Invest in Downtown Clinton

Building on the momentum of three major streetscape projects and increasing private investment, the Clinton Main Street Program recently celebrated its 30th anniversary by defining a vision and plan of work for Downtown Clinton. The plan seeks to realize the vision by guiding the promotion and preservation of downtown, and by facilitating the strengthening and recruitment of downtown businesses. Beyond the intangible reasons you may hear from residents and visitors, we present here a few hard facts to address Why Downtown Clinton?

• Over 180 businesses and organizations are located in Downtown

• Over 1,000 employees work Downtown every week day

• Annual events bring over 10,000 attendees Downtown throughout the year

• Other traffic generators Downtown include the Sampson County Courthouse, the Sampson Community Theatre, the Sampson County History Museum, JC Holliday Public Library, Downtown restaurants, the stunning art piece “Milling Around”, as well as several other public art and beautification projects completed in the past 5 years

• A market analysis completed in July 2012 identified areas of growth potential for downtown, including food service, furniture, appliances, clothing, and accessories.

• Financial incentives are available, including the Façade Improvement Grant for exterior improvements, Utility Incentive Grant for new or relocating businesses,  and the Special Tax Incentive, which returns the taxes on the increase in property value to the property owner for five years after a renovation.

• Over $5 million in public investment in since 2000, including improved sidewalks, roads, parking, new parks, benches, and trees

• Over $1 million in private investment in the last 5 years

• A large number of properties downtown are included in the National Register Historic District, which makes them eligible for certain state and federal tax credits.

• Each business, organization, or individual has the opportunity to be a part of the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce, which provides over 70 networking opportunities and over 20 educational opportunities, as well as referrals, references, marketing opportunities, and more.

Don’t forget that Clinton has a number of available properties as well as grant and incentive programs and other business resources to help establish and improve your local business in Downtown.  Please contact, Mary Rose, Planning Director/Main Street Director at (910) 299-4904, ext. 3017 for more information.