Schedule and Funding

Construction schedule

Though a groundbreaking date hasn't been set, we hope to start on Downtown Greenway construction in the first quarter of 2009. The first phase of construction will focus on the segment in the southwest corner of the loop in the Warnersville neighborhood on an easement running through the Greensboro College Sports Campus. This section goes from the ramp at Freeman Mill Road and Lee Street to the intersection of South Eugene and Bragg Streets. Construction of the entire 4.8-mile loop is expected to take 5-10 years. Download map

Funding

The Downtown Greenway will be funded as a public-private partnership from a wide variety of sources. Two local foundations supported the project in its early stages. The Moses Cone Wesley Long Community Health Foundation and the Cemala Foundation each made grants of $500,000.

The N.C. Health & Wellness Trust Fund awarded a Fit Community Grant of $60,000 for construction expenses for Phase One. The Greensboro Bicentennial Commission made a grant of $60,000 to assist with marketing efforts for the project.

On November 4, 2008, Greensboro voters approved three bonds, including a $134 million Street Improvements Bond that assigns a total of $12 Million for constructing greenways. $7 Million of this is allocated to the Downtown Greenway. Local bonds are intended to cover just a portion of the total cost over the next 5-10 years, with other funding sources covering the rest. Local bond funds can be used as matching funds for some federal and state grants. In addition, contributions from foundations, businesses and individuals are also expected to help pay for the Greenway.

Passage of the Street Improvement Bond also leveraged an additional $4.5 Million in private funds for construction of the Downtown Greenway. Four Greensboro foundations had pledged funds that were contingent upon passage of the Street Improvement Bond:

• Cemala Foundation - $1 million
• Joseph M. Bryan Foundation - $1.5 million
• Moses Cone Wesley Long Community Health Foundation - $1 million
• Weaver Foundation - $1 million

So actually, with the November 4 Bond vote, the Downtown Greenway project gained a total of $11.5 million. Thank you, Greensboro voters--you are a wise and far-sighted group! The date for breaking ground on Phase One of the greenway will be announced very soon.

Other businesses, individuals and foundations are likely to be major contributors to the Greenway. City and county plans already call for more greenways, trails and parks in and around Greensboro, so the Downtown Greenway dovetails with those existing plans.

 

 

  The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation   

  

The Downtown Greenway needs your help.

Contact Dabney Sanders at (336) 387-8353 or dsanders@actiongreensboro.org to find out how you can make this unique project a reality.