CDC plans to develop MLK

The Simon Green Atkins Community Development Corporation is in charge of creating an overlay zoning district plan. The plan consists of how to improve the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive corridor from Business 40 in the south to U.S. Route 52 in the north.

Russell Smith, a professor of geography and consultant for the CDC, said they are looking at how the corridor can be changed to be more attractive and appealing to businesses and students.

"We want to raise standards for the area," Smith said.

"We go from the urban feel of downtown to a very suburban-type atmosphere on MLK. We want to make it more pedestrian-friendly."

The CDC has had several community meetings to discuss the overlay. Two meetings in December and two in February had a lot of student involvement.

There will be two more community meetings in May after they unveil the new overlay zoning district.

Endia Beal, creative director for the CDC said this plan will be beneficial to students and will give them access to different things.

Smith said it is difficult to find an apartment on this side of town for WSSU students. He said they are trying to make MLK more convenient to walk to and from the University and to businesses in the community.

The CDC's MLK corridor master plan took inventory of the area to see what was needed on MLK.

Another project the CDC is working on is the renovation of the old Boys & Girls Club at1922 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive into the Enterprise Center.

The Enterprise Center will develop a business incubator and community service center to serve the area. WSSU and other business owners will also use it.

The CDC was formed by Winston-Salem State University with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Beal and Smith both said they encourage student participation because it affects the WSSU community.

To take the student survey visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7MFKH27.