AN ENERGY IN THE AIR
F
IN DOWNTOWN ROCKINGHAM
oam bubbles from Harrington
Square’s fountain, as much a symbol
of the recovery of a once-deteriorated
downtown as the construction cranes that
pierce the sky. Once-vacant store fronts boast
new signage and new life. There is an energy
in the air as myriad economic endeavors have
acted as a catalyst for a downtown restoration
that is still in its early stages.
As the thinking went in the 1989 film “Field
of Dreams,” so it goes in Rockingham: if you
build it they will come. Richmond County
boasts two local philanthropic foundations,
the Cole Foundation and the Community
Foundation of Richmond County, both
of which fall under the Foundation of the
Carolinas. These foundations have proven to
be extraordinary financial boon for the county
at large, building the “field” in which future
businesses will be able to play.
The first “baby step” into downtown
Rockingham’s future was actually the steps of
the more than 33,000 children that now visit
Discovery Place KIDS (DPK) annually. The
result of a unique public/private partnership,
Discovery Place opened in 2013 in the former
Mackenzie Furniture Building and is one of
four in the state, and one of only two outside
of Charlotte. Today, schools from throughout
North Carolina bus children to the vibrant
purple and yellow center lining Washington
Street to experience the hands-on learning
offered by DPK.
“It really started with a chit chat,” said Brian
Collier, executive vice president of the
Foundation of the Carolinas, describing a
conversation with John Mackey, then-director
of DPK in Charlotte, who was looking for a
28 • PROGRESS 2020
new DPK location. Collier argued to Mackey
that a children’s museum could have a bigger
impact in a smaller community, and soon a
feasibility study on a Rockingham location
was under way. Since DPK opened in 2013,
18 new businesses have opened in downtown
Rockingham.
The next inflection point in the area’s
growth is sure to be Richmond Community
College’s satellite campus. The idea for this
project came when representatives from
the region’s philanthropic foundations and
Richmond Community College took a site
visit to Hartsville, South Carolina, a bucolic
community with a bustling downtown
presence. According to Dr. Dale McInnis,
president of RCC for the past 9-and-a-half
years, foundation and city representatives were
impressed.
The mayor and the council wondered, “What
if we built a building on the former R.W.
Goodman site?” McInnis recalled. The R.W.
Goodman store was located across from the
county courthouse and adjacent to downtown
interests. Demolition began in October of
2018. Now under development is a 44,000
square foot satellite campus for RCC to be
named the Kenneth and Claudia Robinette
Building, which will house the Levine School
of Business Information Technology — with
square footage available to grow as demand
from employers increases.
The Community Foundation, Cole
Foundation and Levine Foundation – which
provided $1 million for naming rights —
provided a total of $9 million in support for
the new campus. The building will boast
two wings, with a pharmacy tech program
nearest to the Hudson Brothers building
and workforce economic development and
personal enrichment in the other wing.
“We’re excited about (the college) going there,”
Community Foundation of Richmond County
Chairman Frank Jenkins said. “Whatever
happens there will not only revitalize the town
but be good for the whole county.”
The city is also actively fielding interest in
the former Food King building at 305 E.
Washington. Vacant since January 2017, for 45
years the building was a grocery destination
for mid-city residents. Upon the store’s closing
the community immediately suggested other
possibilities, but the property needed work. A
new HVAC system and new flooring, as well
as extensive landscaping work to the parking
lot and sidewalk, are part of a $60,000 city
investment and, once completed, will serve as
an anchor to the retail district.
At the ribbon cutting for one of the most
recent additions to downtown Rockingham,
Studio 3, Mayor Steve Morris reflected on his
time as owner of Helms Jewelers in downtown
Rockingham for 42 years. He said he watched
the area go “down, down, down” for the first
40 of those years.
“Since we have opened Discovery Place Kids,
18 new businesses have opened downtown,”
Morris said. “All of them have local owners
which are much more attentive to their real
estate than somebody living in Greensboro or
Raleigh that owns property here and doesn’t
really care what it looks like — they all are
working in their own businesses … so these
businesses will be sustained through the years.”