Spend public money on downtown
The following is a Counterpoint column:
By Ronnie Dotson
With all due respect to the many who have vested so much of their energy and money into the "rebirth" of downtown Greensboro, the depiction of our downtown in recent articles -- as "Downtown Turnaround" and "Upbeat About Downtown" -- has, unfortunately, become somewhat pathetic.
Granted, the downtown market has certainly evolved over the past five years. But, exactly where does it stand today? Is it really the vibrant, bustling residential/commerce/entertainment hub that it is portrayed to be?
For those who happen to frequent downtown on a regular basis, it's a well-known fact that there is only one real pulse of livelihood on the streets of downtown Greensboro today: the local pulse.
My intent here isn't to ridicule what has been accomplished but, rather, to sound a wake-up call to those who somehow believe that the center city renaissance doesn't need a substantial public monetary commitment to take it to the next level and to ensure the long-term solvency of many of the specialty boutiques and retailers beginning to dot the downtown streetscape.
The optimism of many downtown developers will be easily displaced by skepticism as potential investors continue to witness the revolving storefronts.
My message here is simple. Downtown Greensboro has an unprecedented opportunity -- with an ACC museum and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum -- to finally begin to establish that long-sought critical mass, a mass that will ultimately have to consist of much more than local foot traffic. The potential synergy between both museums, if centrally located, is undeniable.
Wake up, City Council. Private money has funded the Center City Park as well as First Horizon baseball stadium. A city's dreams can't be built entirely by the private sector. With potential federal funding for a new courthouse, let's transform the old federal courthouse into a home for our truly unique ACC museum, replete with compelling interactive journeys, not just another glorified exhibit hall with commemorative plaques.
Let's put it on the '06 referendum and seek out matching grants from the conference it pays homage to -- the ACC -- and the corporation that supposedly still believes in Greensboro — Lincoln Financial, also known as Jefferson-Pilot.
The writer lives in Greensboro.
Comments (1)
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I certainly hope you are not suggesting that more tax dollars be spent on the new "white elephant" the Civil Rights Museum! What a crock. So far the only new thing to come out of that farse is the mismanagement of funding that has produced nothing. As a matter of fact, just last year they were asking for someting like 2 million more dollars to finish it, but suddenly after they were asked to prove where previous monies had gone we didnt hear another word about it.
Posted on February 7, 2006 3:45 PM