Chatham Competition Alley Renovation

Chatham, Va.- Between two brick buildings along Main Street in Chatham, sits Competition Alley.

"Just a depressing little alley way between two tall buildings."

That's what most of the community considers it now. But Competition Alley isn't just any old alley way. This is the last original alley from the 1800s town of Competition. The plan is to transform it from this eye-sore, to a place where the town of Chatham can gather and just have fun.

For people to use for Farmer's Markets, vending, birthday parties, class outings, 5 o'clock music on Friday afternoons," said Mary Lee Black.

The possibilities are endless, according to Black. She is one of the co-chairs for the group Chatham First. They worked tirelessly for the final six weeks of 2014, and raised $50,000 for the project. An anonymous donor matched their$50,000, for a total of $100,000 to spruce up this old alleyway.

Joe Rogers is the other co-chair of Chatham First. He showed us some drawings of what he what he wants the alley way to look like.

"There will be a plaza, Rogers said. It will be a public venue. If people would like to take their lunches out there when the weather is nice, have lunch."

The goal is to have this alley way complete by mid-summer. The new competition alley will also have murals painted to represent the history of Competition and Chatham. They also plan to put in some Gazebos.

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Chatham Competition Alley Renovation