THE COMMONWEALTH HOSTS RIBBON CUTTING

The Commonwealth hosted a ribbon cutting in partnership with the Centralia Chamber of Commerce Thursday, March 21, to celebrate the end of its first phase of construction, which included the full renovation of its three retail spaces, Monroe Deen, Go Gurl Beauty Supply, and Trends Dress Shop.

Those who attended visited each business and were given a firsthand look at the building’s west end, where construction is still underway. A fourth retail/office space and restaurant are expected downstairs, with five apartment spaces - three one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments - being built upstairs.

Speaking the large crowd at the ceremony, owner Tyler Fleeman wished to thank the businesses located at The Commonwealth, the Fleeman family for their support, and the construction crews currently renovating the space.

“We’ve just completed Phase 1, which is why we’re all here today. Over the next six months-to-a-year we plan to do the rest of the project,” Fleeman said. “I just want to say thank you to the businesses that we have here. I know it can be pretty tough to stay open with all of the construction we have going on. A big thank you to my family for all of their support, and to all of the construction for the awesome job they’ve done.”

Centralia Mayor Bryan Kuder also said a few words before the ribbon cutting, saying he was excited to see the renovations, particularly the upstairs apartments and planned revival of the historic Green Grill restaurant.

“I’m excite about this. This whole block, the iconic Green Grill, for somebody to open that back up, it’s very [good for] the city,” Kuder said. “And to touch on something else, the apartments you guys are building, that does nothing but help the city also when it comes to housing.”