Downtown Revitalization

By Lindell John Kay

Downtown Rocky Mount has a lot to offer residents and visitors.

The city is a regional hub of culture, arts, entertainment, technology and scientific discovery from the Imperial Centre to the Event Center.

Thanks to ongoing renovations, the Douglas Block is once again filled with vibrant buildings with pulsating businesses on the street level and luxurious downtown apartments on the second floor.

In the heart of the Douglas Block, the historic Booker T. Theater is a multipurpose facility capable of hosting theatrical and musical performances, movie showings, banquets, parties, meetings and much more. The remodeled theatre is perfect for any event space needs, according to the city’s Downtown Development Office.

The Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences is one of the premier cultural facilities in Eastern North Carolina. The Centre — created in the footprint of the former Imperial Tobacco Company and the old Braswell Memorial Library — houses an arts center, children’s museum, science center and community performing arts theater.

The Imperial Centre hosts everything from Pilates classes to painting or clay workshops to weekly family-friendly events. It is also available for rent for parties, reunions and corporate events.

Right down the road, Rocky Mount Mills has transformed a historic mill into residential housing, a popular microbrewery incubator, a small business station, office and retail spaces and more.

Twin County Museum & Hall of Fame is located inside Rocky Mount’s downtown train station. The museum preserves and celebrates the area’s diverse history. Doo-wop legend Milton Bullock, former member of the Platters, often performs for folks passing through the station.

While all of these destinations are important to downtown revitalization, the Rocky Mount Event Center is downtown’s crown jewel.

The indoor sports and event facility is unlike any sporting event center in Eastern North Carolina. It not only caters to sports tournaments but other events including concerts, conventions and meetings.

Mayor David Combs said the Event Center will revitalize the area’s economy, make the city a destination location, create positive energy for downtown and attract more millennials.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Gov. Roy Cooper, center, speaks following the announcement that Triangle Tire Company will be building a manufacturing facility at the Kingsboro megasite in Edgecombe County at Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro. Seated third from left is Triangle Group Company Chairman Ding Yuhua.

By Corey Davis

Economic development projects announced in the Twin Counties will bring much needed jobs to a struggling local economy over the years.

The Twin Counties received a huge economic shot in the arm late last year with the announcement of the largest manufacturing investment in rural North Carolina. Chinese tire plant Triangle Tire has begun site preparation work to build its first manufacturing facility outside of China and in the United States at the 1,449-acre Kingsboro Megasite in Edgecombe County.

Triangle Tire officials signed off agreements in May on a $580 million investment to build the manufacturing facility with the plan to create 800 jobs with average salary paying employees more than $56,000 a year plus benefits — higher than Edgecombe County’s average wage of about $32,000.

Earlier this year, Norris Tolson, CEO and president of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, who helped make the deal happened, said at a Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce event that the potential build-out of the project could be more than $1 billion and create between 1,100 and 1,200 jobs.

Ding Yuhua, executive chairman and director of the board of Triangle Tire Co. Ltd., who passed away in June at 69, had said the factors that persuaded the company to come to the Twin Counties after a comprehensive search for potential site included the megasite’s strategic location in the heart of the Eastern Seabord, just off U.S. 64 and 10 minutes east of Interstate 95, the quality of local workforce and the warm welcome from state and local officials.

“This significant investment will play a key role in Triangle Tire’s growth strategy worldwide and represents a strong commitment to our customers in North America,” Ding said. “We want to thank Governor (Roy) Cooper and his team for all of their work in making this happen. We are excited to be coming to Edgecombe County.”

Triangle Tire’s project will be done in two phases. The first phase will be a passenger tire facility that is expected to completed in April 2020. Company officials said the first phase will be a passenger and light truck tire plant, with groundbreaking for the second plant, a 1 million-unit capacity truckand-bus tire facility, to begin six months after the start of construction on the first plant.

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