Downtown Thomasville

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Downtown Thomasville is the heart of the community, hosting street festivals, parades, outdoor concerts, a farmers market, and, of course, "train watching".

In March 2019 the city was awarded a Downtown Strong Initiative Grant from the NC Department of Commerce, Main Street and Rural Economic Development Division. The grant is providing technical assistance to develop initiatives that the community can adopt and work on over the next 12 -18 months to move downtown forward.

On April 1st, the City hosted a Community Interest Meeting to introduce the grant program and to seek input from the community regarding the future of Downtown. Below are links to the presentation and the results of the workshop. During this workshop, there was also an opportunity for participants to sign-up for small group meetings being led by Diane Young, a downtown consultant provided by the grant initiative. The small group meetings were held on April 9th.

In May, a meeting was held to present preliminary findings and to discuss potential future direction.

In June, a final presentation was made that may be viewed here Downtown Strong Final Presentation 6.4.19

Downtown Strong has continued to meet to establish the organization that will lead downtown in the future. 

THOMASVILLE DESIGN GUIDELINES

July 2019 Meeting Information

7.16.19 Minutes Downtown Strong  

 August 2019 Meeting Information
8.20.19 Agenda Downtown Strong
Draft Downtown Strong Organizational Structure
Organization Committee Role
Economic Vitality Committee Role
Design Committee Role
Promotion Committee Role
2-Organizational Structures Strengths - Challenges

September 2019 Meeting Information

9.17.19 Agenda Downtown Strong
9.17.19 Meeting Minutes

October 2019 Meeting Information

10.24.19 Agenda Downtown Strong

December 2019 Meeting Information

12.10.19 Agenda Downtown Strong
UNCG Final Report - Downtown Strong

 

Thomasville Downtown Strong Initiative Presentation

April 1 Community Meeting Results

A handout of various grants and resources available to downtown property owners and businesses is also available for downloading.

Downtown Opportunities and Support Services

A second public meeting was held May 14th to present the data gathered during the April 1st and 9th meetings. Mrs. Young walked those in attendance through the results and then presented draft Strategies to implement over the next 12 - 18 months.

Implementation Strategy Handout

Voting by the participants narrowed the Strategies down to two, Strategy #1 and Strategy #3.

Draft Strategy #1: Develop a toolkit for the redevelopment of Downtown Thomasville’s building stock to assist and encourage property owners, business owners, and developers in making positive improvements that will support the revitalization of Downtown Thomasville. The toolkit will include best practices for design improvements including storefronts, awnings, signage, and upper story windows, as well as sidewalk amenities that add character and interest to the storefront. In addition, the toolkit will cover financial tools currently available to property owners and business owners: Opportunity Zone, Historic Tax Credits, Façade Grants, and MSD incentives.

Draft Strategy #3: Organize a committee inclusive of representatives from a cross-section of the community to coordinate future downtown initiatives.