Earlier this month, Johnson City commissioners approved a $30.5 million contract to makeover a section of West Walnut Street.
Itâs a big project, and the price tag seems especially hefty when Washington County is hinting at the possibility of a property tax increase, but the city has been planning this corridorâs revitalization for years.
An important link between East Tennessee State University and the cityâs downtown core, private business activity has already picked up on the portion of West Walnut between University Parkway and Buffalo Street.
Of course, pillars like the Shamrock Beverage & Tobacco Shop and the Firehouse Restaurant have been there for decades, but just in the last couple of years, theyâve been joined by Peggy Ann Bakery, Bebettes and Timber. The Model Mill, for so long a blight on the block, has been rehabilitated and repopulated with new, thriving businesses like Crumb Bakeshop, and next door, a craft brewery was recently purchased and rea