The Block on Main gives downtown in Holly Springs another new attraction

In July 2019, I did a post here about the opening of the new Town Hall Commons that Holly Springs officials hoped would inject some economic vitality into the heart of the town's downtown economic district. 

At the time, I didn't know the town wasn't going to stop there. Maybe the town didn't know it then either. 

But in the past two weeks, a second new business attraction, called The Block on Main, opened immediately adjacent to (south, to be precise) of Town Hall Commons. It's a sort of horseshoe-shaped structure with a brick facade to complement Town Hall Commons. 

The two buildings alone take up three blocks on the west side of Main Street and certainly give the downtown corridor a different — and modern — look. And there is unused space south of The Block on Main for even more development, if the town is open to it, if not already considering or planning it.

When I read about the opening in the local daily newspaper last week, I felt compelled to return to Holly Springs and check it out, which is what I did on Dec. 4 before heading to Cary to take the Downtown Park photos that comprised the previous post at this blog.

The photo leading off today’s post shows one of The Block on Main's most distinguished features -- an open, below-street-level courtyard with tiered, backless, brick-and-concrete bench-type casual seating, presumably for visitors and employees to use while taking meals or work breaks, or just to relax during nice weather. Two other views of this seating area are shown in the images immediately below.

To view a full gallery of shots from my recent visit to downtown Holly Springs, follow the link in this sentence.    

Above and next three below are shots of The Block on Main's four sides, beginning with the north side above, followed by the east side below, then west side (second below) and finally, the open ended south side. On its website, the Block on Main has a cool overhead video of the property taken using a drone camera.

Above: The Block on Main's north facade, as seen from the parking garage of Town Hall Commons. 

Above and below: Examples of season decorations on windows in The Block on Main. 

Above: The stairway leading to the backless bench seating (behind the "More Shops" sign on the left). 

 

Revisiting the completed Town Hall Commons (above) and a long focal-range compression shot (below) encompassing the town's water tower along with the steeple of Kirk of Holly Springs Presbyterian Church (right) and backside of First Baptist Church (left).