Hello again!
Well, the auction has come and gone, and it went very well. All the buildings sold, bringing in far more than I ever thought they would. Something close to two and a half million for all four buildings! I look forward to seeing what happens with them next! I think all of Midland does.
Wall Street is now under construction. There are many nay-sayers on this one, though. Wall St. is to be narrowed to three lanes, sidewalks are to be torn out and re-done, trees will be planted, drainage will be corrected and many asthetic changes are to take place. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Many others area screaming,"Don't spend my tax dollars on that!" But, what do you do? When you have a downtown area in need of serious renovation and work, do you just let it sit there and rot? I'm mean, seriously. Come on! Downtown Midland is the home of county courts, District Courts and Federal Courts. We have lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, city officials, oil businessmen and women, accountants, bankers, and countless others down there everyday. Much of Midland's business takes place there... and we don't want to spend a little money to fix the place up? Granted, a couple million dollars isn't a "little money," but it is when you consider that compared to the overall picture of Midland.
Midland is not small town, and it is getting bigger and better every day.
Residential housing is booming in North and West Midland right now. Every contractor and sub-contractor are booked up with work well into the next year. Plans for a new class A apartment complex are in the works and should be breaking ground within a year. Not to mention all the other development coming to Midland:
Ashley Furniture is under construction next to Kohl's on Loop 250.
La Quinta Inn has broken ground two blocks away from that.
Holiday Inn Express is nearing completion near the Saturn dealership on the loop.
A christian book store is under construction next door to the Acadamy sporting goods,
as is another Rapid Lube oil change center. (I gotta admit, this one is a bit redundent in Midland.)
In the not-to-distant future, Midland is expecting a luxuary car dealership west of the loop on Hwy 191. Also, a new yet different sporting goods store is expected to be built in west Midland. Construction is due to begin soon on East Loop 250 to complete its extension to east Hwy. 80 and Intersate 20, which will be a huge imporvement for East Midland.
Midland recently had a "Ribbon Cutting" ceremony on a new bike trail in southwest Midland. This has been a much desired addition to the city and has finally been realized. Also, a new Dog Park has been completed out at Hogan Park to rave reviews.
So much is happening, and 2006 is going to be a big year for us.
Hopefully I'll be back soon with more news to keep everyone posted! Go check out the Midland Forums on-line for more information and to keep up with current events. I'm so busy, I'm lucky to be able to do so myself! ;)
