THOMSON, Ga () – The Downtown Thomson Grant initiative was launched in December and will fund nine projects throughout the town.  

James Upchurch, President and CEO of Forward McDuffie, has been with Forward McDuffie for a year now and says he knew instantly he wanted to revitalize downtown.

“We realize that this is just a first step, there’s a lot more to do, we plan on spending millions of dollars revitalizing Downtown Thomson, but this is a great first step, not just for the city and the county, but for the people who live and work here as well.” said Upchurch

The initial funding for the grant was provided by Georgia Power with the money going toward new interior and exterior renovations.

Upchurch says the response from these businesses has been wonderful to see.

“Out of the nine projects that we awarded, two of those who received awards cried when I told them, it meant a lot, as someone who is new to the community, being able to make such an instant impact, it means a lot to me.”  Upchurch said.

The new developments will be made over the next few months to enhance the character of Thomson. Upchurch told me what he was most excited to see.

“Having more small businesses in our community, several of our buildings have been neglected for quite a while, so being able to completely revitalize some of these buildings and get small businesses in them is just going to make a huge impact in our community.” he said.

This is just the beginning of a broader effort to increase economic growth and investment into downtown Thomson.