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DELAND, Fla. — City officials say a historically Black district in DeLand will be receiving some significant improvements over the next few years.

Voorhis Avenue is in line to receive upgrades as part of a $500,000 streetscape project to support wider sidewalks, trees, and a traffic-calming circle, among other plans.

Residents say they believe the efforts could bring new life to a section of town that once thrived with businesses.

“We think we’re going to revitalize this area,” said Al Bouie, a longtime Greater Union First Baptist Church member. “Our goal is to have an area that is so attractive that those who are visiting the city center will want to ride their bicycles or walk down here and visit."

While the city works to complete the plans for a revamp, a separate restoration project has already begun. 

The J.W. Wright building is more than a century old and experts say it used to serve as a one-stop shop for Black residents during segregation.

“To me, it’s thrilling,” said Mark Shuttleworth, the project manager for the J.W. Wright project.

Preserving history throughout Central Florida is something Shuttleworth has been doing since 1981. For as long as he can remember, he said he’s always appreciated architecture, design, and handcrafted furniture that can endure the test of time.

What began years ago as collecting antiques he felt could be reused, has ultimately developed into a business that many say is now a valuable resource based out of DeLand.

“I looked for items and realized no one was saving anything," Shuttleworth said. "They were bulldozing everything — no one was doing any salvage work out of Central Florida."

His shop, Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage, is Shuttleworth's idea of bringing the past to the present and allowing his neighbors to find that specific piece they have been looking to gain.

For the last four years, he and others in the community have been working to preserve the history the J.W. Wright building represents.

“Well, what I’m trying to do is find matching hardware,” Shuttleworth said as he thumbed through old door handles. “This is the restoration of the 1920s commercial downtown DeLand building.”

He said it was a location necessary to complete business or have work done on your teeth by the first Black dentist in town.

But over the years, the building became worn down and unoccupied.

As the project manager for its restoration, Shuttlworth said efforts to rejuvenate the building now look promising.

“I love these old brackets because they’re so cool, and you just hang the sign from them, mount it on the building, and it looks great," he said, holding up an antique piece of metal. "So much better than a plastic sign."

Officials say a lot of money is going into the community staple to bring it back to life. In July, the building received a state grant for $500,000 to help with the restoration project. And in February, it was deemed worthy of preservation by the National Register of Historic Places.

“Look at how beautiful," Shuttleworth said as he examined what would be the main entrance. "And these were newly made to duplicate what was here originally."

He’s spent a lot of time working in the J.W. Wright building, which he takes pride in bringing back to life.

He said DeLand is also a community dear to his family, so having this opportunity to restore history is a moment he believes is essential for the city.

“I’m pretty much here every day doing something because that’s what it takes," he said.