The community of Fayetteville and Fort Bragg have been selected by the Department
of the Army and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center
in Washington D.C. as one of seven communities in the country to be the focus
of a project that seeks "to strengthen the economic, historic, and social
ties between Army installations and historic commercial districts in neighboring
communities."
Representatives from the National Trust Main Street Center (NTMSC) and the
Department of the Army have made many visits to downtown Fayetteville and Fort
Bragg to introduce and guide the program called the Army-Community Heritage
Partnership to the community and to the post.
Teresa Lynch, NTMSC Sr. Program Officer and project coordinator provides valuable
insight on "how the relationship between Fort Bragg and the community of
Fayetteville can be strengthened and lead to economic growth for the downtown
district." Lynch is usually accompanied by other consultants that specialize
in downtown revitalization.
The services and technical assistance focus on preservation-based economic
development strategies that will better connect Fort Bragg with the community
and assist in increasing the vitality of the historic downtown commercial district.
Army-Community Heritage Partnership
Purpose:
An initiative to strengthen the community ties (economic, historic, social)
between Army installations and neighboring historic commercial districts through
a program of work that provides technical assistance and training in preservation-based
economic development strategies to communities that have, as their mission,
historic commercial district revitalization.
Objectives:
1) To better serve the needs of Army personnel (military and civilian), and
those who visit or work on the installation by enhancing shopping opportunities,
product availability, and services offered in adjacent historic commercial districts.
2) To encourage increased economic vitality in the adjacent historic commercial
districts by understanding the market opportunities afforded by the Army installations
and by developing strategies that take advantage of those conditions.
3) To create linkages and parallels between the historic buildings and cultural
heritage of the Army installation and the development of the adjacent historic
commercial district and the evolution of its social life.
4) To investigate the potential for a heritage tourism strategy that would benefit
economic conditions in adjacent historic commercial districts and add value
and opportunities for reuse of historic buildings on Army installations.
Process:
1) The National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center (NTMSC) and
the Army select three Army installations with adjacent historic commercial districts
for the Heritage Partnership project.
2) The NTMSC and the Army identify individuals both in the adjoining communities
and at the Army installations who can provide support to this initiative. The
two groups from the Army and from the community are then joined together as
a Heritage Partnership Team in a program of work that will assist in the revitalization
of the commercial district and lead to a closer relationship between the installation
and the community.
3) The NTMSC provides a scope of work that includes technical assistance and
training delivered through the Heritage Partnership Team to individuals and
groups responsible for revitalization in each of the three historic commercial
districts.
4) The technical services delivered to each commercial district group varies
depending on how organizationally advanced the group is and based on the comprehensiveness
of their program of work. In one case, it might mean helping in the start-up
of a downtown revitalization organization and initiating a relationship between
the downtown business community and the Army installation. In another situation,
it might mean moving the commercial district organization, which is already
applying a comprehensive Main Street revitalization approach, to a higher level
of responsiveness to the Army family's market needs.
5) The technical assistance provided through the NTMSC will help each local
revitalization group (regardless of their current level of commercial revitalization
achievement) define market needs for the Army installation, determine how those
needs can be met by the commercial district's existing businesses, encourage
the expansion of businesses within the district, examine the potential for reuse
and reinvestment of any available historic buildings for expanded commercial
purposes, and translate those needs into opportunities for future business growth.
6) The NTMSC will work closely with defined Army installation personnel and
with each commercial district revitalization group to determine the potential
for a heritage tourism strategy that can lead to the reuse and re-investment
in Army historic buildings and in those historic structures located in the adjoining
commercial district.
The following reports have been published by the Army Community Heritage Partnership
team.
Task Force Descriptions
Fort Bragg-Fayetteville
Assessment Report
Fort Bragg Customer Survey
Heritage
Tourism Analysis
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