By Logan Watson
Milan Mirror-Exchange
MILAN – More than 200 Milanites marched down South Main Street to show their hometown pride Sunday afternoon, helping the city film a video submission for an upcoming nationally televised renovation project.
HGTV’s Home Town focuses on Ben and Erin Napier, a home renovation team from Laurel, Mississippi, but their next project will involve a lot more than just a quaint cottage or two. For their next feat, the couple will restore an entire town.
Small towns across America have already begun throwing their hats in the ring for the location of the new “Home Town Takeover,” which will give one lucky city a much-needed facelift, and Milan made their intentions known by staging a parade through Downtown.
Led by members of the MHS Bulldogs football team, cheerleaders and drum line, hundreds of proud citizens walked from BanCorp South to the Milan Ritz cheering for the opportunity to have the HGTV crews roll into town and revitalize the struggling downtown area.
The video submission will include a rundown of Milan’s rich history, dating back to the “boom” created by the Wolf Creek Ordnance Plant that brought the city to life in 1941, as well as some of the prominent sites and citizens that have helped put Milan on the map over the years.
“I’d like to see our downtown area busy and thriving, like it was in its heyday,” said Allyson Harris, who spearheaded the application effort, “I want to see new and old storefront businesses in renovated buildings with citizens shopping, eating lunch or just enjoying a nice sunny day in our courtyard.”
As the group walked down the once-thriving thoroughfare, it was clear to see that the people of the city support more than just a fresh coat of paint on the Downtown storefronts.
Efforts are underway to renovate some of the older buildings, but with several viable buildings sitting empty, Milan could certainly use a shot in the arm to bring back its bustling Main Street area.
“We could get back to that one day,” Harris said, “But help from the Napiers would help us take a major step in the right direction. I love all the community support that we have behind this project and I hope that we can continue to see that support in other city-wide projects.”
(PHOTO: Milan citizens help promote ‘Home Town Takeover,’ Sunday – story and photo courtesy Victor Parkins, Mirror-Exchange Editor & Publisher)
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