Economy & Downtown

Chapel Hill's downtown has long benefited from its proximity to a captive audience of University students without cars. While downtowns around the country have been failing, ours has survived fairly well. However, we have seen an increase in the number of chain stores locating downtown, and instability in the Downtown Economic Development Corporation. In the near future, we will see new Town-directed development on two major parking lots have a big impact.
<br /><br />
Carrboro's downtown has also done better than many towns of comparable size, thanks largely to the presence of Weaver Street Market and progressive shoppers from the rest of the county. The Board of Aldermen has been addressing the evolution of the downtown, and have established a number of community resources in the downtown area including free wireless Internet access, and a low-power radio station.

Durham Tech's Orange County Campus hosts special FREE Small Business Seminar featuring Mayor Tom Stevens 11/4

Submitted by Carlo on October 29, 2010 - 12:47pm

New! Edge of the Box Thinking
Date: Thursday, November 4
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Orange County Campus, Hillsborough, NC

Resist mediocrity, overcome complacency, cultivate creativity, foster innovation - and make your small business or organization exceptional. It all starts with how you think! This presentation is designed to stimulate insight, practical ideas, and creative thinking about strategy, marketing, innovation, and performance – exploring how small business scale and agility can be leveraged for success.

Keynote Seminar featuring: Tom Stevens

A leadership advisor, professional speaker, and seasoned facilitator, Tom’s experience spans business, non-profit, and public organizations. He was a teacher and therapist before serving a dozen years as the top executive of a growing family service agency. In 2001 he founded and continues to grow Think Leadership Ideas, a boutique consulting firm helping leaders create and sustain exceptional organizations. In 2005 Tom was elected Mayor of Hillsborough, and is now serving his third term.

Tom is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, Tom’s articles on leadership have appeared in numerous business magazines as well as his own publication, THINK!, and Tom is the creator of the 7 Ideas Coach podcasts on Apple iTunes. In addition, Tom is an artist, an enthusiast of antique woodworking tools, a casual gardener, and fan of local history.

There is no prior registration required (first come-first serve). For more information about this event check out the event web page.

Interested in learning more about our Small Business Center programs, seminars, and services?  Check out the OCCnews blog. 

I am here to help create opportunities that meet the needs of Orange County residents and businesses as you pursue your education, workforce training, and lifelong learning objectives.  If there are topics or programs that you wish we were offering (or that you could offer) please let me know!

For more information, contact Carlo Robustelli, Director of Orange County Operations, at carlo@durhamtech.edu, 919-536-7238, ext. 4202, or Dub Gulley, Director of the Small Business Center at Durham Tech, gulleyd@durhamtech.edu, 919-536-7200, ext. 4501. 

Click here for directions. 

Date: 

Thursday, November 4, 2010 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

525 College Park Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278

The cost of Homegrown

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on October 27, 2010 - 10:26pm

I was looking for some information on the Town of Chapel Hill web site about Halloween logistics yesterday, and I came across some interesting data. It seems that since the town instituted the new "Homegrown Halloween" rules in 2008 to keep the the downtown party more manageable, they have greatly reduced the size of the party, but the cost to the Town is about the same!

I don't doubt that the evening is a much safer and probably healthier one for most of Chapel Hill, but I worry that the clamp down may also put a damper on the fun.

The difference between a big idea and a big waste of time

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on September 20, 2010 - 10:35pm

When I first learned about the proposed framework for downtown, I was amazed to see such big, new ideas being proposed by the consultant hired by the Town of Chapel Hill and the Downtown Partnership. This proposal presents an opportunity for Chapel Hill to do something visionary and to once again have a thriving urban center that is the envy of other communities. But.

The only way that this Big Idea will evolve into a Good Idea is if Chapel Hill can make this vision our own. Not only that, but I also think this plan might have trouble being approved in Chapel Hill without generating significant community investment in its approach. Or, as I said in June:

Discuss Chapel Hill's emerging framework for downtown

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on September 13, 2010 - 9:42pm

Come to a public meeting to learn about the next step in the Town's radical/visionary new plans for downtown. I highly recommend checking out the presentation made by the consultants back in June. Link below, and blog coverage here.

The future of downtown Chapel Hill will be discussed during the presentation of the draft Downtown Development Framework and Action Plan to Town advisory boards and commissions on beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, in the Council Chamber of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 

The presentation will be made by Dan Douglas of Kling Stubbins, and questions will follow the presentation. 

The Town of Chapel Hill created a master plan for downtown, the Downtown Small Area Plan, in 2000. The Town Council initiated a new Downtown Master Plan as one of its goals for 2009. In November 2009, the Town, in conjunction with the Downtown Partnership, issued an RFP, and Kling-Stubbins of Raleigh was selected to complete the Downtown Development Action Plan and Framework. 

A planning team held two meetings in April 2010 for interested parties to share their opinions on development in downtown Chapel Hill. A first draft of findings was presented to the public during a planning charette on June 10. The June 10 presentation is available online: www.townofchapelhill.org/modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6806 

For more information, contact Dwight Bassett, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Chapel Hill, at 919-969-5010 or dbassett@townofchapelhill.org.


Date: 

Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 1:00pm

Location: 

Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

More Information: 

http://www.townofchapelhill.org/modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6806

Move to Cary?

Submitted by James Barrett on September 13, 2010 - 9:43am

J. Al Baldwin had an interesting letter in the CH News yesterday -- http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/09/12/59402/move-to-cary.html

 

However, I think he has a couple of points very wrong (and the N&O doesn't allow comments on CHNews stories, so you get my thoughts here. Sorry).

 1)  We're not going back to the "village" that CH was 30 years ago.  While I remember that as a lovely place, the growth of the University and the quality of the schools has caused growth.  The question now is how we change to handle that growth, not how do we stay the same as we were 30 years ago (actually, 33 for me).

Pages

 

About Us

OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.

 

Community Guidelines

By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.

 

Content license

By contributing to OrangePolitics, you agree to license your contributions under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Creative Commons License

 
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.