CityView Magazine

50 | May/June 2018 For example, the African World Peace Festival, set for July, will be two days rather than one this year and will extend beyond Person Street. Much more will follow as the organization takes firm shape. "I know we're all supposed to have five-year plans, but at this point, I have a one-year plan," Regensburger said. "It's not about what I want it to be, but that this will be a strong organization, a facilitator that lets people do wonderful things, bring groups of people together who are concerned about things and generate solutions." Another goal for the district is to serve as a "generator GET DETAILS OF DOWNTOWN EVENTS Go to www.Reveel.it and scan this page in Fayetteville's growth, Regensburger said. As early as the 1980s, downtown Fayetteville fell into disarray. Storefronts emptied. Buildings decayed. Downtown was hollow. "Unsavory things moved in," Regensburger said. "But I think that was also Fayetteville's saving grace. Going seedy preserved the wonderful, old bones that are down here. at created an opportunity to make downtown what it is right now. It allowed a downtown renaissance that has all this unique character." Preserved older buildings along Hay Street bring back fond memories for Sam DuBose, the district's general man- ager. e ird Base restaurant is in the former building of Kress, a five-and-dime shop he visited with his grandmoth- er. ey'd have lunch in the store and sometimes popped red balloons with a dart where a piece of paper would tell them the cost of a banana split for the day – 19 cents some days. e word "Kress" remains etched on the building's top floor along Maxwell Street. "I have great memories of Fayetteville," said DuBose, who previously worked in an administrative position with Downtown Alliance. "I thought this would be a place where I could make a little bit of a difference." of economic prosperity" for Fayetteville and Cumber- land County residents, according to the district's vision statement. Planners see the downtown area as an ever-increasing hub for arts, entertainment and cultural activities and hope it will grow to include a performing arts center as well as the minor league baseball stadium underway on Hay Street. e stadium, set to be home to a Houston Astros minor league team, is supposed to be ready by the start of the baseball season next year. e district's formation represented a "tipping point"

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