48 Business View Magazine - April 2016
• Riverwalk – a combination boardwalk/trail begin-
ning at Lake Hickory and transitioning into the sur-
rounding landscape and along the Catawba River on
the periphery of the city.
• Citywalk – a downtown corridor from Lenoir Rhyne
University, down Main Avenue, and past Union Square,
along the railroad tracks, featuring a pedestrian bridge
and added amenities along Main Avenue and Union
Square.
• Streetscapes - consisting of improvements at Lenoir
Rhyne Boulevard, Old Lenoir Road, and a north and
south connection between the Citywalk and the Riv-
erwalk.
• Gateway Features - to be placed at Lenoir Rhyne
Boulevard and various other roads leading into the city.
“We’re holding five million for a business park that we
are actively trying to fill,” Wright says, speaking about
the 178-acre, Park 1764 that Hickory is developing
with Catawba County. “It will have some light manufac-
turing and we’re hopeful that one or two or ten com-
panies step forward and occupy that space and create
jobs to go with it.”
Wright maintains that all of the proposed municipal
projects will leverage the private investments that lo-
cal businesses and individuals have already commit-
ted to the city’s regeneration. “We consider all of the
projects to be economic development,” he says. “And
there is some ‘low hanging fruit’ that we will be doing
concurrently as we’re putting together the planning
for the larger projects. We’re parlaying the money, us-
ing private investments, and philanthropy, and grants.
When it’s all said and done, we’ll look back and say
