The city of Rocky Mount was pleased to host the 2008 North Carolina Main Street Managers Conference. This conference is sponsored annually by the Main Street Center, a program of the state's Department of Commerce. The three day conference, held Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 at the Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences in downtown Rocky Mount, drew more than 350 attendees, including local government officials, historic preservationists and citizens interested in downtown development.

The conference highlighted some of the key strategies in revitalizing a central city district. The Main Street Center identifies four tenets of downtown development: organization, design, economic restructuring and promotion.

"Organization" refers to those efforts targeted towards engaging a community and its stakeholders in downtown revitalization. The city of Rocky Mount began this phase years ago by establishing a full-time staff person focused on downtown development.

"Design" refers to the need to make a downtown area attractive and inviting for visitors and to preserve the area's historic assets. The City Council will soon hear an update on the progress of the downtown streetscape plan. A landscape design firm in Raleigh will make recommendations on roadway improvements, solutions for parking and broad design elements including street furniture, lighting, sidewalk treatments, plantings and public art and materials.

"Economic restructuring" involves strengthening and expanding the existing economic assets, while converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive property. This effort involves recruiting new commercial property owners and tenants so that the district is economically healthy for existing businesses.

The "promotion" tenet involves marketing the downtown area to improve consumer and investor confidence and encourage commercial activity and investment. This effort also involves planning special events aimed at giving area residents a reason to visit the downtown district.

This year, the City is pleased to sponsor several events in the downtown district, including a series of "Live at 5ive!" events:

Friday, May 2 – Our Best to You, jazz; "Celebrating Historic Preservation Month"

Friday, June 6 – The Winston Group, jazz

Friday, August 1 – Harambee Jazz Festival

Friday, September 5 – The Mighty Saints of Soul, beach music

Friday, October 3 – Joceifus Rifle, rock/pop; "Celebrating Public Power Week"

Each event will take place at 5:00 pm on the lawn of the Imperial Centre. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for a picnic; food may be brought on site or purchased from vendors at the event.

A complete listing of activities in the downtown area is available on our Web site, at www.downtown

rockymountnc.com.

I encourage you to take part in this series of special events. For more information on the ongoing efforts to revitalize Downtown Rocky Mount, please contact Ian Kipp, downtown development manager, at 972-1267.