Mansfield emphasizes downtown revitalization

Mansfield continues emphasis on downtown revitalization

By MASON WITTNER

mwittner@covnews.com

The widespread impact of COVID-19 has done little to deter the continued development of Mansfield.

Mayor G.W. Davis said his residents “did not realize a big change” due in large part to the city primarily serving as a bedroom community. He believes the largest loss the municipality faced was the closing of a restaurant, although another one has already been scheduled to open in its place.

“There have been some effects,” Davis said, “but I would say that compared to some other areas of the state, the country, and maybe even the county, we’ve been blessed.”

As the calendar flipped to a new year, Mansfield continued its pursuit of completing the city’s last 10-year plan, which emphasized the revitalization of downtown. Four new business licenses have been issued for the downtown area this spring, as well as an undisclosed fifth project that Davis said “will be a big thing for us” should it go through.

In the meantime, the city center has already received a highly-anticipated facelift. Mansfield held a Christmas tree lighting ceremony downtown in December and an Easter service with more than 200 people took place there April 4.

“It’s going to be a great addition to the town for those kind of things,” Davis said of the renovated city center. “We want to have some movies on the green and different events down there.”

Additionally, there continues to be an uptick in usage of the city’s trail. There remain sections that need to be paved, but noticeable progress has been made in the past year, Davis said.

The Mayor and Town Council would like to welcome you to Newborn

Mayor: W. Gregg Ellwanger Council Members: Rob Bratton, Tom Krieger, Wayne Sams & Martha Ellwanger Come and Visit: Newborn Town Park right next to Town Hall Historic Newborn Schoolhouse & Community Center Jeanette Adams Zeigler Library Yearly Events: Arbor Day, Horneyhead Fishing Tournament and Festival