NEW HOME

On April 1, Bostic Construction and Demolition officially acquired the Kinston Enterprise Center as the new owners. We are pleased to see this property remain in the hands of locals who have a deep attachment to the community. If you or someone you know is looking for great office space in a prime location, stop by 327 N Queen Street and inquire or call Bostic Construction and Demolition.

DKR remains at this address but our new home for now is located upstairs in Suite 312.

MAIN STREET CHAMPIONS

The DKR Design Committee was recently recognized as Main Street Champions by the NC Main Street program with special consideration for the fantastic transformation of a nondescript lot at Mitchell and W North Streets into the gorgeous Shirley Herring Memorial Garden. DKR has plans to add to this project in the future with an interestingly painted crosswalk connecting W North to the Dragon playground. A street mural is also planned.

Creating gateway entrances to our downtown not only greatly enhanced the attractiveness of our downtown but created a placemaking opportunity (a gathering space) for those who just want to sit and enjoy the garden.

ALL AMERICAN CITY PARK

Coinciding with the DKR Design Committee’s decision to redesign the All American City Park as it focus project for 2025-26, Councilman Chris Suggs submitted Kinston to this year’s All American City contest and Kinston was selected as a finalist with the winners to be announced later this year in Colorado. If selected, this would be Kinston’s 3rd time to receive this recognition. Thank you, Councilman Suggs.

This gateway/placemaking project of the All American City Park at N Queen and E Blount Streets is a much larger and much more expensive project than the Shirley Herring Memorial Garden but equally important and impactful for downtown Kinston, and what perfect timing with the National 250th Birthday next year!

We are currently in the fundraising and design finalization phases. Once we have the blessing of City Council, we will share the renderings and begin the project with pressure washing and the first phase of landscaping.

The Park will be rededicated as the Buddy and Mary Mac Ritch All American City Park because of his involvement with it and downtown during his time as Mayor.

COOL DISCOVERY

While relocating our office, we discovered 90 Kinston All American City license plates still individually wrapped from maybe 20 years ago. We decided to sell them to help with the All American City Park project.

Please help with this project by making a tax-deductible donation of any amount. For donations of $90 or more to this project we will provide you with a Kinston All American City license plate as long as they are available. We have about 80 left. Call us at 252-525-6144 to reserve yours or mail a check to Downtown Kinston Revitalization, 327 N Queen, Ste 312, Kinston NC 28501. Please note “AACPark” in the memo line.

OIL ON CANVAS

Artist Charles Kane of Raleigh has created an absolutely beautiful oil painting of the Neuse River as part of a personal project to paint an iconic feature of each county in NC. He has offered it to DKR to auction off as a fundraiser for the All American City Park redesign. Kane’s painting will be on display at Kinston Rotary Club where he will be the guest speaker on Thursday September 25 at 1:00PM.

Momentum is growing for this important downtown project.