Downtown Kinston Revitalization

About Us

What Is Pride of Kinston?
The mission of Pride of Kinston, Inc., established in 1984, is to lead downtown revitalization in Kinston using the Main Street approach developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which promotes economic development within the context of historic preservation.

Pride of Kinston is one of 57 Main Street communities in NC in a program coordinated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Community Assistance.

The Main Street idea is to stimulate all aspects of downtown development emphasizing public-private partnerships while stressing quality, self-help and incremental improvement using an array of local assets. Main Street programs have four key elements:

Organization - Effective public-private partnerships;

Promotion - Marketing strategies and events to establish downtown as an attractive place for shoppers, investors and visitors;

Design - Projects and activities to enhance the overall attractiveness of downtown;

Economic Restructuring - Economic development strategies to strengthen the economic base of the downtown business district.

Current Activities...

To carry out its mission, the Pride of Kinston, Inc.'s current year program consists of a multi-faceted array of activities, some with short term goals and objectives, and others with long term implications for the community. A summary of current initiatives follows:

Kinston's Waterfront - Now! Task Force
Incentives for Downtown Development
Kinston's Museum Row and related tourism interests