Main Street offers new life to The Avenue

ROANOKE RAPIDS — Hopes are high but many merchants are wary as efforts

to bring the North Carolina Main Street Program to The Avenue gain

steam and are the focus of public debate.

The Main Street Program is a unique approach to revitalizing

communities and has proven highly successful in North Carolina and

across the nation.

The Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance is spearheading the effort to gain

Main Street status for Roanoke Rapids. Only a handful of communities

are chosen for the state program each year.

The Alliance outlined the program for the city council Tuesday and then

presented a special background on the idea to the community Wednesday.

It goes before the Halifax County Board of Commissioners in July.

The North Carolina Main Street Program is a focused, detailed effort to

improve the community through local participation, volunteer efforts,

grant and state funding and business participation.

Merchant response

Most business people wholeheartedly agree on the need for a resurgence

on The Avenue but for some, memories of other programs that missed the

target still linger. None of the previous efforts offered the depth and

scope of support nor had the proven track record of Main Street.

A 1995 plan never took off, said Pete Luter, owner of Countryside

Chimney Sweeps. “They had an executive director,” he recalled, adding a

special tax district was set up and most of the Avenue business owners

paid the tax, a payment averaging less than $200 a year.

There were, however, merchants who didn’t want to pay and the program

eventually fizzled out.

Luter supports the Main Street program. He doesn’t think, however,

business owners will support a tax. “I just think people won’t vote for

a tax. If they don’t vote for a tax it won’t happen,” he said. “I would

pay the tax. Some people are tight and greedy.”

Because The Avenue is also a state highway, Luter doubts anything can

be done. “My comment is we can never do anything when big old log

trucks are coming down. We could do a lot of things if it wasn’t for

the big trucks. We could go back to angle parking and put twice as many

cars in the same place.”

Mary Tillery, of Tillery Designs, said she would like to see the

historic district designated as such. “I’d like to see the streets

renovated and see improvements made to the exterior appearance (of

businesses),” she said, as well as making sure businesses compliment

each other.

Parking is also an issue, she said. “More parking needs to be downtown.

We need to create parking lots with the businesses which are

deteriorating.”

Dorothy O. Edmonds, owner of Dixie Screen Printing, said the last time

a program was discussed, people could not find common ground. “They had

a good idea,” she said.

A class system existed, she said. “If you’re not in society they don’t

bother with you.”

Edmonds believes the program could succeed if all business owners are

included. “I think it can be (successful) if people wouldn’t back stab.”

She also believes the Main Street program will be geared to select

businesses on The Avenue. “Everyone needs to come together. Everyone

needs to work together on this,” she said.

Thomas Lynch, of Lynch’s Office Supply, said many of The Avenue

business owners are worried about taxes, which has been used in several

communities which have the program. “Nobody likes new taxes,” he said,

“With this economy, another tax on us, it’s going to kill some people.

It’s already mighty hard.”

Lynch says he, like other business owners on The Avenue, try to keep

their storefronts looking good and fresh.

Parking also concerns him. “I’m thinking they should bring angle

parking. It’s easier to get in and out. There’s not that much municipal

parking close by. One thing we need to think about is getting more cars

on The Avenue.”

Phil Hux, owner of First Carolina Agency, believes the program will

succeed this time. “We can’t rely on the city. I think it will succeed

if we (business owners) stay behind it.”

Hux believes the passion of Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance’s Simpson

and others involved in the program will make it succeed. “They’re going

to push it through,” he said.

The Avenue, Hux said, remains the heart of the city, and he remembers a

time when there were four or five men’s stores and a drug store along

the boulevard. “I would love to see the People’s Theater brought back,”

he said.

There are already unique businesses on The Avenue, Hux said, businesses

like Countryside Interiors.

These kind of businesses, he said, are the backbone of the city, where

managers and owners are accessible. “If you come to my place you’re

going to speak to me.”

The city’s role in Main Street program will be limited initially, Mayor

Drewery Beale said. “Unfortunately, due to the financial situation, I

wish it was possible to do some financial support. Maybe later on when

the budget will allow it.”

Until there is a turn in the budget situation, Beale said the city will

have to provide in-kind services. “It’s going to take someone who is

devoted full-time. If they get that and support then it is workable.”

