Burlington Downtown Mock-up

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A crowd of almost 100 gathered on the corner of Davis and Spring on the fi rst of March to celebrate the grand opening of Elon’s

new Downtown Center for Community Engagement. Th e new buildingwill serve as an offi ce space to facilitate a growing partnership between Elon and the Burlington community. Th e renovated space is Elon’s fi rst bricks and mortar investment in Downtown Burlington.

Associate Professor of Education Jean Rattigan-Rohr, who founded the Village Project -a program facilitating tutoring between Elon’s School of Education students and Burlington’s school children, spoke fi rst on the support the new building would represent for the program. Th e space will provide Rohr an area to meet with the children’s parents as they are being tutored across the street at the May Memorial Library.

Th e new space will also serve to support

Elon’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. Tammy Cobb, the Assistant Director for Community Partnership at the Kernodle Center will have regular offi ce hours in the new building to facilitate opportunities between over 80 of the county’s nonprofi t and human service agencies and Elon students.

Th e ribbon-cutting program included words from both Elon President Leo Lambert and Vice President Smith Jackson. Not only is the new building meant to support the aforementioned programs, but the space is open to the entire Elon community – which, according to President is “all of us”, both the Downtown community as well as Elon’s students and faculty. Th e offi ce spaces and 16-person meeting room is available for reservation upon request.

Th e ribbon-cutting ended with a round of applause as Burlington Mayor Ronnie Wall welcomed Elon University to Downtown Burlington.

ELON UNIVERSITY INVESTS IN DOWNTOWN BURLINGTONWritten by Braelinn Frank

"Keep the M o m e n t u m Going!” was the rallying cry weaving its way through the

crowd of participants following Roger Brooks’ presentation last Wednesday. Mr. Brooks was invited by the Burlington Downtown Corporation to speak to a group of approximately 100 downtown stakeholders. Th e title of the presentation, “Taking Downtown to the Next Level,” refl ects his deep experience working with communities to help them become dynamic destinations and engines of economic growth. By Th ursday morning, it was clear that Mr. Brooks’ presentation made a big impression with those in attendance. To summarize, Mr. Brooks left the following bits of wisdom sizzling in our brains:Build a Specifi c Brand: Burlington, and specifi cally Downtown, needs to be known for something unique and specifi c (Continued on Page 18)

KEEPING THE MOMENTUM

GOING!

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Th e Downtown Barber Shop is your quintessential, small town barber shop with antique chairs, hair gel, and the low buzzing sound of hair clippers fi lling the room. Located on 131 W. Davis St., the Downtown Barber Shop has an unassuming and modest facade. However, there is one thing that is anything but ordinary about the shop–its history.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with the owner, Danny Walden, who has been a barber for 15 years. He has a friendly demeanor, and I felt instantly comfortable when we sat down to chat. An owner since 2006, Danny moved to Burlington in the 8th grade and graduated from Williams High School. He enjoys talking to people and building personal relationships with his

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burlingtonmagnc.com 17

customers. Throughout our conversation, Danny emphasized his desire to keep things traditional at his shop. For example, some of his older patrons had their first haircuts in the same chairs still within the shop. It is not uncommon for these customers to bring their grandchildren to the shop, too. So, to build upon this tradition, Danny has collected some antique pieces from the original Downtown Barber Shop that resided in the basement of the Alamance Hotel.

When you first walk into the Downtown Barber Shop, you will notice a glass case filled with antique Pepsi bottles, barber supplies, and a picture of a WWII soldier. Now, this isn’t just any picture. It is the picture of the grandfather of one of the barbers at the shop. Surprisingly, this is not the only piece of WWII history within the shop. Danny’s grandfather, another WWII veteran, signed and dated a Bible which sits on one of the tables. It’s not everyday I get to see something signed from the 1940's. It was a humbling and exciting moment.

I wish I had known about the Downtown Barber Shop earlier. Customers have an attachment with the shop and staff that you won’t find in many places. Haircuts are only $12, but the experience itself is well worth the trip. n


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BURLINGTONNORTH CAROLINA

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(Continued from Page 15)not found within a 100 mile radius. This is the area’s “brand,” what we are known for and should use to spring-board future success.It’s all about the Experience: Successful downtowns attract lots of people because they are entertained. Whether it’s eating, taking in the arts, or shopping, creating an experience should be the goal and what’s promoted.Appearance Matters: Mr. Brooks pointed out that 70% of first time sales can be attributed to curb appeal. Continuing beautification efforts will have a direct economic impact in terms of additional sales and attracting new businesses.Location, Location, Location: Burlington, with approximately three million people within an hour’s drive, is situated to be a successful tourist draw. There is no reason why we as a community should be exporting our citizen’s entertainment and shopping dollars to other areas.Good Bones, Burlington!: During our tour of downtown, Roger was impressed with our architecture, strong occupancy rate and loved our Depot Plaza. To quote, “The Depot Plaza should definitely house an active café, ice cream or coffee shop and be programmed throughout the year!” He emphasized the Ps of downtown: People, Public Spaces, Programming!Following the presentation, a group of about thirty-five stakeholders sat down with Mr. Brooks for an in-depth discussion regarding next steps. It was clear that a consensus was emerging with participants. Follow-up surveys further reflected the desire from the group to keep the conversation going. Feedback and conversations have yielded several ideas for follow-up. Already an action plan is under development. The Burlington Downtown Corporation is committed to the following:Continuing the momentum generated from this session through additional speakers and project-based community action plans. To that end, the BDC would like to announce:A community-wide brainstorm session to be held on March 26th, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Sara-Anne Photography (341 S. Main Street). The purpose of the session is to identify priority projects that can be implemented within the next 12-18 months. Look for registration information on our website and Facebook page.Engaging Mr. Brooks and his team over the next twelve months to continue the work started last week.Spear-heading a collaborative effort to develop a “Brand Action Plan” for Burlington with Mr. Brooks help.Forming a team to research the feasibility of a year-round public market that will bring around-the clock life to downtown, incubate up and coming businesses, house the farmer’s market

and host special events. Roger emphasized that such a use will do more to revitalize a downtown than any other single strategy. The market should be located in a central area that will encourage spill-over activity.Spending the next two years intensively engaged in “Place-making” efforts that engage the community.Specifically, we are planning to launch “Fourth Fridays” in conjunction with the Musical Chairs concerts that are produced by the City of Burlington Parks and Recreation Department. Fourth Fridays will feature shops and restaurants open until 8 p.m., artist installations, pop-up businesses and dining options, as well as other special attractions.Additional work will focus on public art, beautification efforts such as more plants and flowers, improved signage and the addition of murals.Finally, we would like to thank everyone who attended and who have been so enthusiastic about downtown. Mr. Brooks demonstrated that the experience-rich downtown we desire is possible. It will take all of us, public, non-profit and private working together for common goals to make it happen. We hope you will join us in taking a hands-on approach to taking downtown Burlington to the next level. Please join in the conversation by following along on our Facebook page: http://www.Facebook.com/BurlingtonDowntown.Based in Seattle, Washington, Roger Brooks and his Destination Development International (DDI) team have assisted more than one thousand communities in North America and in Europe with their efforts to become outstanding destinations. They have helped cities make smart, research-based decisions for over three decades. Roger is also one of the most sought-after and highly rated key-note speakers working today.

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Burlington Downtown Mock-up