When representatives of other cities want to see successful examples of downtown redevelopment, they should call on Bowling Green as a mentor.

Bowling Green has made it happen. For years, we have seen new buildings, new businesses and dilapidated properties cleared for different projects in our downtown. It is quite an exciting time for our downtown and our community to see this going on around us.

What is happening downtown is exactly what those involved in downtown redevelopment efforts had in mind. It is always a plus when someone takes an older building and significantly revitalizes it and spurs growth in our central city.

It is with great excitement that we learn there are currently two business owners in town who are doing exactly that.

Ross Richey, owner of Lawton Insurance, just finished a $1 million renovation of the former Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce building.

It’s amazing what the building – across the street from Mariah’s on State Street and Eighth Avenue – has gone through. It looks like a brand new building. It is obvious Richey had a vision for this building, and it was certainly a positive one. He should be credited with taking what many considered an eyesore and transforming it into what it is now.

Besides the great job that was done on the building, Richey’s company is bringing 10 employees downtown, three of whom are new hires. He also owns the adjacent space next to his building that is comprised of about 15,000 square feet. Half of that will be occupied by the advertising agency Yellowberri.

Bringing two companies and employees downtown is what downtown redevelopment is all about. Richey is a contributor to that and should be applauded.

Someone else who should be applauded and is no stranger when it comes to the importance of locating businesses downtown is Dan Murph, whose West Star Properties owns 918 State St. on Fountain Square. He recently bought the former Dollar General building on Main Avenue. We are enthusiastic about someone like Murph coming in and buying this structure. He wants to take the building’s facade back to the original retail roots. It will be nice to see these buildings – one built in 1890, the other in 1905 – refurbished back to their original facades. That’s a big part of downtown redevelopment, making buildings look as much as possible like their original construction. It will be a tall order, but we are confident that Murph and his architect can do it.

Plans for the former Dollar General Store location sound interesting. Murph plans to split the bottom floors into two retail spaces, for which there is already interest. The upstairs will be 12 small shared office spaces.

We look forward to seeing the finished product.

Richey and Murph are two examples of what makes downtown redevelopment work. Their intuition and contributions to downtown are something we should all welcome. They are role models for others who may have similar plans.