Duany master plan for High Point completed

The master plan based on urban planner Andrés Duany's visit to High Point earlier this year is complete, and posted on the website of City Project.

The plan was finalized on Nov. 14, about two weeks behind schedule.

I haven't had time to read and digest it, but it appears to encompass all the elements raised during Duany's talks and highlighted in consultant Peter Freeman's presentation to business leaders last month, including "dieting" North Main Street, adding green space to Library Square, developing the Pit, work on the intersection of Farris Avenue and North Main Street, pop-up cafes on Kivett Drive, the Inc. Pad, public space at Market Square, "Playtown," an amphitheater, an auditorium and a "retail village" near High Point University.

UPDATE: A qualified endorsement from High Point University President Nido Qubein, who read the master plan over the weekend:

"Ignite High Point is working hard to propel our city forward in purposeful and productive ways. I am encouraged by the master plan and prayerful that we will act on pieces of it promptly. The university is committed to work closely with the City Project board to help achieve good things for all the citizens of High Point."

Qubein's comment doesn't address whether he supports the concept, known as the Inc. Pad, which would create a business incubator at Oak Hollow Mall — real estate that is owned by the university. Or the "retail village" concept recommended for the shopping area on Lexington Avenue near the university. When I asked Qubein in September for his thoughts on those two concepts, he indicated that he wasn't familiar with them.

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