More than $200 million in building projects are slated for development within blocks of Elon University School of Law, providing several new cultural, educational and recreational opportunities for Elon Law students, faculty and staff. An October 20 News & Record article reports on eleven major projects moving forward in downtown Greensboro, including a performing arts center, a downtown university center, an urban greenway, a new park, a new hotel and several apartment complexes.
The $65 million Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts has raised more than $28 million in private pledges toward a $35 million private fund raising goal. Substantial additional funds have been committed by local government. The facility will be located three blocks from Elon Law.
“We intend to build the most beautiful center for the performing arts, with superior acoustics and cutting-edge technology, in the southeastern United States,” Steven Tanger said at a September 9 event. Tanger has committed $7.5 million toward the project and the venue will bear his name. Developers expect to break ground on the facility in June, with an anticipated opening in 2016.
The downtown university center is a $40 million project being advanced by Opportunity Greensboro, a consortium of seven colleges and universities working with business to make Greensboro a national model for collaboration in knowledge-based economic development. The university center is envisioned as a shared space for collaborative projects of the city’s five four-year colleges, Greensboro Technical Community College and Elon University School of Law, which collectively enroll more than 50,000 students. Possible focal points of the center include health care and a global opportunities and entrepreneurship center. While the exact location for the university center has not yet been announced, all proposed options are within walking distance of Elon Law.
Other projects include:
– The Downtown Greenway, a $26 million, 4-mile urban loop with portions already complete and others well underway
– LeBauer City Park, envisioned as the centerpiece of a burgeoning cultural district downtown
– A senior resource center and carousel, to be located near the Greensboro Children’s Museum, Central Library, Greensboro Cultural Center and Greensboro Historical Museum.
These projects build on several recent additions to Greensboro’s downtown, including Center City Park, NewBridge Bank Park, home to a minor league affiliate team of the Florida Marlins, and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
