No surprise that the City Council unanimously approved High Point University’s request to close a portion of Montlieu Avenue. But —according to the HPE —- city staff threw in a little surprise:
City officials said that, if HPU renames the closed section, at least one of the remaining segments of Montlieu Avenue, either east or west of the closure, will have to take the new name as well, to allow for continuity of street names.
This was news to council members and HPU leaders, who said they haven’t discussed whether to rename the street but have done so with past street abandonments.
This could have a major impact on people who live on Montlieu Avenue who would have to change their addresses, said Sims, who tried unsuccessfully to attach a requirement that HPU not change the name of the closed section.
Hard to imagine HPU won’t want to change the street name in order to better leverage the planned $125m expansion, which includes a school of pharmacy, physical therapy and physician assistant studies, as well as a new undergraduate sciences building.
