Jason A. Smith | The Valdosta Daily TimesStacy Lewis and Andrew Denmark cut a ribbon for the renovation of their downtown building at 105-113 E. Central Ave. 

VALDOSTA — Businesses, residents and Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce members joined together Friday to observe the renovation of a downtown building.

Building owners and newlyweds Stacy Lewis and Andrew Denmark purchased the building, 105-113 W. Central Ave., about a year ago, Lewis said.

The first and third floor were developed, but the 8,000-square-foot second floor was not.

“It had no power, no water, no nothing; it was a big, open, 8,000-square-foot, empty shell,” Lewis said.

Denmark described the second floor as “four walls and ceiling” before it was renovated.

The three-story building has two businesses operating in it: Azalea Health and Farmer’s Insurance.

There is one space available for rent, Lewis said. She is hoping to fill the second-floor space with a commercial office.

Lewis and Denmark decided to purchase the building as a way to preserve some of the history of Valdosta.

“We both have loved old buildings, we love antiques, we both love keeping the historic part of Valdosta here, and that was our whole goal with this floor,” Lewis said.

To keep the historic feel of the building Lewis and Denmark kept the old floor by sanding it down, applying a polyurethane and repairing wood that needed to be repaired, Lewis said. There are columns on the second floor that are native to the building and have been restored.

Lewis took some time during the ribbon-cutting ceremony to thank the contract workers for all of the work and effort they put into the building.

“This would have never been possible without them; we can have a dream all we want, but technically, we can’t do that without the right people,” Lewis said. “We did learn that through this process if you don’t have the right people working with you there will be difficulties and problems.”

Denmark said the time and effort the two have put into the building during the last year have been worth it. He noted there have been many “beautiful” buildings that have been torn down throughout the years in Valdosta.

“I would say it’s gratifying knowing that we have put a lot of time and effort into restoring something that is over 100 years old,” Denmark said. “We tried to keep it as old as we could, as rustic as we could. Once it’s gone, we can’t replace it. … It’s nice to be able to preserve something that is still here.”

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.