Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/150909
STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Cynthia Deere cynthia@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. INSIDE Calendar. .......................................... 14 . Concert Connection......................... 18 TV...................................................... 20 Movie................................................ 21 PUBLISHER'S PEN A Lot Less Talk and a Lot More Action Needed To Bring Change to Bragg/Murchison Corridor by JANICE BURTON This past week, a lot of talk and a lot of newsprint has been "The investor of the Huske Hardware House brew pub will have dedicated to talking about the need to revitalize the Bragg Boulevard spent more than $4.5 million dollars, once the floors above the restaurant are turned into apartments (That still hasn't happened). The and Murchison Road corridor, particularly where it intersects with Radisson Prince Charles is also spending about $4 million for a new Fayetteville State University. Additionally, Fayetteville State University Chancellor James Anderson called for a closer tie between the university nine-story tower. (That also didn't happen, although development plans are underway.) "Officials with the Fayetteville Partnership believe and the city. None of this is new news. the money is coming, because people believe its Vision Plan is When I moved to Fayetteville in 1997, people were talking about the going to work." same things. Everyone agreed that it was important work. It There are some key things in this 15-year-old story about was work that needed to be done. And we all went about our downtown that are missing when it comes to revitalizing Bragg business doing other necessary work. At that time, the city's attention was focused on downtown. People gathered to Boulevard and Murchison Road. watch the old strip clubs on Hay Street fall to the wrecking First, there was a key entity — The Fayetteville Partnership was tagged with pushing revitalization efforts ball and newer edifices like city hall, the police department and later, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in downtown. And, there was a point person — Kellytake their place. This was revitalization at its finest. Legg. Her office lived and breathed downtown. More Residents gawked as brave investors began pumping importantly, she had a passion for it and put her heart and money into downtown. The brave among us attended the soul into it. There is no lightning rod, no one-source that first of the 4th Friday events, happy when we got can be tagged for the revitalization of Bragg and Murchison. Certainly Chancellor Anderson cannot back in our cars with no mishaps. And slowly, While the city has made a lot of downtown became a reality. It was work, hard work. be that person and no one in the city is stepping up progress revitalizing some areas, there Those involved in the lion's share of that work, to the plate. is still a lot of work to do. Secondly, there was a vast investment of private people like Robin Kelly-Legg, endured the cynicism money going into the downtown area, as noted in and the rebuffs from established business owners, but kept pushing to make it a reality. the story, more than $24 million in private funding. We can't even get In 1998, WRAL ran a story about the revitalization of downtown: anyone to open a restaurant or hotel adjacent to a college campus. That "Years of planning, fundraising and taking risks is paying off, as should be easy. Students eat. Their families who come to visit need a place to stay near the campus. Why won't investors bite? Take a look downtown Fayetteville makes a comeback. You may not be able to see at the crime rate and take a look at the surrounding neighborhoods. it from the street yet, but inside many downtown Fayetteville buildings, there is quite a bit of restoration going on. And, it doesn't come cheaply. (Which again, scream revitalization.) "Mike Pinkston owns the Climbing Place. One year ago, he invested Finally, what's missing in the call for revitalization of these blighted his life savings in the indoor-climbing business. His hope was that if he areas is belief. People do not believe that Bragg Boulevard or the built it, they would come — even if customers would have to come to a Murchison Road corridor can change, and where there is no belief, decaying downtown Fayetteville. Luckily, private cash has resulted in an there is no action. uptick for the heart of the city. For these areas to change, we need at least one true "Since the spring of 1996, more than $24 million has been invested believer who will spearhead the effort and put in the work here by the private sector. The Fayetteville Partnership's Robin Kellynecessary to make Legg says that those investors are seeing healthy returns. it happen. Who will JANICE BURTON, Associate Publisher, Up "Pinkston is so pleased, he is expanding his business. And, others step into that role? & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. have big plans as well. 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