Fourteen years ago, Eric Holcomb stood in front of the Johnson County Courthouse with another man who wanted to run for governor.
He remembers then-candidate Mitch Daniels’ 2003 speech well, including what downtown Franklin looked like at the time. Holcomb came along because he was working for Daniels’ campaign. He later managed Daniels’ 2008 re-election campaign and served as his deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office.
More than a decade later, that section of Jefferson Street, along with several other areas of downtown Franklin, look completely transformed, Holcomb, now the governor, said during a recent visit to Franklin.
He remembers the Hazelett building, which was a structural concern at the time and in need of major fixes. The building now houses the Daily Journal, where Holcomb recently sat down for an interview.
Holcomb remembers the older look of several of the buildings along Jefferson Street, and pointed to significant changes in several of them. He also was impressed to see new restaurants that had opened and several new options for downtown visitors, saying other communities would want to model the success of Franklin.
“You’re a model. You’re doing it right,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb credited a large part of downtown Franklin’s renewal to former Mayor Joe McGuinness, who he chose to lead the Indiana Department of Transportation.
“A lot of the renaissance that’s occurred here, it’s because of, obviously, leadership,” Holcomb said.
“He’s respected by not just his peers but folks in different walks of life that also seek to improve the quality of place and quality of life.”
Downtown projects have been funded by the Franklin Redevelopment Commission, a city board, and the Franklin Development Corp., a nonprofit created and funded with city tax dollars, under previous Mayor Fred Paris. That agency recently requested another $500,000 to continue its projects, including redoing the faces of downtown buildings.
