THOMASVILLE – Construction crews spent Thursday morning installing an amphitheater in Thomasville that officials say will further help revitalize the city’s downtown.

Members of People Achieving Community Enhancement, a city committee, have been planning for several months an amphitheater and park in the former Belk parking lot near Memorial Park. Officials had a crane on the site of the amphitheater Thursday to start piecing together the structure.

“I think this is going to be one of the cornerstones of the revitalization of downtown Thomasville,” said Martin Beale, a PACE member. “This is definitely going to be an anchor block here, with the farmer’s market and the amphitheater and park here now.”

Just in time for the Everybody’s Day festival on Sept. 26, the amphitheater should be completed in a week.

“I’m real excited that it will be ready for Everybody’s Day,” said David Yemm, a Thomasville City Council member. “They are going to have one of the gospel stages here. I’m just ready for it to be used for a good downtown attraction.”

Ben Watford, a PACE member, said earlier this year an amphitheater is a continuation of implementing ideas put forward in an Urban Design Assistance Team report. A group of UDAT planners came to Thomasville in 1999 to conduct a study on redeveloping the city’s downtown. Two of the suggestions were a park in downtown and a Thomasville Farmers Market, which PACE helped start several years ago.

According to Beale and Yemm, the amphitheater was made possible through a donation from Sue Hunter, a PACE member, and her family in honor of her late husband Dr. Jim Hunter, a former Thomasville councilman. The amphitheater is expected to be named after the former Thomasville physician and city official.

After Everybody’s Day, PACE is planning on tearing up the parking lot to plant trees and grass, as well as placing benches on the city-owned property. Aside from Everybody’s Day, the amphitheater will be used for year-round events, such as concerts and church services.