Pride in Shelby, land purchase sparked redevelopment project
By David Jacobs
As crews began clearing a long-neglected corner in downtown Shelby this week, a local business leader said he bought the site to help restore it -- a decision rooted in memory and shaped by a vision for the city's future.
Troy Baker, owner and leader of the Edward Jones office in Shelby, purchased the historic site at Broadway and Main Street about four years ago after watching its condition deteriorate for years at the eastern gateway to downtown.
Though demolition is now underway as part of a land bank-led transformation into green space, Baker emphasized the project’s deeper meaning.
"I was born in Shelby, raised in Shelby, and fortunate enough to work and run my family business in Shelby," Mr. Baker said.
“But back in the day, I used to ride my bike up and down Main Street for many, many years, even stopping at what used to be called the Brickley, where my mom used to work,” Baker recalled. “And I would stop in while I was riding my bike around town and eat curly french fries for lunch.”
The memories of a vibrant Main Street stayed with him, even as the years passed and some buildings began to decline.
“So every day when I was driving back and forth, driving back and forth from my house to Edward Jones, going up and down Main Street, it just became disheartening to me to see some of the blight in my town,” he said.
That led to his purchase of the Broadway and Main site as part of his broad commitment to the Shelby community.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to play a part of the solution, not the problem,” he said.
Baker noted that over the years, others had attempted to purchase the property, but those efforts had fallen through.
Baker said that securing the property involved navigating a complex process.
“When the last one fell through, I had worked with the local attorney to jump through all the hoops and when the purchase was made, it happened,” he said.
Baker then worked with the Richland County Land Bank and other officials to get the building and adjacent structures he had bought knocked down.
He added that the initial plan had been to demolish the buildings much earlier, but regulatory changes contributed to delays.
“When I originally bought it, it was supposed to be knocked down years back," Baker recalled. "It was nobody’s fault. One thing led to another, [and] changes in laws and rules [meant] it hasn’t gotten knocked down when it was originally going to.”
In November, more than $657,500 in state funding was secured for the “Broadway and Main“ project for the phase involving the demolition and environmental cleanup of the deteriorated building.
Baker said his original redevelopment vision for the site was unlikely to move forward, but interest remains strong. “I have a lot of irons in the fire, people who have approached me,” he said.
He now plans to work closely with civic and community leaders to determine a future use.
“Definitely, I’ll work hand in hand with the city of Shelby, the CIC (Community Improvement Corporation), the Shelby Foundation, and just different other community like-minded folks and work with them to come up with the proper solution for Shelby,” he said.
Baker said the site will be temporarily grass-covered, with new sidewalks installed, in line with the land bank’s immediate plan.
“Per Amy (Hamrick) in the Land Bank, when it's all said and done, it'll be grass with the brand new sidewalk,” he said.
Baker said the goal is economic revitalization with new businesses at the site.
“I've got some thoughts and ideas to do something that's going to be prosperous and positive for Shelby on an economic [level],” he said.
He credited the project’s progress to a range of community members and officials.
“I like to give a shout-out to Amy Hamrick and the board of the Land Bank,” Baker said. "I'd like to think I had the easy route."
“Really, it's been Amy, Jessica Gribben (Shelby economic development manager), Mayor Schag, (Shelby project coordinator) Joe Gies, the city of Shelby,” Baker said. "They're the ones that I think did a lot of the hard work to make this happen. I did the easy part -- by buying it.”
Baker and his wife Monica were praised for their work in buying the site so that it can be developed after demolition.
Troy and Monica Baker both have deep roots in Shelby and returned after college to build their lives in the community.
“Both of us were born in Shelby, went to school in Shelby, graduated from Shelby, went away to college, but both chose to come back and build a business and raise our family in town,” Mr. Baker said, noting that his wife’s maiden name was Monica Cline.
The redevelopment project is rooted in Shelby's history.
"Thinking back in the day, some of the guys I used to talk with -- like the Ralph Phillipses of the world -- I heard their vision for the town,” Mr. Baker said. “And (now) I was able to be a part of this."
Reporter David Jacobs can be reached at davidjacobs@shelbynewsreporter.com