The mayor said people need to understand the program won’t take off

overnight.

While there has been talk of preserving the mill village as part of the

program, Beale says his belief is the houses there need to be razed. He

said he has invested close to $200,000 on improvements to two mill

houses in the city. “I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people who want

to put that kind of investment in them. My take on the mill village is

I think they should all come down, rezone the property, (add) new water

and sewer (lines) and start all over.”

Beale said the city stands ready to work with the organizers of the

program.

The Business Alliance believes the program will help all merchants,

said Wade. “Not only will the Main Street Program promote business and

improvements to the entire Avenue, but also history shows every

successful Main Street city sees significant improvement in the quality

of life, businesses and residential areas outlying the Main Street

district.”

The Business Alliance is moving forward with its plans for developing

the program, Wade said. “Roanoke Rapids has greater potential for

success than many other Main Street projects. Our location, history,

rich beauty, and natural resources well position Roanoke Rapids to be a

great Main Street success.”

Wade said the group’s fundraising efforts and grants projects will

focus on what she calls the important need for a full-time project

director. “This effort, along with the support of the N.C. Main Street

program, will help to ensure the success of this project.”

She explained Wednesday night’s presentation by Smithfield Main Street

Director Chris Johnson was just the beginning of the Business

Alliance’s work to inform and educate the citizens of Roanoke Rapids

about the Main Street Program. “The potential 40 percent tax credits,

enhancement grants and the growing support of our citizens for

improvement of their community should be a boon to this project and

success for generations to come.”

Simpson said the Alliance plans to have at least monthly meetings on

the program and also plans to elect representatives from each block in

the Avenue, “So each person’s interest is addressed on each block in

the process.”

What’s next in the Main Street quest

The Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance is completing the application for

the N.C. Main Street Program. It must be submitted by July 15. The

final decision is expected in early fall.

In the interim, the group is seeking photos showing what The Avenue —

from the depot to the river — looked like in the past, especially in

the 1920s and 1930s. Anyone who has a photo is asked to submit it to

the group at Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance, P.O. Box 1227, Roanoke

Rapids NC 27870.

The Alliance is also seeking volunteers to represent each block along

The Avenue and to discuss what is needed on that specific block and

entire boulevard. “We want merchants, interested people and others to

meet once a month on this committee,” explained  Kim Simpson. “We want

them to share what they envision.” If you are interested in serving,

contact Simpson at 578-5294 or Wade at 532-4078. A Web site for the

Main Street Program is also under development.

What Main Street is:

The North Carolina Main Street Center works to stimulate economic

development within the context of historic preservation, using a

comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization developed by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation and utilized by the Trust's

National Main Street Center to assist communities across the country.

The National Main Street Program has added more than 44 states to the

Main Street network and has assisted more than 1,200 active communities

nationally. Having “graduated” from the demonstration program, North

Carolina has continued to offer the Main Street Program to cities and

towns throughout the state and now provides direct assistance to 57

Main Street communities and indirect assistance to countless others.

Since the program began in 1980, North Carolina Main Street downtowns

have experienced:

• A gain of $1.1 billion in new investment.

• A net gain of 13,000 jobs.

• Renovation of 3,000 buildings.

• A net gain of 3,100 businesses.

The Main Street program has a four-point approach:

• Organization: Building partnerships to create a consistent

revitalization program and develop effective management and leadership

downtown. Diverse groups — merchants, bankers, public officials, the

chamber of commerce and civic groups — must work together to improve

downtown.

• Promotion: Reestablishing downtown as a compelling place for

shoppers, investors and visitors. This means not only improving sales,

but also rekindling community excitement and involvement. Promotion

ranges from street festivals to retail merchandising, from community

education to marketing and public relations.

• Design: Enhancing the visual quality of the downtown. Attention is

given to the downtown environment elements — not just buildings and

storefronts, but also public improvements, rear entries, signs,

landscaping, window displays and graphic materials.

•  Economic restructuring: Strengthening the existing economic assets

of the business district while diversifying its economic base.

Activities include conducting market analysis to understand the

changing market place, adapting vacant buildings that have outlived

their original purposes for use as entertainment or cultural facilities

and sharpening the competitiveness of Main Street's traditional

merchants.