Now the N&R is reporting that the proposed $50 million downtown development could include —- you guessed it — an ACC Hall of Champions. But the preferred location –as far as the city and Greensboro Coliseum director Matt Brown are concerned — is the old Canada Dry bottling plant that has been sitting on Lee Street seemingly forever. In fact, the City Council is meeting Tuesday to consider purchasing the property. One could reasonably guess that the Hall will be on the table at some point in the near future, if it’s not already.
But the pressure’s on for a downtown location:
Downtown leaders say they want to see the museum somewhere in the center city, even if the proposed development doesn’t materialize.
“Everybody I know (downtown) talks about it,” said Milton Kern, a center city developer. “They are 100 percent behind it.”
Kern and others think a downtown location would produce more economic spin-off than a site near the interstate.
They say that visitors who come downtown are more likely to visit other attractions in the center city and perhaps stay overnight.
“It gives us an opportunity to show off our downtown,” said Roy Carroll, who is converting the former Wachovia Tower on North Elm Street into a condo-office-restaurant complex. “We already have some excellent cultural venues downtown.”
Downtown Greensboro Inc.’s Ray Gibbs turned the heat up a little more, saying that if someone doesn’t act quickly, the development —-whatever it is —- could move to another city:
But Gibbs thinks the project, which could range from $50 million to $150 million, is Greensboro’s to lose.
“I think we have a good chance,” Gibbs said. “But if we have trouble putting the land together or if the (governmental) approval processes are too tedious or take too long, I think they will go somewhere else.
“They would like to move as quickly as they can. … (But) I think they want to do something here.”
This is going to be very interesting.
