Downtown 2030

Where Downtown Florence Is Headed — and How to Hold It to Account

Downtown went from 42% vacant storefronts to a nationally award-winning Main Street. The next decade is where it gets decided. This tracker keeps the promises, the projects, and the money in one place — dated, sourced, and updated.

42%

vacant storefronts, downtown's starting point

2023

Great American Main Street Award

2030

this tracker's horizon

Last verified: September 2026

The Pipeline

Each row is a downtown project, commitment, or program we can document. Status changes get a date and a note — we don't quietly retitle them.

Carolina Theatre Renovation

Nearing completion

Downtown core · Arts & culture

Source: City award announcement

Downtown Master Plan Build-Out

Ongoing

Historic district · Planning

Source: Florence Files, installment 2

Downtown Growth Push Outward

In progress

North Florence / medical district · Expansion

Source: Florence Stories report

Water & Sewer Capacity Fix

Underway — $85M

Serving downtown core · Infrastructure

Source: City utility reports

This page grows as the decade does. Something changed downtown that isn't reflected here? Send it in — verified updates get a dated line and credit.

Related Reading

The Record Behind the Tracker

Sourcing is only as good as the work it's built on. Here's the reporting this page pulls from.

How Downtown Florence Came Back

From "too far gone to be saved" to the Great American Main Street Award.

Why Downtown Is Growing Outward

What the expansion past the historic footprint means for every neighborhood along the way.

What's Being Built Tracker

County-wide subdivisions and infrastructure, in the same running-table format.

Council in 5 Minutes

Every recap, kept in order — so a missed month is still a scroll away.