Back in 2011, Abilene native Tim Smith had the idea to take the old fire station and former home to the Day Nursery of Abilene on South 7th and Elmwood and flip it into Firehouse Fitness gym. This project eventually grew into another location on Buffalo Gap Road. 

A couple of years after tackling that task, he turned his eyes to a dilapidated building at 817 South 2nd that had been abandoned and boarded up for years. His thought was to take the building down its shell and rebuild his home within the walls of the old structure.

Some people might have thought he was crazy, and he admits that he had some people tell him to his face that it was a crazy idea. But it worked. And it started a revitalization in that part of Abilene that has come to be known as the South of Downtown Abilene (SoDA) District. Not long after the house was finished, a couple of other places opened, and soon, Abilene had two parts of its downtown that were giving citizens entertainment options seven nights a week.

“I get called ’SoDA Pop’ a lot,” said Smith, who has played the lead role in revitalizing a part of Abilene that had been left for dead.

Smith grew up in Abilene and graduated from Abilene High School in 1987, one year after he won the Class 5A state gymnastics championship in the all-around. He received a scholarship to Redford University for gymnastics but left after one year and went to Angelo State University, where he earned a degree in 1991. It was in San Angelo where he re-connected with Pam Wood, his junior high and high school girlfriend, and the two of them were married in 1991. The Smiths have two children: Brandon and a 26-year-old non-verbal, autistic daughter named Meagan, whom Smith calls “the most influential person in my life.”

Tim and Pam moved to Houston shortly after they were married before returning to Abilene, realizing that “I couldn’t wait to leave Abilene, and then I couldn’t wait to get back,” he said. “Living in Houston will do that to you. This community is the type that I value.”

He’s made a heavy investment in the community, especially over the last 12 years, leading the charge to revitalize Abilene and not backing down when the voices of dissent grew louder. He’s taken on city and county leadership and ruffled a few feathers along the way, something he admits, and something, he says, doesn’t bother him because of what he’s trying to do.

Smith recently joined us for a question-and-answer session to discuss how he ended up living in a building that should have been condemned, his reputation, what’s next for the SoDA District, and how his daughter has influenced him over the last 26 years.

Q: Tell me about growing up in Abilene and some of the teachers you met who influenced you.

Smith: “I was born and raised here, as were my parents, who graduated from Cooper High School. I lived on Westview Drive and had a great childhood. I went to Johnston (now Purcell) Elementary School, where I met Eugene Purcell, whom I still talk to quite a bit. My gymnastics coach at Abilene High – Bob Sanderson – had a great influence on my life, as well as so many other teachers along the way. I grew up here and then couldn’t wait to leave here. Long story short: I lived in Houston and some other places before I realized I loved Abilene, Texas, and came back.”

How did you get started in gymnastics, and when was the last time you did anything related to gymnastics?

Smith: “I started doing gymnastics when I was nine years. My mom put me in it because I was apparently a very energetic kid. I was walking on my hands out in the yard when I was little. They bought me a trampoline, and I got pretty good at that, and I guess they thought I needed to get into gymnastics. It was like a duck to water. The last gymnastics I did was at the ‘Bald Men in Bad Wigs’ fundraiser in February 2022, where I tore my Achilles tendon. That was the end of my gymnastics career. The lesson learned was that I shouldn’t have been doing mule kicks at 52 years old. But my gymnastics career is now definitely over.”

Q: What got you started in real estate and, eventually, real estate development?

Smith: “I saw how fickle corporate America can be. I had a job with Pearson Digital Learning as an educational consultant, and that job took me to Houston. We were waiting on an $11 million military contract that hadn’t come through, but I was about to buy a house and was slightly concerned. I went to the company and asked if I should buy the house, and they told me I was secure and to go ahead and buy the house. And then I was immediately laid off. I already had a few rentals at that point, which made me start thinking about doing my own thing. We moved back to Abilene, and I decided I wanted to own real estate and be my boss rather than work for someone else again. About two months later, Pearson Digital called back and needed my help. They had laid everyone off, the military contract came through, and they had no one to implement the program. I told them I would come back, but I’m not moving to Houston, and this is the amount of money I want to do the job, and those are my terms. And they said ‘OK.’ But I decided I wasn’t going to depend on that company – or any other company – again. The $11 million contract was a five-year deal, and I decided by the time that was up that I wanted to have enough real estate to do that full-time, and that’s exactly what I did.”

Q: You started this off by renovating an old building on South 7th into Firehouse Fitness, and you had other properties being developed simultaneously. What was it, then, that drew your attention to the part of town that would become known as the SoDA District?

Smith: When I bought the old fire station on South 7th and Elmwood in 2011, that kind of made me think more about commercial property, and I flipped almost entirely into commercial property and real estate development. I kind of stumbled into that, and here I am now. As far as the SoDA District, I had seen what could be done with a challenging piece of property, and all of these buildings were boarded up and vacant and had been for a very long time. It was the challenge of turning a troubled property into something.”

