Downtown Greensboro launches new efforts to boost business, improve image

Downtown Greensboro leaders are launching a new round of programs they say will bring more people back to Elm Street and help repair downtown’s image as concerns about safety, cleanliness and access continue to shape how residents view the city center.

The effort, outlined April 10, includes a downtown-wide digital gift card that can be used at most businesses, along with updated signage, new banners and expanded landscaping. Downtown Greensboro Incorporated says the goal is not just to make the district look better, but to give local merchants a practical boost at a moment when some downtown businesses have struggled and public confidence has wavered.

Stu Nichols, who chairs the 2025-26 Downtown Greensboro Incorporated board, said the organization believes renewed engagement can make a difference and that new leadership has already created momentum. Nichols also urged people to experience downtown directly, saying there is “a new energy” and “a bunch of stuff going on.”

That message comes as downtown leaders are under pressure to show measurable progress, not just cleaner sidewalks and fresh branding. In February, business owners publicly raised concerns about parking, safety and the overall experience of going downtown. On Feb. 10, Greensboro City Council members and downtown leaders walked the district to hear those concerns firsthand. DGI and the city say they are working on six recurring issues raised by the community: safety, parking, cleanliness, noise, vacant storefronts and housing.

DGI, a nonprofit economic development organization founded in 1996, manages Downtown Greensboro’s Municipal Service District and says it is led by a 24-member volunteer board. The organization has spent the past year leaning on perception-shaping efforts, including a 2024 “See for Yourself” campaign and a 2025 “Thrive35” vision plan, while also trying to connect new investment to day-to-day activity.

In March, DGI said downtown had 31 new businesses in 2023, 1.8 million unique visitors and more than $90 million in annual public benefit. It said 63% of those new businesses were Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises, and that the downtown development pipeline is about $800 million. DGI also said annual downtown visits rose from 8.7 million in 2024 to 9.2 million in 2025, with 1,550 companies, 4,100 residents and 91 restaurants, bars and breweries now operating in the district.

That growth is tied to larger bets on housing and redevelopment, including a planned seven-story, 171-unit apartment project at the Davie Street parking deck site and renewed interest in the more than 10-acre former News & Record property. The real test over the next six to 12 months will be whether those projects, and the new campaign around them, translate into more foot traffic, fewer empty storefronts and a downtown that people choose to visit more often and stay in longer.