Published: April 24, 2009 07:53 pm         

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Job well done downtown

Awards demonstrate great momentum in city’s center

Downtown Terre Haute, like city centers in hundreds of Midwestern communities the past four decades, has seen its share of dark days.

With those memories still fresh in the minds of many, it is particularly heartening to see the pride, excitement and enthusiasm that now exists in the downtown sector of this vibrant city.

That pride, excitement and enthusiasm were on full display Thursday night when Downtown Terre Haute Inc. presented its annual Heritage awards to honor businesses and individuals who have contributed mightily to the ongoing revitalization of such an important district of our community.

The awards banquet fittingly took place in the beautifully restored Ohio Building on Ohio Street, just off South Seventh. The enormous investment and effort that went into saving that historic structure continues to stand as an example of the treasures that can re-emerge when people with vision and community commitment rise up to meet a challenge that nearly everyone else has given up on.

The last five years have been very, very good for the heart and soul of Terre Haute’s historic downtown. So many good things have happened on the revitalization front that it is now sometimes difficult to remember all of them.

Rest assured, the work of the award winners announced Thursday night will not soon be forgotten. And it really says something special that there were two winners for design in the private-sector category of The Downtown Heritage Awards.

Boo and Gary Lloyd, Peter and Melony Sacopulos and Todd Nation were one set of honorees. Their work was done on a building at the southwest corner of Seventh and Wabash that houses a number of small businesses, including the popular Crossroads Cafe and Book Nation. The second design award went to Pete and Jackie Wilson, owners of the Coffee Grounds on the south side of Wabash Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets.

The public-sector award was given to the Vigo County commissioners for the inspired remodeling and renovation of the majestic Vigo County Courthouse, a project that took more than three years to complete.

The economic restructuring award went to Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp. for the Candlewood Suites Hotel in the Tribune Building on Wabash between Seventh and Eighth streets. The tremendous boost of economic energy that Dora Brothers’ hotels — the Candlewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn across the street — has infused in the downtown district is immeasurable. That both are enjoying great success so far is a tribute to the vision of those who promoted the projects over the skepticism and objections of critics.

The Vigo County Public Library also received well-deserved honors for its promotion of downtown events and initiatives. Individual awards to Roy Dressler, a past DTH president, and Veronica Dougherty, a tireless community volunteer , highlight the impact hard-working, dedicated people can have when energy is channeled to worthy causes.

Downtown Terre Haute Inc. and Executive Director Andrew Conner are to be commended for the positive and sustained energy they have brought to the city center in the organization’s relatively young life.

We applaud this year’s winners and look forward to continued progress and development. And we wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment expressed at the banquet by Pete Sacopulos, one of the award winners.

“I have never been more upbeat about downtown Terre Haute than I am now,” he said.

To Mr. Sacopulos: Well said. To DTH and its award winners: Well done.