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An elegant, privately financed ballpark has been built in downtown Greensboro and -- contrary to all the doomsayers -- the world did not end as we know it. In fact, the ballpark has helped energize downtown's resurgence.

A pair of proposed major developments for shops, offices and residences -- the $85 million Bellemeade Village and a $21 million makeover of the old Wachovia tower -- were inspired by the presence of that once-controversial stadium.

Conventional wisdom holds that stadiums rarely spark economic revitalization, that they tend to take in more public dollars than they'll ever give back. But First Horizon Park wasn't built with public dollars. And it's hard to imagine a Bellemeade Village sprouting up beside the grungy old Social Services Building that once occupied the site.

Some critics also lamented that the city and county were passing up a prime opportunity to remodel the old Social Services complex into residences.

They were right; downtown needed more people, something a ballpark would provide only seasonally. But now we may have our cake and eat it, too, especially if both the Wachovia and Bellemeade projects succeed.

Melvin, 71, who heads the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, also was one of the principal architects of Action Greensboro. I don't know what Greensboro would have done without this alliance of six local foundations, which jolted this town out of a civic malaise and bankrolled a boatload of major initiatives. We did more talking than doing in those days, and more bickering than building.
"We were in deep yogurt," Melvin said Friday. "We had lost our momentum as a community. We had lost our pride and we were willing to accept mediocrity."

Also, Melvin was the major force in attracting a law school for downtown Greensboro. Elon will renovate the old Central Library on the corner of Greene Street and Friendly Avenue by next January. The school plans to open by the fall of 2006 and could name a new dean as soon as this week.

True, Elon wanted to come here all along, but Melvin worked tirelessly to grease the skids by working rooms and raising $10 million from local contributors to help finance the project.

The law school will bring even more people to downtown, an estimated 40 to 45 staff members and 300 students. Still, Melvin gets few bouquets for his efforts.

For a man whose name graces City Hall, he ain't all that popular in some circles.

He has been tied to more conspiracy theories than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at.

Some believe he wants to be mayor for life. Some see him as a my-way-or-the-highway kind of guy. Some say he sees only his vision for Greensboro, not anyone else's. Some seem to dislike him simply because he's there.

If Melvin said the sky was blue, Rhinoceros Times Editor John Hammer probably would insist it's chartreuse. And if he wanted to build a ballpark on the moon, local gadfly Bill Burckley would find a reason to oppose it.

But it's hard to argue with the results. "We're not there yet but we're getting there," Melvin said, hinting that more downtown announcements are in the offing.

"We've turned the corner."

Meanwhile, the former mayor, who is as opinionated and outspoken as any of his critics, seems to take most of his detractors in stride.

"I love critics because that means we're doing something," he said.

But don't they get under his skin at least a little bit?

"Naw," he said.

Then he added, using language not quite as randy as Dick Cheney's last year on the Senate floor, "Blank em."

Contact Allen Johnson at ajohnson@news-record.com or visit his blog at http:/blog.news-record.com/staff/outloud/