Number of buildings sold 2017-2023: 40
New residential or currently in build-out phases: 15+
Number of residences currently downtown: 95
Number of businesses in the Municipal Service District: 147
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Do you remember what downtown was like a few years ago? Do you recall how things just dried up when DuPont left, when the textile mills closed, and people moved out of Kinston?
Do you remember when most of the stores left downtown for the shiny new mall essentially eviscerating the downtown of most commercial activity?
Do you remember when the beloved mall abandoned you and the City?
Do you remember when Queen Street was a 4-lane highway and was just as unattractive as one?
We have seen many millions of public and private dollars invested in downtown since revitalization began in earnest in 1984 thanks to visionaries and influencers like John Marston, Stephen Hill, Tonya and Waylon Adams, Vivian Howard, Rob Bizzell, Cam McCrae, Steve and Christina Lovick, Ted Sampley, Dunn & Dalton Architects, Brandon Potter, Jess Edwards, Chris Moore, the City of Kinston, Electricities, Duke Energy and too many others to list including supporters not physically located downtown, plus all the businesses that chose to locate downtown, and cannot overlook the recent award-winning $8M Queen Street redesign.
Just since 2017, 40 buildings sold downtown. The desire for new downtown residential and commercial spaces has increased. All the new commercial and residential spaces planned are a significant indicator that something good IS happening downtown.
Let us not forget, too, that in this same short timeframe the new Rotary Gazebo overlooking the river was built, the African-American Music Park appeared, the on-going Maplewood Cemetery improvements, the Shirley Herring Memorial Garden that is in progress, all of the privately funded lights strung throughout the entire downtown and the liveliness it adds to evenings, as well as the growth of our public art collection of murals and sculptures, and the ongoing building improvements. We should also note that over 147 businesses exist downtown to serve us all in the 28 square blocks of the Municipal Service District, that Christmas events and BBQ Festival on the Neuse bring many thousands of people to downtown, and how we now see more businesses opening than closing.
THIS is revitalization / community economic development; the many gears of the endeavor fueled by the efforts, energy, enthusiasm, passion, generosity and drive of the many who care to be involved in one way or another and are rowing in the same direction to make downtown better.
Together we are making a difference. Lots of good is happening downtown.