Fourth St. project scrapped as GIA establishes new plan

In October 2019, it was announced the Graham Industrial Association and the Hayhurst Brothers, featured on the DIY Network program ‘Texas Flip N Move,’ were partnered for a building concept on 509 and 511 4th. Street in Graham. The project was scrapped by the GIA due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they are looking at their options for the location.

The GIA is a private organization used to promote economic growth in Graham and does not use tax dollars for any of their operations with profits generated being reinvested into the community. GIA president Win Graham said the COVID-19 pandemic made the board hesitant to reach out to those who typically donate for projects. The original concept for the project was to have a retail, restaurant or other option to fill the building at 511 4th St. and food pods facing outside where different vendors could set up. An inside communal space was to be set up with a covered second floor area which would be connected to eight retail spaces at the top of the building.

The floorplan was released in December 2019 which described the project as a mixed-use indoor and outdoor space open to retail and restaurants. Graham said if they look at a similar project it will be scaled down from the initial concept.

“It was going to cost well over $1 million. With COVID we were nervous that we couldn’t get the people to donate the money so we scrapped that project,” Graham said. “I think if we were going to go right now, we would knock that building down. We would cement the bottom. We would probably put just a tin roof up. We’d sell food truck day passes (...) as a place for food trucks to come in there. Put a bunch of benches in there. Put some cornhole and washer pits and stuff out there. String some lights up there and try to make a place for people to have a casual kind of a hang-out, dinner lunch place. Maybe put some music out there on Friday or Saturday nights. Just try to draw people to the square and wouldn’t have to invest a ton of money in that and then if somebody wanted to come put in a new restaurant or something in, it would be a good place to put it. It would be a good (...) temporary holding spot.”

For the rest of the story, see the July 21 edition of The Graham Leader.