Three years ago, leaders of the City of Kinston said they would make a conscious effort to work on the Martin Luther King Jr. corridor to help bring economic growth and progress in the area.
Elder Bill Strayhorn of White Rock Presbyterian Church said there hasn’t been too many signs of progress since city officials started working on plans to improve the corridor.
“They’ve talked about it, and talked about it, and talked about it, and that’s it,” Strayhorn said. “They talk about updating things, but I haven’t seen anything other than the traffic island and the brick crosswalks.
“I thought they would develop something on the corner of King Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where there’s a vacant lot, but it never came into fruition. All I’ve seen on King Street is a general purpose store.”
Kinston resident Kearney Bryant said he hasn’t seen too much growth either.
“Other than the roundabout, that’s really all I’ve seen,” Bryant said.
Adam Ashmili, manager of Lunch Box, has worked at the convenience store since 1994. He said as the years have gone by, the area has declined.
“It’s getting worse every day,” Ashmili said. “You have houses and businesses closing. This place has turned into a ghost town.”
Kinston resident Jessica Starkey hasn’t felt like there has been any progression and wants to see alterations.
“We just see the same things over and over,” Starkey said. “We need to have some change in the area.”
City officials: Progress is being made
Planning director Adam Short understands the concerns of the citizens when it comes to not seeing the economic growth, but assures progress is being made.
“What is happening may not be readily apparent, but we’re going through the level of revitalization,” Short said.
In 2010, the City of Kinston received a Community Assistance Initiative grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation for $425,000, along with $450,000 from the N.C. Department of Transportation as a means to improve the condition of the corridor as a means to create curb appeal for new jobs and investment.
“We were able to use the money for the roundabout, sidewalk and landscaping,” Short said. “Most of it is finished except for a few scattered parcels from property owners who didn’t want to give up their easements.”
Kinston City Manager Tony Sears agreed with Short, saying the city has spent plenty of time trying to improve the area.
“There’s not a lot of physical progression right now, but it doesn’t mean real work hasn’t been put in,” Sears said. “The MLK Corridor is something we’ve focused our resources and staff time on, planning enforcements for the area. We’ve been lucky up to this point to partner with the (Department of Transportation) for the traffic circles, sidewalk improvement, landscaping and street resurfacing, including the new crosswalk.”
Short has also said there has been attempts to receive other grants, but hadn’t been able to acquire some of them.
“We applied for funds, including a choice neighborhood grant,” Short said. “Once we went through the process, which takes about two years, we have to get the implementation set funds. This is the third year we’ve applied for it.”
Short believes the third time will be the charm.
“I’ve heard from people who have seen our proposal and feel strong about our chances, so I feel optimistic,” Short said. “It can take three or four applications for big federal grants. We’ve had to work out the kinks over the years.”
Although J. Lin Dawson isn’t a public official with the City of Kinston, he is trying to make an impact in the area. The former New England Patriot and current Chairman of the J.H. Sampson Community Development Corporation has bought several buildings in the neighborhood, including the J.H. Sampson school in April.
Dawson is working on turning the school into a community development center to create a safe haven for Kinston residents.
“When this community development center is up and running, we’ll have an outreach here,” Building Coordinator Toby Hatch said. “People have stopped by and asked questions about what we’re doing here and have been excited about what we’re working on.”
Dawson was unavailable for comment for this story, but in an April piece in The Free Press, he said, “We see Sampson as a full, operational community life center. It will be run as a nonprofit organization. It was a lifeline for our community.”
Phase 1: Demolition
The City of Kinston has put the biggest focus into demolishing some of the abandoned property. In the fall of 2012, the Planning Department received a state catalyst grant worth $100,000, which would support the demolition of homes posing as significant safety hazards to residents around the corridor.
“We have a list of 16 homes and have prioritized them in primary and alternate categories,” Short said. “It’s strictly voluntary, and while some have given us permission, others have been hard to reach.”
Sears said some of the property owners have neglected houses and buildings, leaving them to rot.
“We’re trying to eliminate those who left Kinston and abandoned property,” Sears said. “It’s not uncommon to see them move to other states. Of course, they don’t see the property every day, so they have no way to see how much their buildings have decayed.”
The hope for the City of Kinston is progression and new structures coming from where the blighted properties once stood.
“We’re not doing this for those who have left; we’re doing it for those who remained,” Sears said. “We don’t want to ease the economic burden for those who have fled, and it would be the city’s hope something positive is rebuilt. We want to see a new home in place of one that was dilapidated, or a business coming from one that was run down.”
Phase 2: Revitalization
Community Development Planner Marcia Perritt said the City of Kinston is concentrating on bringing more to the MLK Corridor besides the removal of blighted property.
“Our focus is on demolishing homes and dilapidated property,” Perritt said. “We want to have something in the area that can provide value to the community. We’re developing something which can provide value to the community, such as goods, services and employment.”
After the grants and permits are passed, the next step will consist of giving property owners good reasoning to build in the area.
“Phase 2 ideally is about how we can encourage people to build new homes in the corridor and get them to understand it’s profitable to own something in the area,” Sears said. “The goal isn’t to knock houses down, but get the habitat and the private sector to build a house.
“I don’t think the city is looking at it as demolition. We view this is the beginning of a process, not the end.”
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.