well In
downtown Greensboro, North Carolina there is potentially an EXTREMELY exciting project in the works! The project is currently in the very early stages and it is not a done deal for the city because the developers are scouting other southern states for this $200 million mega urban project. However Greensboro is the
FRONT RUNNER for the project because of the city's central location among several southern metros. There are no renderings or blueprints because everything is conceptual but the potential project consists of a cluster of mid-rises and high-rises. Here are some of the elements for this potential downtown Greensboro project
- high-rise luxury hotel with 300 to 600 rooms
- 50 room luxury boutique hotel
- convention center
- significant and major entertainment venues that attract big time national acts and hold between 500 and 2,500 people (entertainment complex which sounds like having venues such as The House of Blues)
- entertainment for families, children and singles (possibally an IMAX theater in this project as well)
- multiple restaurants
- residential with as many as 250 units (rentals and luxury condos, also a potential high-rise)
- commercial/retail/shopping space (there are rumors that a supermarket could be in this. There is a chance major shopping chains could be involved given the nature of this project)
- office space (Gibbs envisions more office space than origionally planned. could this mean an office tower could be in the works?)
Those are just some elements of the project that have been release to the media. There could be even more to this project! The developers wanted to include space for the Atlantic Coast Conference college sports (ACC) Hall of Fame and Museum but apparently thats not a possibilty because of a current effort to build the hall of fame next to the Greensboro Coliseum where the ACC Mens & Women's basketball tournament is often held.
The project is currently HIGHLY classified and the city leaders that do know about it had to sign non disclosure agreements. The development company behind this project is based in Orlando, Florida and International investors as well as a local Greensboro developer are involved in the project as well. The developer is looking at downtown sites ranging between 4 and 12 acres (maybe more depending on how many joining parcels of land are combined) and a preferred site has already emerged. Ray Gibbs, former president of downtown Greensboro, Inc is directly communicating with the developers and he has said this project is like a "theme park" without roller coasters and water slides. Gibbs said the entertainment venues are very signifcant and would attract big time national acts. According to Ray Gibbs the developers intend for this project to be a destination for the "Southeast region" of the United States and when plans are finally revealed, "peoples jaws will drop". He also said this would change the dynamics of Greensboro and show that Greensboro can compete on a "national scale" Some sources in the know said this project can be larger than Epicenter (in Charlotte) and Peabody Place (in Memphis) combined. The project would be a new concept and if successful, the developers want to eventually do this in other cities around the country. The project was first announced May 1st and then it was said that developers would decide what to do within 2 to 3 months. Its now been a month and a half so we should hear the details of this mega project very soon! I know city council has been having alot of closed sessions lately! The city has a booming downtown nightlife with several nightclubs and a number of bars, restaurants and theater. Within 7 years Greensboro went from a completely dead downtown nightlife to one that rivals uptown Charlotte. Thanks to the man who started the nightclubs in downtown Greensboro "Joey Medaloni", he saw potential in Greensboro with the 20,000 plus college students that are on the outskirts of downtown within 4 colleges and universities. There are a number of different kinds of nightclubs from a comedy club to music clubs with rock, alternative, R&B, contemporary jazz, hip hop and there is even a disco nightclub called club inferno (
http://www.infernogreensboro.com). If nightclubs are not your thing, you can see great plays at Triad Stage, watch an old classic movie at the Carolina Theater or relax at in Irish Pub or a Microbrewery restaurant called Natty Greenes. There is a great selection of restaurants and bar with over 40 restaurants in downtown Greensboro. Greensboro's nightlife has been so much of a success that many national known celebrities have droped in to places like "Much Restaurant". Bon Jovi would have private parties there and spent $30,000 there the first month it opened. Other celebrities that have dropped in there were Ashlee Simpson, the band members of Motley Crue and Nick Lachey and many more celebrities. The N Club is now a House of Blues network venues, the only one in the state and that MTV and the TV show Extra had done segments on Greensboro's nightlife. Girls Gone Wild even stopped at Greene Street Club last year. It could be that the buzz has reached the developers of this potential project which is why they see Great potential in Greensboro becoming a major destination. Greensboro is already seeing the light of day attracting upscale chain restaurants such as P.F. Chang's China Bistro and clothing stores such as Brooks Brothers.
GOOD LUCK GREENSBORO!! 
"Their goal is to create a destination for the region - The Southeast Region,"
"The concept of such all-in-one tourist/convention destinations - A KIND OF THEMEPARK WITHOUT ROLLER COASTERS OR WATERSLIDES - is an idea whose times is arriving Gibbs insists"
"if it can be accomplished, a project like this could truely change the dynamics of Greensboro. it will show that we can compete on a national scale."
"As soon as they get a letter of intent on some land, the plans will be announced," he says "Thats when PEOPLES'S JAWS WILL DROP"
"Gibbs insists to the astonishment and bewilderment of many, that a group of mostly INTERNATIONAL investors is absolutely serious about its desire to invest $150 million or $200 million into a COLOSSAL mixed-use project downtown"
If this is built, Greensboro will have 3 major convention facilities (The Koury Convention Center, The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, and the potential downtown convention center)
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...C0101/305030004 http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...EC0101/70513001 http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2...ml?surround=lfn http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/MyFox/pages...mp;locale=EN-US