The Winston-Salem Journal quotes Asheville’s Pat Whalen on our town’s revitalization:
More than 200 people attended the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel.
Patrick Whalen Jr., president of Public Interest Projects Inc. of Ashville, gave the keynote address. Whalen’s company has helped transform Asheville’s downtown.
Whalen said that reviving downtown meant overcoming a culture whose mantra was “It won’t work, don’t even try.”
He said Asheville once had a thriving downtown, but like many others, started to go downhill in the 1970s.
“When expressways and malls came to Asheville, downtown died,” he said. “By 1980, the streets and sidewalks of downtown Asheville were empty.”
The city made some good decisions, he said, including allowing liquor-by-the-drink in what had been a dry city, and allowing sidewalk dining. Also, most of the major public buildings, including the library, courthouse, city hall, even the minor-league baseball field, stayed downtown even after many of the businesses had left.
One of the keys to the revival was recycling older buildings rather than demolishing them, he said. That allows developers to take advantage of the unique architectural elements of a city, he said.
“People are tired of Anywhere, USA,” he said.