Incentives
Welcome to Downtown Toccoa!
Main Street Toccoa is pleased that you are interested in locating your business in beautiful Historic Downtown Toccoa! Downtown Toccoa has many wonderful things to offer you, including a quaint and scenic atmosphere, friendly people, pedestrian foot traffic, ample parking, and easy accessibility. In addition to these features, locating your business in Historic Downtown Toccoa offers you several incentives that you won't find elsewhere. These include several grant programs listed below:
- Facade Grant Funding
- Currahee Beautification Grant Funding
Click the above links for more information on each downtown funding program, or follow this link for an overview of downtown funding.
Additionally, Downtown Toccoa serves as the heart and soul of the City of Toccoa. The economic anchor of Downtown Toccoa is the Historic Ritz Theatre at the Schaefer Center. Located on the National and Georgia Registers of Historic Places, the Ritz Theatre was obtained by the City of Toccoa in 2014 and has been extensively renovated. Here are a few facts regarding the Ritz Theatre that will serve to assist with the economic vitality of your business, and Downtown Toccoa at large.
- The Ritz Theatre is home to a state-of-the-art sound system with surround sound capability. The Ritz also houses a large screen and projector that is used for movie showings.
- The Ritz Theatre has featured the likes of James Brown, the Drifters, James Gregory, Lightwire Theater, Gary Morris, Larry Gatlin, and more.
- In 2016, the Ritz Theatre held 123 shows with 19,444 in attendance. This is double the shows and triple the attendance of 2015. Since then, we see over 100 shows annually with over 20,000 in attendance.
Downtown Toccoa also serves as a wonderful tourist attraction for history, events, and more.
Featuring historic structures like the Stephens County Courthouse and the Simmons-Bond Inn, stop and marvel at over 50 historic plaques on downtown properties. And if that is not enough for the historically-minded tourist, Main Street Toccoa hosts multiple yearly events that draw thousands to Downtown Toccoa.
Every Saturday in June, July, and August, head to Downtown Toccoa for the Ida Cox Music Series. This event brings an average of 550-600 individuals to Downtown Toccoa for live music, food, beer, wine, and more. Enjoy a drink on the streets, shop at your favorite restaurants, and listen to the music in a quiant historic atmosphere.
Also occuring during the summertime is Summer Movies at the Ritz. This weekly event series showcases wonderful movies for families and dates in Historic Downtown Toccoa.
The beginning of May features Toast of Toccoa, an art, beer, and wine festival that draws over 4,000 people downtown for a multi-hour event featuring the best beer, wine, and art in Northeast Georgia.
In October, Currahee Military Weekend brings thousands downtown for reenactments, a parade, walking tours, and more, while the Harvest Festival brings near 14,000 individuals to Downtown Toccoa for a two-day event celebrating crafts, food, games, and the changing of the seasons.
ChristmasFest occurs at the beginning of December and features multiple events, including Christmas movies at the Ritz Theatre, carraige rides, a live nativity, and Toccoa on Ice, a month-long artificial ice skating rink.
Various other events take place during the year, but one thing can be assured:
There is always something to do and some place to be in Historic Downtown Toccoa.
