Downtown Revitalization: Lillington, NC

This project aimed to show and complete a financing strategy for revitalization in downtown Lillington, North Carolina. While it was produced as part of a semester-long class project, I worked with two other students and met with town leaders, residents and business owners who had previously expressed interest in downtown revitalization but didn't know how or where to start. However, they had formed a group called the Lillington Revitalization Group and we were able to work closely with them. We worked with the town residents and leaders to develop a 'wish list' for the downtown to establish a price point.

Then, we determined that the best approach to the project would to be to create a BID in downtown Lillington, and then use the additional tax revenue finance the project. We projected tax returns for two different scenarios and then determined the length of time required to repay the costs of redevelopment.

Finally, we discussed our results with the town of Lillington, including the town planner. We helped town residents to understand the process necessary to create a BID through the town council, and then we gave them information on financing and other BIDs in North Carolina to submit to the town council as evidence of the viability of this financing method.

Below is the powerpoint of the final presentation given to a group of our peers, the Lillington town planner, and a few other local government officials from various North Carolina municipalities.