around all the time ,” he said . “ And to me that ’ s amazing . A lot of towns have left their downtowns for dead .”
The city has made a conscious effort to work hard on getting downtown revitalized , and Dudley said he thinks it looks great .
There ’ s some empty spaces downtown , but overall , buildings are pretty full and there are a variety of uses . Go downtown on a weekend and it ’ s packed , he said .
“ So , I think overall , economically , we ’ re doing well . We ’ re making a lot of advances every day . We ’ ve got stuff we ’ re working on that we ’ re implementing ,” Dudley said .
Since the casino announcement , with plans to be open next March , Vermilion Advantage has had “ a ton ” of inquiries from businesses wanting to be in that area , Dudley said .
“ I think you ’ re going to see a plethora of restaurants and more hotels and other things that ’ s going to be out in the area that ’ s really going to wake that area up ,” he said .
There already was a lot of industries off Lynch Road and in the Eastgate and Southgate industrial areas , which was good , he added .
If you work in a factory in those areas and you want a hot meal , Dudley said you
Carle at the Riverfront rises from its foundation on Danville ’ s west side . Photo by Jennifer Bailey
have a hard time getting to a restaurant and back on your lunch hour .
“ We want to make things better for them , too ,” he said .
“ We ’ ve got a lot of things that we ’ re working on out there . We ’ re very happy with what we ’ re seeing , some of the projects ,” he added . “ The Wilmot family ( with the casino ) has been , to date , just excellent to work with . They ’ ve been top drawer . They ’ ve been upfront . They ’ ve been helpful . They want to work with everyone .”
Another project moving ahead is the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation mental health facility planned on the former St . Elizabeth Hospital site in the Rabbittown neighborhood off Sager Street , and SIHF ’ s other Federally Qualified Health Center inside Danville High
Tim Dudley is executive director of Vermilion Advantage . Photo by Jennifer Bailey
10 OUR COMMUNITY — 2022