Our Community 2022 | Page 9

OUR COMMUNITY — 2022 9
“ ... We are building a city that people are interested in working with and investing in .”
— Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr .
have nobody come in because they got COVID ,” he said .
“ But in general , as a whole , we weathered the storm really well here in Danville and Vermilion County ,” he said .
As the public watches the progress , the community has projects like Carle and Christie Clinic at the Riverfront , the casino and FedEx and others .
“ So , we have been very fortunate that we ’ ve had these projects come to town even though we ’ re still basically kind of in that pandemic ... ,” Dudley said about new COVID strains .
He , too , said we have to get confidence back in these retailers and restaurateurs , that it ’ s time to get back moving .
It doesn ’ t help that interest rates have risen and talk of a recession . Those things come to an end eventually and you have to keep plugging away , Dudley said .
“ The climate here in Danville is good . If you ’ ve been downtown any time recently , I mean there ’ s people down there moving
Auston and Mary Surprenant , with RE / MAX Ultimate on North Vermilion Street in Danville , stand by the business ’ view of Lake Vermilion . Photo by Jennifer Bailey working with and investing in .” Downtown has seen Lima Bean Glassworks , Lainey ’ s Ice Cream , The Galleria women ’ s clothing store , the Local Farmhouse gift shop and others continue to move in . The old First Midwest Bank building is occupied again with Survivor Resource Center .
Additional restaurants could be coming into the former Turk Furniture building .
Other businesses are planned to open along Bowman Avenue near Goodwill , including Heavenly Square Grocery Store .
Dudley says when COVID-19 hit , some retail projects that were going got pulled back in for good reason .
“ You can ’ t open a retail business and

OUR COMMUNITY — 2022 9