Five Points Advisory Board to hold year-end General Membership Meeting

Join the Advisory Board on Thursday, December 11th from 8-9am in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of the Dunn Bldg (248 Craven St) for the Year-end General Membership Meeting. We are excited to host Teisha Glover who will present her Chamber of Commerce Focus Group’s findings regarding the Chamber membership’s long term desires for Five Points and discuss ways we can partner with them on the endeavor.

Revitalization featured on "Carolina Focus" this Sunday

Calling all early risers! Join John Grant, host of 101.9 KISS-FM's "Carolina Focus" at 6am this Sunday morning, as he interviews Leigh Anne Friesen, Planner and John Bradley, General Manager and Owner of the New Bern Days Hotel about the revitalization effort in the Five Points area. This show preceeds "Gospel Traditions" at 6:30am.

CCC Small Business Center to promote Bio-entrepreneurship

WHAT: Orientation to free fall training classes on traditional or bio-based entrepreneurship

WHO: Anyone serious about owning a business

WHEN: 6:30pm, Tuesday, August 19th

WHERE: Craven Community College, New Bern Campus, Business and

Information Technology Building

HOW: Register by contacting Bob Ericksen by email or phone (252-638-7353)

For the full announcement, click HERE (right click for new window).

Broad Street Improvements to begin soon

The Construction phase of the Broad Street improvements are slated to begin next month. Barnhill Contracting Company will do the work. The project will start at First Street and make its way down to East Front Street for completion by late 2009. See more details in the Sun Journal article HERE (right click for new window).

Chamber focus groups to include Five Points

In response to a Chamber-sponsored survey, the New Bern Chamber of Commerce's Board has convened focus groups to better understand their membership's concerns about the following six topics: Transportation, Environment, Entertainment, Retail Growth, Broad Street and Five Points Development, and Business Development. Five Points Revitalization Advisory Board members Mary Peterkin and Katherine Adolph are members of the Broad Street/Five Points focus group.

The groups will determine their top three concerns and present them to the elected City and County officials in the fall. For more details, see the Sun Journal article HERE (right click for new window).

City to pursue application for EPA Brownfield grants

Raleigh engineering and environmental solutions firm Mid-Atlantic Associates, Inc. has expressed an interest in helping the City pursue the next round of EPA Brownfield Assessment and Clean Up grants. The Planning Department received the go-ahead from the Board of Aldermen at their July work session.

Assessment grants are used to inventory and assess abandoned, idled or underused properties in order to remove/clarify real or perceived environmental uncertainties that may be impediments to redevelopment. Assessment grants can be followed by Clean Up grants are used to help pay for the remediation of identified contamination, thereby making the properties even more marketable for investment and redevelopment.

See the New Bern Sun Journal article HERE (right click for new window).

Elizabeth City State Researchers bidding for opportunity to study New Bern Underground Railroad lore (Sun Journal, 6/4/08 & 7/8/08)

The National Park Service recently designated our portion of the Neuse River as part of the Underground Railroad — an effort to free North American slaves from bondage. If this grant comes through, Uptown Business and Professional Association plans to work with students and researchers to help connect them with members of the community for this study.

For the full Sun Journal articles, see: Professors want to see New Bern study Underground Railroad lore & Underground Railroad had local link (right click for new window).

City to apply for Urban Progress (UP) Zone Designation

In the past, the City of New Bern has received designation as a State Development Zone. However, as of January 1, 2007, the tax credits associated with the State Development Zone have been repealed. The UP Zone is this former zone’s replacement.

Now, as part of North Carolina's Article 3J tax credits program, the UP Zone program provides economic incentives to stimulate new investment and job creation in economically distressed areas. Zone qualifications can be found in “Guidelines for Establishing State of North Carolina Urban Progress Zones.pdf” at the Department of Commerce’s UP Zone website (right click for new window). To view a larger version of the above map in a new window, right click over the image.

Qualifying projects located within these zones receive enhanced tax credits for growing business (Article 3J Credits) for creating jobs, investing in business property, and investment in real property.

Advisory Board approves 2008-2009 Strategic Action Plan

The 2008-2009 Action Plan continues to drive the economic development of the Five Points area through improved business, housing, and infrastructure.

View Action Plan (Right click for new window)

New Bern Urban Design Plan undergirds work of the Five Points Revitalization Advisory Board

In September 2004, the City of New Bern facilitated a community workshop in which area stakeholders produced a Strategic Plan (right click for new window) for the revitalization of Five Points, based on concepts and goals identified in the City’s Urban Design Plan (UDP) 2000 (right click for new window). The New Bern Board of Aldermen adopted this Strategic Plan in November 2004. The 2004 Plan identifies top goals as making streetscape improvements for Broad Street, as well as residential and commercial enhancements to the Five Points Community.