As part of its master planning process for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Corridor, Winston-Salem State University’s (WSSU) S.G. Atkins Community Development Corporation (CDC) extended an open invitation to all Piedmont Triad residents to participate in an input meeting December 8, at the United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, located at 450 Metropolitan Drive (at 4th Street and U.S. 52) in Winston-Salem.
Entitled a “Concept Charrette” and sponsored by WSSU’s S.G. Atkins CDC, the event was intended to gather suggestions about making the MLK Jr. Drive corridor, the intersection of MLK and New Walkertown Road to MLK and Waughtown Street, an attractive destination that is a pedestrian and business friendly environment with products and services for university students, staff, faculty and Piedmont Triad residents at large.
“We wanted to hear the specifics from the people of the community,” said Carol Davis, S.G. Atkins CDC executive director. “We did not want to make any assumptions. Our goal is to plan an attractive community that provides easy access to a diverse variety of fun restaurants and shops, and other businesses and services that the community will tell us they need and want.”
According to SG Atkins CDC officials, a “concept charrette” is an intensive creative session in which community members, working with a professional design team, concentrate on specific planning and design challenges and present solutions. The term comes from a French word meaning “cart,” and is reminiscent of the days when 19th century French architectural students hurriedly sketched as they rode carts to the place where their plans would be graded. This commonly used format for group decision-making seems most logical for soliciting broad community input into the revitalization of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Corridor, S.G. Atkins CDC officials said.
A team composed of Master Plan consultants from the architectural firm of Brailsford and Dunlavey, and S.G. Atkins CDC personnel will conduct the session. The team will work with members of the CDC’s Master Plan Advisory Committee, WSSU students, faculty/staff, community residents, small businesses, private developers, and other stakeholders from the MLK Corridor to consider the area’s planning goals, as well as what specific design and program elements should be included in a development vision and plan for the area.
The SG Atkins CDC began its MLK Corridor Master Plan Project in the spring of 2008, with visioning sessions for CDC Board and project Advisory Committee members, WSSU officials, and others in the area to better understand what current perceptions, ideas, and goals were for the future of East Winston. In addition, a land use assessment of each parcel in the area, along with a market analysis of the economic potential and the remaining challenges for the MLK corridor, has been completed.
