Mesquite Leaders Hope Things Will Start Looking Up for Downtown

MESQUITE — It has been decades since real estate on the square in downtown Mesquite lived up to its potential. But that didn't stop Lance Hopkins and a partner from investing in a storefront to launch an antiques business, Relics in Time, in July. Hopkins' wife, a Mesquite native, already had her heartstrings attached to Main Street and Hopkins said he got caught up in he euphoria, too. "I fell in love with the building," he said.City leaders are hoping other business owners will soon get excited about possibilities in downtown as well. Early next year, the city staff will decide whether downtown is worth public dollars to resuscitate. Then the elected officials, the Mesquite City Council, will be asked to approve any recommended funding. "We struggle, but we try every day," Hopkins said. "You have to have stable small businesses to maintain and you can't wait five years to redevelop downtown. All of us know the clock is ticking."  Continue reading...