GREENSBORO — With the extensive growth and economic investment anticipated along East Gate City Boulevard, the City Council is poised to approve a plan Wednesday night intended to guide that activity.
The planning document, called the “East Gate City Boulevard Area Plan,” focuses on the 3.4-mile corridor from Freeman Mill Road east to Interstate 40.
It also reaches into the residential neighborhoods adjacent to the busy roadway, such as Willow Oaks and Ole Asheboro. Mindful of the impact this future growth will have on the area, the city solicited public input at several community meetings, dating back to 2021, as well as on its website.
“Everything in here is what folks told us they would like to see,” said Senior Planner Hart Crane, the project’s manager.
The area plan is the second one produced by the city. The City Council approved the Fleming Road Area Plan in April.
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Crane said the upcoming construction of the Windsor-Chavis-Nocho Community Complex served as a primary catalyst for the initiative. The $75 million city complex will replace the Windsor Recreation Center at 1601 E. Gate City Blvd. It will incorporate a recreation and community center, library services and improved facilities at the adjacent Nocho Park.
The area plan includes encouraging new growth in the area near that complex, as well as around Union Square Campus at South Elm Street and Gateway Gardens at Florida Street.
The plan also advises the city look for opportunities to diversify the housing stock, emphasizing the need for “middle housing” such as duplexes and small apartment complexes. It notes that encouraging housing with consistent street frontage will “improve the appeal of the corridor and create a stronger sense of place.”
Crane said residents expressed concern that they could be displaced by higher housing prices as a result of growth and investment in the area.
To address that, the plan suggests certain policies such as promoting programs to make housing more affordable. Making the area more pedestrian friendly, installing dedicated bicycle lanes and improving public transportation options also are suggested.
Dominic Mercurio, who lives on East Bragg Street, agreed that residents need better access to bus lines.
“Right now, there’s essentially no GTA stops along East Gate City Boulevard,” he said. “So if you live in east Greensboro, particularly along this corridor, often it means walking miles to a thoroughfare where there is a bus stop.”
He also noted that the grocery store nearest to his house is on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive just past Interstate 40, roughly 2 miles away.
“If you have a vehicle, you’re still 10 to 15 minutes from the nearest grocery store,” he said. “It’s a massive problem that this plan by itself is not going to fix. But economic investment in this area of town and creating improvements to the infrastructure and the public transportation system can start to mitigate some of that.”
There also are plans to add a greenway connection from Ole Asheboro’s Douglas Park to the Downtown Greenway.
The plan acknowledges the historical nature of the neighborhoods in the area — noting that each is unique — and encourages public art, festivals and even architectural landscaping to honor the area’s past. It also suggests signage be installed to help visitors navigate the area and help them know about and locate landmarks such as the Magnolia House, Greensboro’s historic motel for Black people during the era of segregation.
The document also encourages “community building” by establishing regularly scheduled meetings “that would result in a collective voice that can more effectively advocate on the corridor’s behalf.”
Making intersections safer, especially those at Bennett Street, South Benbow Road and O.Henry Boulevard, is encouraged. And improving streets, sidewalks and trails between the neighborhoods also would foster “a more unified” community, according to the plan.
“We’re kind of looking at the road holistically,” Crane said. “I think (the plan will) provide a lot of opportunities for community building and for folks to rally around this document and to have a collective voice hopefully.”