Q: What was your original idea for this piece of downtown, and has its evolution been in line with what you envisioned when you first started developing the area?

Smith: “There was no vision outside of taking the building at 817 South 2nd and turning it into a non-traditional home inside the structure’s walls. The courtyard was our backyard; we had big dogs back there. We had no intention of doing the wedding venue. But the second we got that finished, we noticed the traffic around here. People were circling the block at night to look at the courtyard. Then somebody asked if they could do a fundraiser there, and we said yes. The music and lighting were great, and it was a perfect atmosphere for things like that. That’s when I realized this could be so much more home than just our home in the center of all these vacant properties. That’s when I focused on developing this area.”

Q: What did Pam say when you told her you wanted to buy an old business property and turn it into your home?

Smith:I thought I would have to sell that. We had a dream home on Riverside Park in a private neighborhood with a guest house and a pool, and I was thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’ I brought her in and told her what I wanted to do, and she said, ‘Let’s do it. This will be a fun project.’ She’s never been materialistic, and she’s told people that she agreed to it because ‘Tim always does what he says he’ll do.’ “

Q: You’ve been primarily responsible for revitalizing that part of Abilene with several businesses in place and, soon, the first full-service restaurant (Matera Bar and Grill, opening May 1). What’s the feeling you get whenever you’re down there?

Smith: “There’s a sense of responsibility to keep developing it and making it the best it can be. Unfortunately, I’m the face of the SoDA District, which is good and bad. Some of the things I hear, I wonder where they come from. Unfortunately, I get credit for many things I’m not necessarily a part of, just like I’m blamed for things that don’t have my name on them.”

Q: You have a reputation – good or bad – as someone who’s not afraid to ruffle feathers if you think it’s for the good of Abilene. How has that served you over the years?

Smith: “That reputation doesn’t bother me at all. Some people are passive and won’t fight for things. I mentor many young people who think they want to be entrepreneurs, and I’ll look some of them in the face and tell them they aren’t cut out for it, and here’s why. Or, you are, but here are your challenges. Will you let people, government, or regulation back you into a corner, or will you fight for your business? The adage is that people are either fight or flight, and I will stay and fight.”

Q: How do you handle the negativity from people who don’t get your vision?

Smith: “I use it for motivation. I’m not sure it’s entirely healthy to get your motivation from negative things, but I hold onto those negative comments – and they’re always there – and I take it as a challenge. I knew this property at 817 South 2nd (Smith’s former house and now Moose Mountain Coffee) had a lot of potential, but I was told by several people–including people who should have been supportive – that the building should have just been torn down. I was told that it needed to be torn down, but spending the money and rebuilding it was my decision and no one else’s.”

Q: What’s on the horizon for the SoDA District, and is there ever a finished product where that area of the city is concerned?

Smith: “I don’t know if it will ever be a finished product. This little area was a grass-roots revitalization that is ongoing. It has its challenges as much as its victories. The traffic count over here is high. If you’re coming to the SoDA District, it’s for a specific purpose. It’s been two steps forward and one step back. When Sockdolager Brewing Co. decided not to renew, people began making assumptions that everyone was closing. I posted something on Facebook that the sky wasn’t falling. I knew we had the restaurant coming, but I wasn’t in a spot where I could say anything about it.”

Q: Is there another area in Abilene where you’d like to see revitalization on a scale similar to the SoDA District?

Smith: I would love to see some focus on Butternut Street. ‘The Friendly Mile’ – as it used to be called – that’s not so friendly anymore. I believe that area needs some time and attention and an influx of investors to change that space’s look and feel. I’m not sure what that would look like. I would imagine it used to have a lot of mom-and-pop shops, and I’m sure it could be that again at some point. There are some challenges to getting Butternut rehabbed, but it could be done.”

Q: Finally, you’re a devoted dad and husband, and you and your wife have fought for your daughter for her entire 26 years. How has having a special needs daughter changed your perspective?

Smith: “Meagan has shaped who I am. She’s the most influential person in my life, and she’s never spoken a word. I value the simple things, the small blessings. The things most people take for granted every day, Pam and I don’t. We’ve been at death’s door with her several times, so the lens you view your life through gets smaller. She’s 26 and totally non-verbal, and still very medically fragile. And quite frankly, she wouldn’t still be alive if Pam wasn’t a self-taught nurse. She is Meagan’s guardian angel in many ways. The doctor at Cook Children’s Hospital (in Fort Worth) has said she’s still alive because we’re her parents. Pam is the angel, and I’m the bulldog, and it’s taken both at different times to make sure Meagan gets what she needs. It’s made me appreciate life more than I probably have without her. She cannot do certain things, and it’s made me realize that God’s given me these talents, and I need to use them to their fullest potential, and that’s what I try to do. I can speak; I should use my voice. I should change the things I think I can have an influence on and make things better. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”