WS Chronicle

(Above: Derwin Montgomery)

At the May 4 Winston-Salem City Council, meeting many residents spoke against the rezoning of 939 Cleveland Ave., which The Salvation Army wants to turn into its family shelter. During that public hearing, one found out quickly that it had less to do with The Salvation Army and a whole lot more to do with economic opportunities, or the lack thereof, in the area.

One of the biggest contributing factors to the discourse was that the shelter would go against the area’s Cleveland Avenue Neighborhood Initiative Master Plan.

“When we look at this issue today, I think that there is a larger issue that we are talking about and discussion that really has very little to do with the rezoning. It has to do with specifically with our community, east of Highway 52, and the investment that has and has not been made. It’s talking about economic development, it’s talking about investments, it’s talking about  jobs, it’s  talking about how we decrease the concentration of poverty in our community,” said East Ward Council Member Derwin Montgomery. “What we see tonight (on May 4) are individuals who are passionate about that and want to make sure this council and others know the desire of the community and what the community wants to see happening within its confines and boundaries. That does not end with this conversation, but it’s only a portion of the larger picture.”

In 2010, the Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Salem developed a master plan for the Cleveland Avenue Community that was endorsed by both the city and county planning boards and the City Council.

The goal of the plan is to “create a mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood by increasing the density toward the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, attracting retailers, removing the superblocks by reconnecting the street grid, providing a new boulevard, and creating a pedestrian-friendly environment.”

Resident Amber Baker is looking to put down roots in the community and is hoping to reinvest in the community.

“Currently I reside in Kensington Village, which is a wonderful example of a property that was once riddled with crime and an eyesore for the city that has since been redeveloped,” Baker said. “I am now to looking to purchase in East Winston because

I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. As a professional, I realize that the way we will continue to build that community is when people like myself purchase in that neighborhood.

As you continue to build East Winston, you need to look at what you’re putting there as people like myself look to reinvest in the city.”

In 2014, HAWS was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant to support those efforts of transforming the designated area. The plan covers 130 acres of the area.

HAWS claims to have invested $10 million dollars in the community since 2010 including the development of multiple new multifamily residential properties.

The Oaks at Tenth is a new multifamily development that has been recently completed, and Camden Station Apartments, at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Twelfth Street, are now under construction.

While it was pointed out that the city has made investments into the area’s shopping centers on New Walkertown Road and the old Mutual Insurance building, it still leaves much to be desired.

“Yes, we’ve made investments, but we are going to have to do a whole lot more than what we have done if this neighborhood and community is to become what people have seen it to be in the past and what we all know it can be in the future,” Montgomery said.

Resident and local political watchdog JoAnn Allen said that the council seems to lack vision.

“As long as we’re talking about downtown, you all have all the vision you can muster up. But when we talk about South Winston, East Winston or Northeast Winston, there is nothing.

You all make all these decisions but you don’t come and actually see what’s going on,” Allen said. “Your job is to do right by the people who elected you to be there, once again, whether that was legally or illegally.

You continue to make East Winston one of the poorest in the state.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian H. Burke said that she has been one of the few elected officials that has gone on record as saying that there have been too may undesirable activities east of U.S. 52 and that council is going to have to do better.

“When you let one part go down, it’s not helping. It effects the whole city. I love east of 52 and nobody’s going to make me leave east of 52.

I just want you to join us, like you are this evening, when we’re speaking about how we think our city ought to look.

We need you to come and support how you think your city ought to look and what you think we ought to be doing,” she told a chamber full of residents.

Montgomery seconded that thought saying residents should continue to make their voices heard at the meetings and beyond.

“I impress upon all those who are here today, let this not be the last time we come together to have this conversation but let us join together to make sure that what we’re talking about as a neighborhood and community actually happens and comes to fruition.

That we work diligently within our community to make sure that we put the pressure, not just on City Hall, but state and federal government, to make sure that we see what needs to take place in our community.”

Mayor Allen Joines was called Tuesday to give his perspective on the issue but The Chronicle was told by his staff that he was out of town and would not be returning until Monday, May 18.

City Council will hear the rezoning issue again on July 20 at 7 p.m. at City Hall in room 230. The meeting can also be viewed live online at http://winston-salem.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=29, or by watching the city’s television station (WSTV-13) on Time Warner Cable on channel 13.