The 3-day NC Main Street annual conference was held this March in Goldsboro, with nearly 800 attendees from all over North Carolina and beyond. Elkin was among 12 North Carolina Main Street communities that received awards for excellence in downtown revitalization projects during the Main Street Awards Ceremony on March 13. North Carolina Department of Commerce Chief Deputy Secretary Jordan Whichard, Assistant Secretary of Rural Development Kenny Flowers, and Director of the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center Liz Parham presented awards in design, organization, promotion, and economic vitality.
A panel of judges chose this year’s award winners from 31 nominations submitted by 19 Main Street communities statewide. Sixteen total awards were presented, and of that, Elkin was honored with three Awards of Merit. Elkin’s Main Street Champion, Farando “Sly” Best was also celebrated during another award ceremony on March 14, the final day of the NC Main St Conference. (See next week’s edition for more details on Best’s award.)
Elkin award winners for Main Street projects were 209 W Main St (Currently Wildflower Artisan Gift Shop/Laurie Milligan building owner) for Best Façade Rehabilitation Under $15,000; 128 W Man St (Royall’s Building/Bonanza Group building owner) for Best Historic Rehabilitation; and 203 W Depot Alley (Elkin Railyard/Mitzi and Virgil Settle property and business owner) for Best Outdoor Space Improvement.
Elkin’s Awards of Merit were for three separate projects completed recently in the historic downtown. One showcased a beautiful façade transformation at 209 W Main St (historically known as the Frazier building). Previously, the façade was a patch of faded paint in various colors with an awning that didn’t match, but was turned into a classy, eye-catching façade showcasing beautiful architecture highlighted in complimentary colors, with a new awning.
Award two, was a full rehabilitation of Elkin’s beloved Royall’s building inside and out. A grant from the National Park Service assisted with some costs for the exterior repointing and cleaning of the bricks, and removal of decaying trim along the top of the exterior walls. The interior deconstruction found original tin ceilings and the original flooring was kept, along with the reuse the Royall’s restaurant booth seating now used at The Crazy Pig BBQ, a restaurant that filled the main level after Royall’s Soda Shoppe closed permanently.
Award three, celebrated the amazing transformation of a neglected lot filled with fallen tree limbs and brushy over-growth into an outdoor beer garden like no other in the state, reworking the earth to add grass, fire pits, outdoor seating, a stage and covered seating, and funky shipping containers for taps and restrooms — a true destination for the region. Videos about these awards can be viewed on the NC Main Street website, www.ncmainstreetandplanning.com/ncmainstreetawards.
Laura Gaylord, Elkin’s Main Street & Community Manager, and Christa Lilley, Elkin Main Street Advisory Board Chair, attended the conference and the award ceremony to accept awards on behalf of those who could not attend, and to cheer on the board’s nomination for the Main Street Champion during a separate award ceremony.
“We had a wonderful experience at the conference in Goldsboro” said Gaylord, “and are so proud of our property owners and businesses owners who put forth amazing effort to create downtown spaces for all to enjoy, and who focus on historic building preservation with quality workmanship and design. It was an honor to show conference attendees what a small town can do when the community members love their downtown and want to invest to make a difference.”
“An extraordinary amount of planning, coordination, and hard work went into bringing these award-winning projects to fruition,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I extend my most sincere gratitude to the Main Street staff and local leaders who carry these projects. Thanks to their efforts, the Main Street program has leveraged more than $5.2 billion in public and private investment over the last four decades.”
The North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center works in regions, counties, cities, towns, downtown districts and designated North Carolina Main Street communities to inspire placemaking through building asset-based economic development strategies that achieve measurable results in investment, business growth and jobs.
See next week’s edition of The Tribune to read more about Elkin’s awards at the conference where downtown business owner Farando “Sly” Best was honored as a “Main Street Champion.”
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