Kinston also benefits from downtown grant
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on April 27, 2011 1:46 PM
Downtowns are getting a facelift in the county seats of Wayne and Lenoir counties thanks to the Main Street Solutions Fund.
The Pride of Kinston, Kinston's downtown development organization, will receive $200,000 to revitalize its downtown area through renovations to 212 North Queen St. and 108 West North St. to develop space for Hill Realty, property developers and a Miami-style bistro.
The Downtown Goldsboro Development Association also received the grant, which funds $25,000 for every job created or retained in the project proposal with a maximum payout of $200,000. Both Goldsboro and Kinston will receive the maximum amount of funding. Goldsboro is expected to use its grant to bring the Arts Council downtown.
Pride Director Adrian King, a Kinston native, said recent development hasn't quite impacted the intersecition of Queen and North, so this grant is a big boost to the city's growth downtown.
"We have had some success on Queen Street and Herritage has lots of new ventures, but this is a shot in the arm for the main street of our downtown."
The project will renovate the building, which has 14,000 square feet of space on each of its two floors, to make room for two office spaces, two retail spaces and a Miami-style restaurant.
King said the developer, Stephen Hill, has also considered developing the upstairs area into living space, which would make the building the first mixed-use building in the downtown area.
King anticipates the renovations will amplify other additions Kinston is making to its downtown. A block away a new Civil War museum is being built while Maplewood Cemetary will get a new entranceway. The Kinston Community Council for the Arts and the Department of Transporation are also working to installing a park celebrating the African-American music trail, which runs through Kinston.