GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro city council heard plans to create an innovation district during a work session Thursday.
Those who presented the plan, some of whom work for the city of Greensboro, have been working on it for months.
Jane Nickles, IT Director for the city, has been one of the people spearheading the project.
"We want to bring technology, bring jobs, connect with the universities, and bring it so, in our case, bring to an area that is underutilized, that in its day was very vibrant and bring that vibrancy back to that area and create a community there," said Nickles.
The space downtown, which spans about 2 miles, would include walkable, mixed-use spaces that connect universities.
Nickles said the hope is to help bridge gaps and build partnerships within the community.
"We expect that this will bring jobs to our community. We expect that by tying this into programs at the university we start to retain our talent here and as we grow this corridor we expect it to expand to other parts of the city," she said.
The city said its developed a partnership with UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina A&T University. They hope to be able to help the schools showcase their strengths in the programs they have, like NC A&T's engineering school, and UNCG's supply chain management program to attract high-paying, technology-focused jobs.
Winston-Salem has already done something similar, called Innovation Quarter.
The area is right near the heart of Downtown Winston-Salem, located on more than 330 acres of land, surrounded by apartments and lofts.
The district is home to 86 companies, 5 academic institutions, 5,300 people working, and 2,100 degree-seeking students.
Greensboro Developer Andy Zimmerman saw the success of Winston-Salem's innovation district and wanted that to come to the city of Greensboro.
"Continually reading the positive news of them being able to attract like-minded innovative companies to their downtown area. I really left there saying we need this in Greensboro," said Zimmerman.
Zimmerman said innovation districts work to revitalize downtown areas and create a bustling atmosphere.
"We want to work together to make downtown more successful, more vibrant, we want to bring more jobs, we want to bring higher-paying jobs and I think an innovation district can touch on all of that," he said.
The plan is in the very early stages, according to Nickles, but they hope to secure funding to hire a director to focus on the project full time.
"It's not something that’s going to happen overnight. There’s a lot of work to be done and we're just getting started so it’s a vision. It’s a vision for the future. There are a lot of things we have to get in place, funding being one of those things and the infrastructure that has to happen in that corridor," said Nickles.
Several city council members spoke after the presentation, pleased with the proposal, saying they look forward to seeing what's to come.