FERRIDAY – Chris Vaughan received quite a shock when he picked up Wednesday’s newspaper – but in a good way. Vaughan, president of Ferriday’s Chamber of Commerce, was referring to reports that a Ferriday native and his relatives had donated almost an entire downtown block to the town for use in boosting economic development.

&uot;It was a quite a shock,&uot;&160;Vaughan said. &uot;I had not even heard that (donation) had happened until then.&uot;

Councilman Sammy Davis Jr. said after Tuesday’s Town Council meeting that Joe Pasternack Jr. had called him out of the blue that day to offer the building. That donation is thought to be one of the largest buildings the town has ever received.

&uot;We can’t wait to get our hands on it,&uot;&160;Councilman Billy Rucker said following the meeting.

So the council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the donation of the building, which is located on First Street between Louisiana and Texas avenues.

Pasternack, a Ferriday native who now lives in New Orleans, confirmed during a visit to Concordia Parish this week that he and sister Betty Claire Samuels will donate the building.

&uot;The Town of Ferriday has been very good to my sister and me, and we want to do something to help jump start Ferriday, to bring in business and industry,&uot; Pasternack said.

&uot;The mayor (Glen McGlothin) and the council seem to be making a genuine effort … to get Ferriday on the right road. We thought this might help.&uot;

The building housed the Pasternack’s store beginning in 1913. The building housed a variety of businesses – furniture, clothing, grocery, hardware and drug stores, said Pasternack – before closing in 1983.

Vaughan called the donation &uot;a step in the right direction&uot; but added that town leaders need to meet quickly to come up with a plan for its use.

&uot;How much good this (donation) does will depend on what we do with it,&uot;&160;said Vaughan, who favors a mini-mall use for the building. &uot;The town really needs to sit down and think this out and come up with a plan.&uot;

&uot;Such a large building in the middle of a historic district could become an anchor for downtown,&uot; said Chip Rogers, vice president of the Ferriday-based Macon Ridge Economic Development Region.

Rogers, who said Macon Ridge could help find funding to renovate the building, envisions the building housing a small business incubator, mini-mall, professional offices or a combination of the three. The second floor could be made into apartments, he added.

Davis favors using the building to attract new businesses and industries. He pointed out that several industrial prospects have located elsewhere because Ferriday does not have buildings available for them. Davis called the donation &uot;very generous,&uot; adding that &uot;it seems Mr. Pasternack just wants to give something back to the community.&uot;

Most people think of economic development as attracting large industries, but both Vaughan and Rogers said attracting small businesses to the area will go a long way to boosting the area’s sagging economy.

&uot;Your first instinct is to go after the big industry, but Ferriday will probably do better by attracting small to medium-sized businesses,&uot; Vaughan said.

&uot;Small businesses create steady job growth for a community,&uot; Rogers added.