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New uplighting, landscaping possible thanks to a recent grant

 

TRYON—Most Tryon residents think their downtown is already a jewel, but it should be getting a little more polishing thanks to a $10,000 grant the Tryon Downtown Development Association secured from The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The grant will help pay for uplighting that will illuminate public art and trees.

“The lighting will have the ability to change color, so for Christmas, we could do a red and green or a blue and white,” says Lourdes Gutierrez, Tryon’s Director of Development. “For the fourth of July, we could do red and blue, so that’s the really cool capability this lighting has. It can change color to match the season and the occasion.” 

The TDDA has been testing the uplighting on “Morris the Horse.” The lighting is “dark sky friendly,” meaning it won’t contribute to light pollution or disturb wildlife. 

Gutierrez says Denny Crowe, who heads up the TDDA’s design committee, suggested adding some landscaping to the lighting plan. It now includes clearing the overgrown bank of ivy and weeds below the Depot and replacing that with native plantings. She says the project’s goal is to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly. 

“If you’re driving through Tryon in the evening, we don’t want people to just be driving by,” says Gutierrez. “We’re hoping that adding these beautification projects will get people to stop in our town and eat at our restaurants and shop.”

The plan goes before the town commissioners in August for approval.