NEW ALBANY — Construction crews, torn-up concrete and sometimes-closed sidewalks have been the story of New Albany’s Main Street over the past few months. Although the city and some business owners aren’t on the same page, both are eager for the next chapter.
The first phase of New Albany’s Main Street project for the south side of the road finished this spring. Similar construction is ongoing on the north side of Main Street.
Once complete, Main Street will feature wider sidewalks, with small pocket parks, and a narrower roadway, which will cause drivers to slow down.
New Albany City Engineer Larry Summers told the News and Tribune that the second phase of the project will also involve significant infrastructure work.
The work starts with removing the roadway, putting in new storm pipes and a new conduit. It might not look like a lot at first, but people will be able to see more of the vision after the underground work is finished.
“We’re happy with how this project is going to turn out, and I think everybody else is going to be too,” Summers said.
Some business owners, like Sew Fitting alteration shop owner Cisa Kubley, are looking forward to the end of the work.
Although the signs say businesses are open, some have chosen to close up shop on the north side of New Albany’s Main Street as construction continues in the area.
Kubley is busy working on constructing a new wedding dress for a client, using pieces from two separate wedding dresses, as she explains how the construction has affected her business over the past months.
“This is like the fourth major construction project to happen on this intersection in the past seven years, four major construction projects and the pandemic, it’s a lot,” she said. “That’s something that’s really frustrating for us. we keep trying to focus on the fact it will be lovely when it’s done. Construction is always a headache.”
A lot of parking options in front of Kubley’s business have been eliminated by the project, she said.
There are a few spots carved into the new wider sidewalks out front of the shop, parking on the side of the building and a parking lot behind the shop, but she said that they can be difficult to access for some customers.
Previously, there was street-long parallel parking out front.
“So, we try to tell people, when we talk to them on the phone, we say ‘hey, if you’re coming today, this is what the current situation is,’ we don’t know what it’s going to be next time…we try to tell customers if you’re going to bring something heavy, like a machine, you can park on the side if there’s spaces available,” she said.
If someone needs help carrying in an order Kubley and her team will go outside to their parking spot and help them.
“Every time we have to do that because we don’t have accessible parking out front that means we have to stop what we are doing and carry things in,” she said. “We don’t like telling people we are at five or six weeks out on turnaround.”
She said her hope is that there’s not any more construction projects in the area for a few years after this one is completed.
“The sidewalks over here, they look nice, that’s great and we appreciate it,” Kubley said. “The street will be much narrowed, which means people will have to go slower. It will be safer, we love that. They could’ve narrowed the street and given us a double-wide sidewalk and still left parking.”
Some stores across the street from Sew Fitting, like The Odd Shop, are closing during periods of time during the construction on the north side of the road.
Main Street isn’t the only part of New Albany that’s under construction.
The Sherman Minton Bridge that connects the city to Louisville is also dealing with lane closures leading to long lines of traffic snaking across state lines.
That’s why One Southern Indiana (1si) is administering the New Albany Central Business District Loan Program that provides zero-interest loans to businesses in the area.
The City of New Albany, Floyd County and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County contributed funding to the program.
It requires the 36-month loans to be used specifically for expenses like payroll, rent and utilities. Businesses that qualify must have 50 or fewer employees and be located within the Central Business District.
Rachael Armstrong, a small business navigator at 1si, said the program is providing about $121,000 in loans.
Applicants were allowed to request up to $25,000 and the first payments on the loans aren’t due until the project is complete.
Alex and Kate Boutique, Dress & Dwell, New Albany Sugar Shoppe, Primos Detail Plus, Regalo Gifts and Royal Couture Treats Boutique are among the recipients of the loans, along with three other businesses, according to 1si.
On top of the loan program business owners appreciate the support from customers all across the region who have heard about the construction and chosen to shop in downtown New Albany.
“Community support, that’s pretty huge,” said Eureka Mens Wear owner Dan Hardesty. “We noticed a really big influx of support from just the community as a whole. You’d see people specifically making a trip down here saying, ‘Hey, I saw you on the news, read you in the paper, and wanted to give you a shot.’”
Hardesty’s store offers an incredible variety of vintage men’s wear, sneakers and collectibles.
He said he’s excited to see that the finished product is imminent now that his store’s side of the street has been completed.
“It gives me optimism that when this is going to be completely done, what we are offering is going to take off,” Hardesty said. “I wish it didn’t take as long, honestly, I can’t complain too much. We’re growing and we have reached levels that we didn’t hit previously.”