The possibility of having 12,000 residents in downtown Winston-Salem represents a dream and a big challenge, advocates of revitalization efforts said yesterday.
A researcher from UNC Chapel Hill, Emil Malizia, said that downtown has the potential for several more growth spurts in coming years.
But Malizia, the chairman of the city and regional planning department at the university, cautioned that much infrastructure, retail and cultural work lies ahead to attract that kind of population growth.
Malizia spoke at the annual meeting of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership.
Downtown began this decade with 675 residents and currently has about 2,250, some of whom live in housing in remodeled manufacturing and warehouse buildings.
Malizia said that downtown needs more than jobs and more housing units in more price ranges to thrive.
City services have to be upgraded to meet expanding demand, he said.
He suggested that another public school will eventually be needed in or around downtown.
And, he said, city officials should broaden the use of incentives to attract investors sitting on the fence about downtown.
"We're learning that having a healthy core district for the central city of a metropolitan area benefits the region as a whole," Malizia said. "The areas should be complementary to each other, not competitive with each other."
Malizia was preaching to the choir with his assessment. Many downtown advocates are major backers of the "Rise of the Creative Class" movement, which equates a strong arts and cultural scene with attracting and retaining young professionals and boosting economic development.
"We are at a threshold, and there is passion to move forward," said Rence Callahan, the chairman of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership. "But that might not be enough. Supporting individual projects are good, but they don't by themselves create a paradigm shift the way that policy changes can."
High on Callahan's wish list are interstate signs that lead motorists to downtown, pedestrian signs for getting around downtown, and a preference for "form-based" building codes over land-use codes. Form-based codes have become popular because they emphasize coordinating the appearance of buildings with streets, blocks and public spaces.
Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem, said that having 12,000 residents downtown is a worthy goal.
"To make that happen, there are issues we'll have to resolve along the way, such as recycling, an increase in pets, enhancing city services and adding retail amenities," Joines said. "We'll have to strike a balance with the appropriate amount and style of housing as the population growth happens."
Jason Thiel, the president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, said that the group has raised enough money to be able to commit to a 12th season of its Summer Music Series, although additional sponsorships are needed. He said that the group expects to announce the performers by late March.
The summer music series was the biggest moneymaker for the partnership last year, generating $141,666 in revenue, followed by $125,000 from the Millennium Fund and $124,960 from dues.
The partnership also is preparing for its fourth Salute! wine festival.
The partnership also recognized the five winners of its excellence awards for 2008 -- the late Richard Redding, One Park Vista, Piedmont Craftsmen Inc., the Russell Agency and Shapiro Walker Design.
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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