Downtown Greensboro Moves Forward with Strength, Optimism Thanks to Collaboration, Investment and Thoughtful Planning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2026
Downtown Greensboro Moves Forward with Strength, Optimism Thanks to Collaboration, Investment and Thoughtful Planning
Greensboro, N.C. – Downtown Greensboro Inc (DGI) hosted the annual State of Downtown Greensboro event at The Pyrle on Wednesday, bringing together more than 450 community, business, education and elected leaders to hear from business owners and stakeholders about the momentum, challenges and key initiatives for the future of downtown.
“Despite headwinds in 2025, the state of our downtown and our future outlook is strong thanks to collaboration, investment and thoughtful planning,” said Zack Matheny, President of DGI. “People continue to visit our center city at record levels, several catalytic projects have reached major milestones and the recent attention downtown has received will help foster a stronger, more collaborative center city for all.”
Matheny reported that annual visits downtown increased year-over-year from 8.7 million visits in 2024 to 9.2 million visits in 2025. He also highlighted that downtown is home to 1,550 companies, 4,100 residents and 91 restaurants, bars & breweries.
The focus of this year’s State of Downtown event was a panel discussion featuring business owners and stakeholders discussing the opportunities, challenges and future of downtown. They discussed why they invested in downtown, the importance of collaboration and excitement about key initiatives of the GSO35 downtown plan. Participants included Greensboro Owner of Savor the Moment Dessert Bar Tanya Dickens, Assistant City Manager Andrea Harrell, Owner of Chez Genèse Kathryn Hubert and Managing Partner of The Pyrle Will Stewart.
“We thought it was especially important this year to hear directly from small business owners and downtown stakeholders about the benefits and challenges of doing business here and about solutions for the future,” said Matheny. “Small businesses are the backbone of our downtown and we are grateful for their ongoing partnership and dialogue.”
Matheny noted that collaboration is at an all-time high. He highlighted collaboration with business owners through monthly retailer meetings, social media partnerships, key events and initiatives such as Chow Downtown. Additionally, he highlighted collaboration with the City of Greensboro, using a Venn diagram to explain DGI responsibilities, City responsibilities and shared responsibilities. DGI and the City of Greensboro are also collaborating on both short and long-term solutions to directly address the six key themes of recent community feedback including safety, parking, cleanliness, noise, vacant storefronts and housing.
When discussing the continued investment in downtown, Matheny highlighted progress on three major catalytic projects in 2025, including The Pyrle which recently opened on Elm Street, the beginning of construction at the AC Marriott near First National Bank Field and the acquisition of the former News & Record site by a community-minded local ownership group.
He also announced information about three lesser-known developments downtown. Demolition on the Davie Street parking deck will begin in the coming weeks and will be replaced by an apartment building with 171 units and roughly 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail or restaurant space. Additionally, Matheny shared that a property owner downtown has been approved to build a Residence Inn by Marriott, however the location cannot yet be disclosed. Finally, he emphasized Elon Law’s continued commitment to remain and grow in downtown Greensboro.
Thoughtful Planning
Looking forward, Matheny provided an update on GSO35, the bold 10-year strategic vision plan underway to harness the strengths of downtown Greensboro while guiding thoughtful growth and investment.
The plan was developed over the last year with input from more than 2,500 community members and is built on four defining moves — bold steps that will transform downtown into a place that is welcoming, vibrant, livable, connected and prosperous for all.
The four “Big Moves,” or exciting actions that will help set the course for downtown Greensboro include:
- Catalyzing Church Street for downtown’s next era of growth by developing key catalytic sites (former News & Record, Galyon Depot, Weaver Foundation Property, Gate City Motors Site), adding housing and improving connectivity through inviting streetscapes.
- Energizing Elm Street to strengthen Greensboro’s historic core through streetscape modernization and business support, boosting storefront occupancy, reducing retail churn and enhancing safety and visibility for small businesses.
- Harnessing Housing by adding 5,000 new residents downtown through a mix of apartments, condos and other housing types to meet demand, attract talent and grow support for local businesses.
- Growing the Greenway to expand downtown’s footprint and spark development in surrounding neighborhoods yielding new housing, maker spaces, food and drink clusters and regional draw.
Clear, measurable growth targets have been identified to help realize the community’s GSO35 vision over the next 10 years. These downtown-specific growth targets include adding:
- 5,000 new residents
- 3,000 new jobs
- 100+ new/expanded ground floor businesses
- 12 million annual visits
- 10 catalytic redevelopment projects
- $1 billion in private investment dollars
Matheny reported that GSO35 is moving from planning to implementation with GSO35 Implementation Team Co-Chairs in place and four committees established, each focusing on a “big move.” He noted that continued community outreach and engagement will remain a focus of the committees throughout implementation. Additionally, the committees will be reporting regularly to the community to track progress toward the 10-year growth targets.
To view the presentation from today’s event, click here.
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