About $3.2 million was invested in new or expanding businesses in downtown Danville in 2016, according to a report release recently by the Main Street program Heart of Danville.

Heart of Danville’s reinvestment statistics list 10 new or expanded businesses in downtown during last year:

• Nellie Burton’s Steakhouse & Sports Bar;

• Plank on Main;

• Little Lighthouse Learning & Care Center;

• Southern Plate Catering;

• EMRMC Heart Institute;

• Greg’s Boot & Shoe Repair;

• Marketplace Gray;

• NuBlend;

• Sheehan, Barnett, Hayes, Dean & Pennington PSC; and 

• Tut’s Mediterranean restaurant.

In 2016, the 10 new businesses or expansions brought in a total investment of about $3.2 million, according to the Heart of Danville report. The new business investment totaled $1,250,700 and the business expansion investment totaled $1,991,520.

Heart of Danville reported there were 110 new jobs added in 2016, while 22 jobs were lost. The organization estimates a total of 3,462 jobs located in downtown Danville.  

Heart of Danville Interim Director Nick Wade said the bulk of the new jobs came from the City of Danville; Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center; Cue on Main LLC (parent company for restaurants Cue on Main and Nellie Burton’s); Danville Pediatrics; Danville Surgical Associates; and the fitness and food center Plank on Main.

In 2016, the total investment in downtown Danville was $21,360,482, according to a press release from Heart of Danville.

That larger investment figure includes 23 building renovations that contributed to the an estimated $8.09 million in major building rehabilitation projects; eight facade enhancement projects that cost $98,600; and public improvements investment totaling $9,925,220. 

“There are many reasons for revitalizing a downtown including improving the downtown image, new job opportunities through the attraction of new businesses, savings in tax dollars and preservation of historic building(s) and a community’s unique heritage,” Wade stated in a news release.

Wade reported that since 1990, Heart of Danville estimates downtown Danville has seen more than $690 million in investments. 

“Everyone in Boyle County benefits from the investments made into the central business district,” he said.

In those same 26 years, Danville has seen 307 new businesses and 1,568 new jobs, according to Heart of Danville’s report. 

“We work diligently to create a vibrant, prosperous downtown,” Wade said. 

This is not the work of just one person, he said. As it takes a village to raise a child, “It takes a community to create a successful Main Street.”