FOREST CITY OFFICE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
The Forest City Main Street Program is a partnership between the Town of Forest City's Office of Downtown Development and Downtown Forest City, Inc., a nonprofit organization. The program primarily works in the areas of design, promotion, economic prosperity, and partnership development. The Main Street Program is part of the North Carolina Main Street Program and the National Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Town was awarded the Main Street status in July 2003.
Historic Preservation and Design:
- Main Street Historic District included on the National Register of Historic Places - February 2002
- East Main Street Residential District included on the Study List for the National Register
- Historic Preservation/Façade Development Services - Buildings included in the Historic District are eligible for free services from a preservation architect and a preservation planner
- Establishment of a Historic and Cultural Resources Commission
- Development of a long-range Historic Preservation Plan (with a grant from the National Trust for Historic Places)
- 12 Façade renovation projects completed in 2 years
- First successful application for the use of Historic Tax Credit by downtown property owner through use of Preservation Services
Promotion and Events:
- Development of an events web site
- Creation of December "Shop at Home" campaign with 30 downtown business participating
- Construction of a permanent Santa House by All American Homes with all volunteer labor
- Expansion of December holiday events from 2 to 6 carriages and addition of the Santa House and expanded hours
- Development of the Forest City Jazz Festival, now in its third year
- Creation of Celebration Series, including 2-day Celebrate Rutherford Festival, Downtown Saturday Nite Concert Series, and Street Dances
Economic Restructuring:
- Business Plan Development Assistance for small first-time business entrepreneurs
- Building Inventory Database with square footage, floor plans, photographs, owner information
- Recruitment Services - matching vacant buildings to potential tenants
- Data Collection - demographics, traffic counts, sales tax reports,
- Zoning and Building Code Assistance for downtown property owners and tenants
- Public sector partner on a $17 million mixed-use development in a former cotton mill located in the heart of downtown
- Renovation by the Town of a Town-owned property as new home of the County Economic Development Commission
Organization and Partnerships:
- Creation of the Town of Forest City Office of Downtown Development
- Establishment of Downtown Forest City, Inc. and creation of an Action Plan for the organization
- Establishment of a Forest City Historic and Cultural Resources Commission
- Establishment of the Forest City Redevelopment Commission and creation of the Burnt Chimney Redevelopment District (Cone Mill project)
- Extensive partnership with the Forest City Merchants Association
- Partnership with the Rutherford Tourism Development Authority (Director sits on Marketing Committee and Retirement Committee)
- Partnership with Realize Rutherford on downtown and historic preservation issues
Danielle Withrow
Town Planner / Downtown Development Director
PO Box 728
Forest City, NC 28043
Phone: 828/248-5200
Fax: 828/245-6143
E-mail: dwithrow@townofforestcity.com
