Beach trip
Just spent a couple days' worth of R&R on the coast, in Beaufort, N.C.
One of the greatest pleasures of the trip was our stay at the Pecan Tree Inn, a delightful bed & breakfast operated by a former News & Record colleague, David DuBuisson, and his wife, Allison.
Dave, a former editorial page editor and editorial writer at the News & Record, and his better half retired early and seized their dream to operate their own B&B on the coast. Dave and I reminsiced and probably talked too much politics. His, by the way, was one of the 4,000-plus ballots lost in the Carteret voting machine SNAFU that helped tangle last year's state elections.
Otherwise, the weather was perfect and a catamaran trip to Cape Lookout alone was worth the four-hour drive from Greensboro.
We also enjoyed the restaurants, especially the Spouter Inn, where we got the chance to have dinner on the harbor front (I could have reached out and touched the water from our table).
A footnote: Beaufort is revitalizing its already elegant waterfront with help from federal Community Development block grant funding.
Some might argue that such money shouldn't go to a playground for the at least reasonably well-off (present company excepted). But the enhancement of Beaufort's tourism industry certainly benefits the entire local economy.
Greensboro has wrangled with the idea of whether such money ought to channeled into downtown revitalization. Some critics savaged city leaders a few years ago when they considered using Community Development money to help prepare the original South Elm/Lee Street site for the new downtown ballpark.
The fuss almost sunk the stadium idea altogether. And it delayed the City Council doing something about an area that sorely needs attention (fortunately, the council finally figured that out and the city is workng on a revitalization plan.)
Almost all Community Development money traditionally has gone to affordable housing in Greensboro. That speaks well of the city's priorities.
However, there is more to developing communities than affordable housing. I say yes, spend some of those funds downtown. And continue to put the rest into affordable housing. A strong, vibrant downtown benefits us all. Plus, downtown needs affordable housing, too, doesn't it?
Comments (6)
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How cool to see that you enjoyed the catamaran trip to Cape Lookout! When did you go? We went on Monday... calm seas and a NE breeze meant few thrills and shells, but a beautiful day regardless. This was our 9th year taking this trip, and it just gets more fun every time. So sad that you're back in Greensboro - it's still a great week on the coast! Terri O.
Posted on August 3, 2005 9:32 PM
Allen: Beaufort has a new wine bar, called The Wine Store, on Turner Street, just off Front Street. It's calm and lovely and a great place to spend a lazy summer afternoon, with a glass of great wine and that special someone. If you and your wife haven't visited yet, you must! Greensboro needs one just like it downtown, so I'm hoping some investor reads this and gets busy...
Posted on August 6, 2005 8:34 PM
Actually, we were back in Greensboro only briefly, then on to Atlanta for the National Association of Black Journalists convention. More on that later.
Missy, we missed the wine bar, but we plan to return to Beaufort soon. Sounds like a terrific idea for downtown Greensboro.
The cool thing about Front Street in Beaufort was the concentration of attractions in one central area.
The parked car stayed parked during the entire visit.
Dave DuBuisson never had it so good.
Posted on August 7, 2005 10:42 PM
We also enjoy being able to walk everywhere in Beaufort - shops, food, historic sites. Parking and walking is a great feature of downtown Greensboro, as well. The CDBG info about Beaufort intrigued me. For a number of reasons, I was opposed to Greensboro using CDBG for the stadium. But I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to using CDBG funds for other downtown projects, particularly small business ventures. I wonder if anyone is exploring this now? Affordable housing is a high priority, but a vibrant downtown brings jobs with it, and there are many people living in proximity to downtown Greensboro who needs jobs and lack transportation, so downtown jobs would be a great opportunity.
Posted on August 8, 2005 4:05 PM
Missy, this is something Ed Kitchen wanted to do for a long time as city manager.
The City Council thus far has appeared reluctant but may yet see the light.
Posted on August 8, 2005 4:12 PM
I feel like a member of the witness protection program who's just been outed. But now that Allen has blown my cover, it's hard to keep quiet.
Beaufort is a wonderful village whose character would be hard to replicate on a city scale. We have a police department that works 9 to 5 and 4,000 residents. Greensboro has something like 50 times as many. Community development grant money -- a couple million dollars in the mid-70s, I believe -- was well spent on converting a moribund fishing harbor into an attractive yacht basin. Vacant and deteriorating retail buildings were removed. Public parking space was created (but nowhere near enough), and the remaining commercial space gained a lot of value.
The indirect effect: People bought and restored old houses, prices rose...and rose, and rose. Some long-time residents found it attractive to cash out and buy their dream houses in some nearby community. That's a shame.
Today, it may be the case that too many downtown houses are vacation homes or investments owned by people who live elsewhere. There are subtle disadvantages to an absentee tax base. One is a leadership vacuum. An illustration: Beaufort sorely needs to spend $20 million or $30 million to replace an obsolete sewer system. Current town leaders refuse to do it right away with a bond issue, preferring to nibble away at the problem using exorbitant water rates. Present rate-payers thus have to pay for past neglect month in and month out rather than financing the work over the 20 or 30 year life of the system, and paying it off with inflated dollars. It would be stupid to buy a house without a mortgage today. It's equally stupid to try to build a sewer system on a pay-as-you-go basis. Those who pay for it may not live long enough to enjoy it.
So life is not all milk and honey in paradise. The above-mentioned wine bar is a pallid imitation of Montana's Wine Bar, which was a town hub until it closed three years ago. But those sunsets over the water make up for a lot. Come see for yourselves. Dave D.
Posted on August 13, 2005 11:19 PM