You might say that real estate and real estate development is in Reece Riggle’s blood.

After all, his grandfather, Don Yeager, has run a successful property evaluation and appraisal business for many years, and his grandmother, Carolyn Yeager, is one of the most successful realtors in Ardmore.

“I basically grew up in my grandmother’s office two or three days a week and was around realtors all the time,” Riggle said. “Then when I was about 14, I started working for my grandfather measuring houses for his appraisal business.”

In spite of his background, Riggle said he never thought about going into real estate himself until going to college.

“It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized real estate isn’t a bad gig,” he said. “That’s when I started mentoring with my grandfather.”

After graduating from Southeastern with a degree in safety and a minor in business, Riggle returned to Ardmore and began a career doing appraisals.

In 2017, he purchased this historic Exchange National Bank building at 101 W. Main St. His uncle, Todd Yeager, purchased the building next door. The renovation process on both these buildings spurred Riggle’s enthusiasm for downtown Ardmore.

“These buildings needed a lot of work,” Riggle said. “And luckily we were able to get some sweat equity into them and make them what they are today.”

Yeager turned his building into Marvin’s Place Art Gallery. Riggle’s building is now home to the Ardmore Main Street Authority on the first floor and several offices on the second floor.

Restoring the building’s original details and keeping its historic charm was a major priority during the renovation process. Riggle is especially proud of the doors in his building.

“Upstairs at 101 we have all of these old doors,” he said. “They’re all original, and when I got the place, they basically had layers of paint going back 100 years. We were able to clean them off, sand them down, and restain them.

“It was only eight doors, but it took me two months to do by hand. That was me going in with a heat gun and a puddy knife and scraping all the gunk off. I can promise you, there’s nobody more proud of doors than I am of those.”

Riggle said he would love to see other historic downtown buildings similarly restored.

“I’m just one guy with one small building,” he said. “I’ve got eight small pocket offices upstairs, and I office out of two of them. But that means there are six people in the other offices coming to work downtown every day. Because they’re downtown they might go grab a coffee, or have lunch at a downtown restaurant, or check out one of the shops.

“Just think what it would mean for downtown if 10 other people did the same thing with their buildings. I love downtown Ardmore and want to see it grow.”

To help encourage growth, Riggle volunteers regularly with the Ardmore Main Street Authority, helping with their committees and events.

“We had a great event with D. Allen Wint’s ‘Let’s Get Souped’ fundraiser, and I think people really enjoyed themselves,” he said. “Main Street also does amazing things for Christmas and great events like the Pecan Festival and Depot Days. I’m all for anything that gets more people downtown.”

Riggle believes a thriving downtown makes a thriving Ardmore. And Ardmore is home.

“I’m a fourth generation Ardmoreite, and this is home,” he said. “I’m proud of Ardmore, and I want to continue the progress being made. I want this to be the kind of place where my kids will want to stay and make homes of their own.”