LUMBERTON — With Lumberton’s downtown enjoying an improved outlook, the city is seeking to return to an accredited Main Street Community status in order to move forward through citizen, business and government planning and collaboration.
North Carolina’s Main Street program consists of 46 accredited municipal members who recognize that downtowns are the heart of every community and that downtowns need support to transition into the future. Main Street seeks preservation and economic revitalization of historic downtowns by working with an array of local assets, including cultural, historic, businesses and government.
Lumberton’s City Council recently took the first step at achieving accreditation as a Main Street Community by forming an advisory/organizational board and naming City Councilman Chris Howard as the council’s liaison to the program. Most of the downtown is in Howard’s precinct, and his vision for it is large.
“There is a great deal that needs to be done, repurposing some buildings and renovating others,” Howard said. “With the county in the former BB&T, there will be more people to shop and eat in the downtown.”
Howard is pleased with the work the city has done with the plaza and the Riverwalk. He envisions a people-friendly downtown where people shop, eat outdoors, talk and walk.
“Possibly some more benches with umbrellas for people to enjoy would be good,” he said. “I would like to see some cafes where people can eat outside when the weather is nice and retail shops with crafts and art.
“We’ve got to change if we are going to grow. I believe the Main Street program can be a big help.”
Phase one of the riverwalk project is a boardwalk and overlook, and some hardscaping work, between the former Department of Transportation building and the Fifth Street bridge. Phase two would extend beyond the Fifth Street bridge to the former water treatment plant, depending on the fate of that plant.
Lumberton has been a member of the North Carolina Main Street program since 1983, but lost its accreditation for lack of a citizen advisory council. On Oct. 14, the City Council appointed six Lumberton residents to an advisory council.
The newly appointed members are Dencie Lambdin, director of Communities in Schools; Rhonda Williamson, account representative for WBTW-TV; Janell Carroll, owner of Coldwell Banker; Sharon Smith, owner of Natural Hair Academy; Richard Sceiford, director of the Carolina Civic Center; and Scott Bigelow, staff reporter for The Robesonian.
“This is an outstanding group of individuals who have a high level of interest and investment in downtown Lumberton,” said Connie Russ-Wallwork, Lumberton’s downtown development coordinator. “We are thrilled to have gotten to this point, and we will be working together as a team with three additional subcommittees, promotion, design and economic restructuring, to bring significant change to our historic downtown.”
The downtown has been the focus of recent city and county development activities. Robeson County expects to move its administrative offices into the former BB&T building, the largest structure in the downtown. The city of Lumberton has renovated the plaza with an amphitheatre, rehabilitated an alley as a pedestrian connector and completed phase one of the Riverwalk.
Private and corporate investment is transforming the landscape. Dollar General took down an unused building and will attract shoppers. Owners of a planned wine bar are renovating the former Stephens Funeral Home on Elm Street. The Robeson County Arts Council dedicated a large mural on Thursday.
Also on Oct. 14, the City Council approved a $1.5 million expansion of the Carolina Civic Center and Historic Theatre. The lobby will be expanded, and the annex will be able to accommodate receptions, events, conferences and other events.
