The Town of Wilkesboro is ready to start implementing its downtown master plan this year, following a unanimous vote by the town council Monday to hire a consultant team to lead the project.
Design Workshop, with an office in Asheville, was recommended to the council as the consultant by a selection committee consisting of Wilkes Heritage Museum Director Jennifer Furr, Wilkesboro Tourism Development Director Jodi Tonsic, Town Manager Ken Noland; Councilman Russ Ferree and Planning and Community Development Director Andrew Carlton.
Carlton said the selection committee reviewed five proposals, but chose Design Workshop because its team is design-led rather than engineer-led. Charlotte-based VM engineers, with offices in Charlotte and Boone, will work with Design Workshop on the project.
Design Workshop also has offices in Aspen and Denver, Colo.; Austin and Houston, Texas; Chicago, Ill.; Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Beijing, China and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but Carlton said the work in Wilkesboro will be primarily conducted by the firm’s Asheville office.
Carlton said it’s important that the town make improving the downtown streetscape a priority. The Historic Downtown Master Plan was completed in 2011.
“We’re behind the game, in many ways,” Carlton said, noting that communities like Morganton, Lenoir and Salisbury implemented downtown streetscape work decades ago.
Specifically referencing West Jefferson, which recently conducted similar streetscape work, Carlton said streetscape improvements have transformed towns and have helped increase tourism and downtown tenant occupancy in the downtown area.
Carlton said West Jefferson’s downtown was nearly completely vacant five to 10 years ago. Following the improvements there, he said, “it’s hard to find a vacant storefront.”
“We’ve got a choice to make with our downtown,” Carlton said. “Do we want to change and create a downtown that attracts visitors, promotes business and becomes the heart of the community, like it was generations years ago?”
He said that if Wilkesboro does strive for such a downtown, it’s important to begin work now.
Components of the master plan that may be included in construction documents include street trees, underground utilities, water, sewer and storm water upgrades, a centralized downtown park, an urban greenway connector, Wilkes Transit Authority stops, landscaping and way-finding signage.
“This doesn’t only relate to aesthetics, but to economic development,” Carlton said. “You’ve got to invest in your community, if you want others to invest in you.”
At Monday’s meeting, Mayor Mike Inscore and the council members were receptive to the idea and enthusiastic about the project and what it might bring.
Inscore said he’s glad the town is taking the next step forward in revitalizing downtown. “I think the saying ‘if you build it, they will come,’ is a truism,” he added. “It’s time for this to become a reality.”
“I’ve said it many times, I really think if you want people to come here and work, we need to have a place for them to come and recreate,” said Councilman Andy Soots.
Ferree, on the selection committee, said the group chose Design Workshop because “we thought they’d give us something different.”
“If you look at this 10 to 20 years from now, I think you’re going to see something no one else has.”
Wilkesboro’s request for design-ready plans was sent out late October last year.
A project steering committee for the streetscape work will include representatives from Wilkesboro elected officials and town staff, downtown property owners and merchants, Duke Energy, N.C. Department of Transportation, Third Coast Design Studio (which assisted with the development of the master plan) and others.
Nearby examples of Design Workshop projects include the Antler Hill Village and Winery on the Biltmore Estate and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Facility, both in Asheville; Wilson Drive improvements in Boone and the Six Forks Road Corridor in Raleigh. Design Workshop also partnered with Duke Energy to bring underground utilities to the City of Greenville, S.C.
Leave a Reply