I've been coming to work in downtown Brighton for five years (officially in two weeks) but, I have to tell you, driving here this morning I caught a really good vibe. United Lumber is closing (bummer) but the thought of a cultural center with a library and theater is exciting. They're furiously working on the old Brighton Depot and it should be open soon. There are plans for a downtown minor league baseball stadium on the north end of Main Street. I think that would really be cool. The catch is voters will to have approve it. And I hate to be the buzzkill, especially when I'm the one touting the buzz, but I don't see a town that has to have its arm twisted and be beaten over the head multiples times with a large wooden stick (courtesy of United Lumber) in order to build new schools will sign off on a baseball stadium. Hey, but that's just me, mildly cynical. But, I like the feel of downtown now. I like the fact that people have taken the redevelopment effort in to their own hands rather than waiting for the Western Bar (closed by the way) to be become a beacon of cultural renaissance.
