Downtown Development

Fourth Street has many restaurants

This Division is responsible for preparing and implementing economic development plans for the downtown area of Winston-Salem including the Restaurant Loan Program, available commercial properties, maps, and street closings. Implementation activities include:

Recruitment of real estate investment.

Recruitment and retention of businesses.
Review of public policies impacting downtown development.
Negotiation of public investment for downtown projects.
Site acquisition for redevelopment.
Design and construction of downtown infrastructure.

Restaurant Row Loan Program
Restaurant Row is a project that recruited 12 new dinner restaurants within a compact area of downtown, generally along 4th Street between the Stevens Center and Main Street and in the Arts District on Trade Street. Emphasis was placed on the recruitment of applicants that were already in the restaurant ownership and management business, thus increasing the chances of success for the enterprises.

The Restaurant Row program used a Federal Grant fund of low interest leveraged loans to assist new restaurants. The city's program was designed to cover 37.5% of a project's cost up to a maximum of $150,000 with the remaining financing coming from the business owners. The average loan was $75,000. There is currently no balance in this loan fund so going forward no financial assistance through this program is available however, the City's Economic Development Revolving Loan Program has also been used to help finance a business when the applicants can demonstrate a need for City assistance. For further information on this program and other city programs please contact; Ruben Gonzales at (336)747-7474.

DOWNTOWN BUILDING REHABILITATION PROGRAM
Funding is available to downtown property owners and tenants through this program. Please follow this link for a summary of the program and eligibility requirements.(Application [pdf])

Downtown Commercial Properties
The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership maintains a database of available property for sale and lease and offers it as a resource for individuals and businesses interested in
locating in the downtown area.

*The Downtown Plan (Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership)
*Downtown Development Map (2000-2005) [pdf]