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Reviving Haines City's historic business district
Carla Bayron reports.
HAINES CITY, Fla. - The Historic Oakland Business District on Dr. Martin Luther King Way in Haines City was once a thriving business district decades ago.
A lot of businesses are no longer around, but the city is planning to revive its legacy which was made great by Black-owned businesses.
Janet Jolly Smith will be 94 in March. She's a Haines City girl -- born and raised.
"I did press and curls. The old style," said Smith.
Pictured: Janet Jolly Smith
She used to own a beauty salon on Dr. Martin Luther King Way for 50 years and also a restaurant next door.
Back then, there was hustle and bustle in the Oakland community's Black business district.
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"Recently, we don't have any business, but at least 50 or 60 years ago, this place was full of restaurants, dry cleaning, and poolrooms," said Smith.
"Right now we have about three working commercial businesses going on, and we want to see a lot more," shared Lekia Johnson, a Community Redevelopment Officer.
The city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is working on a plan to bring businesses back and restore the community to those vibrant and nostalgic days.
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"I think when it was time to pass the baton, some of our residents or families weren't ready, and now we have an avenue with CRA to get them ready financially. Connecting them with the right stakeholders and investors to get them back in the groove of what was the heyday," said Johnson.
"I would like to see some business come down like a clothing store. Because we as a neighborhood have really grown," said Smith.
As one of the oldest and influential citizens of Haines City, Smith says her community deserves a chance to be brought back to life.
"We all pay our fair share and there's nothing wrong with bringing the morale of the Oakland community up as the other parts of the cities," explained Smith.
The CRA will be seeking a consultant that specializes in Black community revitalization who will then work with their project manager.