Dec 17, 20193 min read

Client Profile: Gastonia, North Carolina

A three-time All-America City and recipient of the U.S. Conference of Mayors top Livability Award, Gastonia, North Carolina is strategically located just minutes west of Charlotte and midway between Atlanta and North Carolina’s Research Triangle.

The historic business district boasts approximately 49 acres and 1.1 million square feet of buildings. Main Avenue offers opportunity for rehabilitation projects while still maintaining the past architectural flavor and history.

The City has invested $6.3 million dollars renovating the 1911 Gaston County Courthouse, which now houses the James B. Garland Municipal Business Center, a one-stop government service facility. Gaston County is renovating the former BB&T Banking Center (formally the Belk Department Store) in order to house the County Administration Offices. Private investment has resulted in properties in the process of renovation and several properties are available for sale.

The City Council established the York Chester Historic District in 1988, the Brookwood District in 1996 and a Municipal Service District in 1997 to support city housing. The nonprofit Gastonia Economic Development Corporation leads the development with the cooperation of merchants, property owners and the City Council. This corporation is responsible for the National Historic District status being awarded, actively markets the downtown and serves as the contact for the revitalization of the downtown area.

In 1997 the new county courthouse, the new social services facility and Gastonia’s new police department were constructed. The downtown offers governmental services, banking institutions and opportunity for commercial and residential uses.

The City of Gastonia is focused on encouraging new investment by investing in streets and utilities, zoning ordinance modification and offering incentive programs for commercial and residential investments.

The Investment in Downtown Economic Assistance and Livability, (IDEAL) is an economic incentive program offering short-term financial assistance to eligible, new and existing business and property owners within the City’s Municipal Service District (MSD).

Another exciting development project for the city is FUSE – the Franklin Urban Sports and Entertainment District. It links the center city to the historic Loray Mill area and is expected to open in the late spring or early summer of 2021. FUSE is a multi-use facility that will host sporting events, festivals and concerts year-round and will include a baseball park, multiple downtown hotels, brewpubs, and housing. This facility provides opportunities for new residential and commercial development.

Gastonia needed help attracting the “next level” of retail and restaurants. The collaborative retail recruitment The Retail Coach offers as well as website offerings are two of the reasons Gastonia decided to make the change from a competing firm to The Retail Coach.

The recruitment goals are very targeted. For example, Gastonia wants to attract a grocery store in west part of the city and at the same time, attract a destination brewer/ restaurant for downtown.

Gastonia has been busy working to promote the intrinsic value of the city and improve and revitalize downtown. The Retail Coach looks forward to being a partner in the future successes of this historic and forward-thinking city.

The Retail Coach is a national retail recruitment and development firm that combines strategy, technology, and more than 35 years of creative retail expertise to develop and deliver high-impact retail recruitment and development plans to local governments, economic development organizations, and private developers. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24|text_align:left|color:%2300619f|line_height:1.2″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Slab%3A100%2C300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:300%20light%20regular%3A300%3Anormal”][vc_custom_heading text=”” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:16|text_align:left|color:rgba(0%2C0%2C0%2C0.5)|line_height:1.2″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Slab%3A100%2C300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:300%20light%20regular%3A300%3Anormal”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]