As Forsyth County voters ponder a $40 million bond for a new downtown library, the Winston-Salem Journal’s Scott Sexton says there’s a lesson to be learned from Greensboro’s experience building its own downtown library:
Once upon a time in a land not so far away, leading lights and burgermeisters decided that Greensboro simply had to have a new central library if the Gate City’s downtown was to flourish.
…..Though they eventually succeeded in getting a new library downtown, Greensboro city fathers also unwittingly authored a blueprint of what not to do, and our own leading lights would be well advised to heed it. This November, Forsyth County voters will be asked to approve $40 million in bonds to pay for a new downtown library — the next step in our 10-year campaign to build the same things that Greensboro has.
“We didn’t have an easy time of it, that’s for sure,” said Sandy Neerman, Greensboro’s library director.
Greensboro has a fine downtown library, though that section of Church Street still has yet to develop. Note also the city forked over $100k for the Children’s Museum across the street, which was supposed to be another cornerstone for economic development.
As for the Winston’s downtown taxpayer-financed stadium —-the mother of all “things Greensboro has” —- they’ll find out soon enough that stadiums don’t spark surrounding development. It’s sure been a tough pill for G’boro to swallow.
