GARRETT — “It’s been a very good year for us,” Garrett Mayor Todd Fiandt said in his State of the City address Jan. 26 in City Hall.
As of Oct. 25, some $33 million had been invested in the Garrett, up quite a bit from the previous year, he began.
“I don’t know if it is just dumb luck or the result of trying to make a better business climate for some to come to Garrett to open a business,” he added. “Either way, we’ve been fortunate enough to have several come here to give it a go.”
New activity at the south side of town includes The Rail Yard Center that is home to the recently opened Westwind Furniture, Shear Bliss Salon, Classic Cabinet Company, Coterie Pizza and another addition to Diederich Storage. Other new businesses are Eye Candy, LaLos Mexican Restaurant and Red Stagg Investments who set up an automatic ice and water machine service a few months ago.
Plevna Implement Company has built a new farm implement and garden equipment store at S.R. 8 and Wiant Drive. Van’s Home Center is in the process of building a 100,000-square-foot warehouse at C.R. 19 and S.R. 8.
Additions were also made to F&H Warehouse on Taylor Road, Mossberg Hubbard Spool, Hometown Graphics, Diederich Self Storage and Walmart Distribution Center.
Fiandt is also proud of the 17 roads that were either resurfaced or rebuilt in 2022 though the Community Crossings matching grant program, most of which were on the north side of town. Plans for 2023 include resurfacing of Houston Street from the Judy A. Morrill Recreation Center to Hamsher Street.
Forty older trees along Randolph Street in the S.R. 327 right-of-way were removed as part of the Judy Morrill Beautification Project. More than 70 trees have been planted, as well as new sidewalks installed on both sides of the street for Phase 2 of the project that now extends south near the Dave’s Burgers location. Fiandt thanked Morrill for her generosity in funding the project.
The abandoned Torco Station in the 700 block of South Randolph Street has been demolished and the site has been remediated to state standards. A pocket park has been built on the site that includes a cedar pavilion for the public use, Fiandt added. Plans call for solar lighting and more trees to be planted this year.
A gathering place is planned at the site of a burned-out building at 109 S. Randolph St. that has…