“Development of downtown Elon underway as university hires consultant”

Development of downtown Elon underway as university hires consultant

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 08:55 AM PDT

In an effort to build up the downtown area of Elon, the university recently hired Ken Kauffman, a development consultant, to begin making this goal a reality.

According to Gerald Whittington, senior vice president for Business, Finance and Technology, Kauffman has worked on building retail areas for institutions including the University of North Carolina, Duke University and Wake Forest University, among others.

Whittington said this part of the Elon Commitment, a 10-year strategic plan, could progress within the next few years.

"I would expect in the next year or two or three that you'd probably see some new building or some highly renovated buildings that would include new retail opportunities," he said.

Whittington said Kauffman has experience developing retail in college towns.

He will work to identify properties that could be developed, renovated or revitalized for new businesses, Whittington added.

"You want retailers of high quality," he said. "You want retailers who will be successful in drawing people year round."

Whittington said this includes businesses like clothing and jewelry stores, restaurants, services like dry cleaners and drug stores and professional offices for doctors and lawyers.

He also said expanding Elon's downtown area is not just the responsibility of the university, but also local entrepreneurs. The university wants independent business owners to invest in the area, not just the university itself.

"What we're trying to do is make a difference initially that will tip the balance and make others come in and say 'wow that's a great place to be,'" Whittington said.

Town Manager Mike Dula said the Town of Elon created their own plan for retail expansion about five years ago.

"In our case, the retail part of downtown is relatively small compared to the size of the whole town," he said.

Dula said since the town is responsible for roads, sewers and other related utilities, any development by the university or private business owners would have to be a joint venture.

David Dillion, owner of 116 Oak restauraunt on West Lebanon Avenue, said he would love to see the area rid of non-retail.
"I would love for the downtown to have more stores, more restaurants," he said.

Dillon said it would be beneficial if businesses were also targeted to residents other than students.

"We want the Town of Elon to be a destination for not only our students, faculty and staff, but our community itself," Whittington said.

Dula added that the availability of private money would be a factor in downtown expansion.

"I hope that things develop in a positive and economical way," he said

According to Whittington, there are no formal plans for development at this time.

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