STORY BY KEVIN LITWIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY TODD BENNETT
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ngier officials were excited in 2007 when the North Carolina Department of Commerce granted the community Small Town Main Street status. “The state helped us a lot with defining what we wanted to do with our downtown district, mainly with design suggestions and promotional tips,” says Coley Price, Angier town manager. “It has already resulted in upgrades to sidewalks, landscaping improvements and streetscape enhancements.” Price says that as soon as Angier received its Small Town Main Street designation, a local committee was formed to
meet once a month and share different ideas about how downtown can remain fresh and vital. “One of our primary initiatives was to put together a building façade improvement effort,” Price says. “To our pleasant surprise, the owners of 10 individual buildings have participated in the program, and all 10 of their façade upgrades were completed by June 2009.” As for new businesses, a restaurant and a dentist’s office opened in downtown Angier during 2009, as well as a North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles office. “In addition, a park was renovated, and there are four new
Left: Downtown Angier; downtown Dunn
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