn in receipts proving what they invested before any money changes hands.
Bobe said she is looking forward to Cottontail Weddings & Events openings.
“It’s going to be a beautiful space,” Bobe said. “It’s the type of space we get asked about often for weddings and special events people want to have in the River District.”
Ross Fickenscher, one of the partners who developed 600 Craghead St., confirmed all of the commercial spaces in the building have now been leased and the apartments on the upper floors are filling fast.
“We’re excited about [Cottontail Weddings & Events] and think it will do well,” Fickenscher said.
Denice Thibodeau reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact her at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.

More properties under development in River District

Posted by Danville River District News on July 10, 2017
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Two new projects were approved by the River District Design Commission recently, and while details have not been released, this adds two more properties to those under development in the district.
The 9,900-square-foot former warehouse at 534 Bridge St. has been approved for signage, but only for size and placement. The drawings submitted by Jeff Bond, of Solex Architecture, did not disclose the wording that will be used, including the name of the business.
Bond did not return calls asking for details on the project.
Corrie Teague Bobe, assistant director of Danville’s economic development department, said the commission also approved removal of some vinyl on the exterior of the building and replacing it with metal.
According to city records, the building is owned by Thomas and Margaret Hardy, of Danville.
Another building getting attention is at 301 Lynn St., which is being developed by Earthmark Development — the same group that renovated the Smiths Seed Building next door.
The building has been ordered to be demolished, but Stephen Staats, of Earthmark Development, was at the commission meeting to get permission to turn the property into a private parking lot for an upcoming project. A second building on the property — a former prizery — will not be demolished.
The brick and granite from the demolished building will be used to create walls for the parking lot, Renee Burton, senior planner for the community development department, said.
She also noted that Earthmark Development was applying for historic tax credits on the project, and the state Department of Historic Resources required the “footprint” of the building to be used for enclosing the lot, as well as the reuse of original materials.
Staats did not return a call from the Register & Bee for information about the project.
Denice Thibodeau reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact her at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.


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