Leon Steele, Director, Downtown Kinston Revitalization

In an interview with Invest:, Leon Steele, director of Downtown Kinston Revitalization, discusses the city center’s revival, its need for new development, and the role that marketing and community events have played in rebuilding activity. “The impossible’s only underfunded. We just have to find the money,” Steele said.

What has changed in Downtown Kinston during your tenure?

I have been here doing this work for 10 years. Before that, downtown revitalization had been going on for about 40 years, but it had begun to coast. When I was hired, I was told to rebrand and reinvent the organization as I saw fit, shake things up, make things happen, and revive the nonprofit. I became the first director serving as a city department head while helping guide the nonprofit, so the organization is now quasi-public-private.

I listened to people throughout the county and did a SWOT analysis. In January 2018, I hit the ground running. The approach was different and fresh, and it scared some people. When economic decline happens slowly, people get used to it and stop seeing it. Downtown had become a ghost town when the mall opened. New eyes see the condition immediately, and the condition and vibrancy of a downtown are a direct barometer of the local attitude toward a community.

We have suppressed much of the historic negativity about the community and recreated both a daytime and nighttime vibe. We now have a designated social district, and an out-of-town developer converted buildings into new market-rate residential opportunities. We need more of that.

What does the next stage of downtown development require?

During the past 10 years, we reinforced the foundation I inherited. Now it is time to look at abandoned buildings and pursue specific businesses that complement, rather than compete with, existing businesses. We want more destination and experiential activity downtown. One example is an open-air dining project for a property where the facade remains, but the rest of the building does not. Rebuilding the full structure would cost a lot, but this is a way to bring the property back online.

We also need more commercial ground-floor space and residential development. Downtown has buildings that would make fantastic apartments with commercial space below. It is a walkable town, and we need developers with vision and creativity to acquire the remaining empty buildings for commercial and residential redevelopment.

How does growth elsewhere in the region connect with Downtown Kinston?

The Global TransPark is a major asset. It has a private jet service, and our local community college provides job training for the industries operating there. The college opened an aerospace training facility with classrooms, workshops, and a hangar, and additional large hangars are being built. We have Airbus here, and the airport can handle large aircraft.

There are industries touching the global economy, from kitchen cabinets and pharmaceuticals to military aircraft repair. That activity is taking off, but we have a housing shortage, including a workforce housing shortage. People who come here to work often have to live in neighboring towns. Some housing is coming back online, but too slowly. Downtown’s empty buildings offer an opportunity for apartments and mixed-use development.

What role has marketing played in downtown’s progress?

Marketing has been one of the keys to turning downtown around. Beyond countywide tourism marketing, no one was really marketing downtown or showing that there were businesses and opportunities here. Not being from Kinston, I saw opportunities everywhere, and I began drawing attention to them and planting seeds for what people could do.

The numbers started to change. Previously, an annual report might show four new businesses opening and two or three closing. During COVID, about 10 downtown buildings were sold. In 2022, 32 new businesses opened, while about two closed. Over 10 years, more than 46 downtown buildings have been sold. We now have only about three habitable, leasable retail spaces available among more than 140 downtown businesses. Parking is becoming an issue, which is another good problem to have, but we still have work to do. Revitalization never ends.

Funding remains a constant challenge. People often say a project is not in the budget or cannot be afforded. The impossible’s only underfunded. We just have to find the money. Since I arrived, we have raised about half a million dollars, mostly through private donations from residents, to complete needed projects.

How have events become part of downtown economic development?

We inherited the Christmas parade in 2018 and had six weeks to plan it. As the county seat, we wanted the parade to set the bar. We moved it from the morning into the early evening and encouraged participants to use imagination and pride in their floats. The goal was to create memories for younger people and make the parade an economic development opportunity.

Our media team livestreamed the parade and used sponsorships to pay the crew. That work led the team to livestream parades for other communities. We marketed the event heavily and have had as many as 8,000 people on the streets, compared with hundreds before. Families have the day to spend time and money downtown before the evening parade. About 2,000 people now participate in the parade itself.

A local carpet store donated, delivered, stored, and retrieved red carpet for the route. A Ferrari club provided eight red cars for City Council members, and a local Slingshot rental business provided three-wheeled open-air roadsters for county commissioners.

How have you expanded that seasonal activity?

We created another Christmas event in a downtown park that had not been decorated. We posted on Facebook that we were considering raising money for lights and a large tree, and we raised $35,000 in three weeks. We bought the tree and lights and shared lights with another park across the river, creating a visual connection and generating more activity there.

We now decorate the stage, hold performances, bring in Santa Claus, and turn on the lights. One year, a group of costumed stormtroopers escorted Santa through fog while a mix of the Imperial March and Carol of the Bells played. The park was packed, and people held up their phones to capture the moment. One stormtrooper flew in from Germany to participate.

What are your priorities for the next several years?

I want to get the indoor-outdoor dining project off the ground and market Kinston as a wedding destination. We already have hotels, venues, churches, and other infrastructure, although we need a bridal shop. I would also like to create a walk of fame recognizing the many notable people from Kinston, add more murals, and brand downtown parking lots so visitors can identify and find them easily.

An electronic kiosk could provide a map and show what is happening downtown. I also want a well-designed shipping-container village that can start small and expand. There are adjacent properties in an area of the downtown district that need a catalyst, and this project could help draw people from the highway into those blocks.

What stands out to you about Kinston’s community?

We have a wonderful community and terrific people. About a year after I moved here, I bought a house with a cellar. A storm came through, and the cellar flooded. I posted on Facebook asking what I should do, then went out and bought a submersible pump and a hose. When I returned, a car pulled into my driveway, and two strangers handed me another pump. One was a realtor who had seen my post, knew I was new in town, and wanted to help. Those are the kinds of people we have here.