December 2016 | Business View Magazine

56 57 Preferred vendors n Colonial Supplemental Insurance www.coloniallife.com Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is an American insurance company based in Colum- bia, South Carolina. Colonial Life offers disability, accident, life, cancer, critical illness, and hospital confinement insurance plans in 49 states. Colonial Life was founded in 1939 by Edwin Averyt and be- came a wholly owned subsidiary of Unum in 1993. Colonial Supplemental Insurance fills in the gaps that health insurance doesn’t always cover, such as the cost of co-pays, deductibles, and medications. It may provide benefits for medical expenses as the result of hospital stays, surgical procedures, diagnostic procedures, health screenings, doctor visits, and emergency room visits. n J.R. Wilburn & Associates www.jrwilburnandassociates.com ANNiStON, ALAbAmA n Transportation & Transit Planning n Corridor & Access Management Studies n Traffic Circulation & Parking Studies n Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning & Design n Environmental Studies n Roadway & Bridge Design James R. WilbuRn, aiCP 404.386.1327 jrwilburn4593@bellsouth.net stan Cauthen, P.e. 334.309.5617 scauthen5617@gmail.com 411 James Store Road Greenville, GA 30222 404.909.6651 Client focused. on Noble Street, the downtown area’s main artery. “Like many traditional American downtown areas, we faced the flight of businesses to the indoor malls and strip malls,” Davis laments. “It was thriving until the 1970s, and then business started to move away to the suburbs. That seems to be reversing now, and we have a few initiatives to help that reversal along.” For one thing, the city is partnering with the Main Street Alabama Program, which will soon be sending a resource team to Anniston to help put together further plans for its downtown rede- velopment. In addition, Anniston has initiated a Downtown Development Incentive Program, which provides matching grant money for interior structural and/or façade improvements for busi- nesses in the historic district. Finally, Davis says that the city has recently created a formal Arts and Entertainment District for downtown which will give restaurant owners a little more leeway for sidewalk dining and sidewalk service of alcohol. “The biggest success I think we’ve had in the historic downtown area is that is has become quite a bit of a restaurant district, already,” Davis ex- claims. “We have some great niche restaurants; we have a famous restaurant called the Classic On Noble. People will drive over from Atlanta and Birmingham an hour or more in the car just to come eat dinner or Sunday brunch.We have our own microbrewery,” he adds.“Cheaha Brewing Company, right off of Noble Street, built in the old freight train depot off of what will hopefully become the exten- sion of the Chief Ladiga bike trail.We’ve added some other superb niche restaurants, including Italian (Effina’s) and Thai (Thai One On) eateries that have sprung up; we have a couple of high rise buildings downtown, and by December 31st, there’s going to be another fine dining place open at the top of one that’s eleven stories, called The High Point Restau- rant. It’s right in the heart of downtown and it will have a 360 degree view of the mountains around Anniston.” A bike mecca, a repurposed army base, and a thriving downtown are all in the mix for Anniston, Alabama. It seems as though the 19th century’s “Model City” is definitely back on track in the 21st.