Main Street statistics show increase in business growth, volunteerism
Throughout each year, the City of Morganton Main Street Office keeps track of economic trends in downtown including business development, public and private investments, employee gains and losses, volunteer hours, promotional activity and more. These statistics for the 2022-23 fiscal year have officially been reported to the NC Commerce Department and reviewed. The Main Street office would like to now share these important statistics with the community.
The department has put together statistics for the 2022-23 fiscal year that display the accomplishments in regards to business development, private investment, volunteerism and promotional activity.
Downtown Morganton consists of:
- 38 Blocks
- 157 Housing Units and counting
- 300+ Commercial Spaces
- Over 2,000,000 square feet of downtown property
In the 2022-23 fiscal year there were $7,402,574 made in private investments including property acquisitions and sales, private improvements and new construction. This resulted in a 61% increase from the previous year.
Business development saw a net gain of three businesses, 18 part time jobs and one full-time job. There were a total of 12 different façade improvements and six different building rehabilitations completed.
One of the biggest achievements is volunteerism for Main Street events. There was a total of 2,592.5 hours of volunteer work, which came to a 66% increase from last year. With the annual value of volunteer time in North Carolina being $29.86 per hour, that equals a total of $77,412.05 of time volunteered in downtown.
City Manager Sally Sandy, said, “It always amazes me to hear these statistics. Especially how much volunteer work goes into these events. I truly appreciate each of the volunteers that gives of their time and energy to make downtown Morganton a great place for families to visit and enjoy.”
Want to stay up to date with all the Downtown Morganton happenings? Sign up for the D2U newsletter by visiting https://www.downtownmorganton.com/main-street/page/d2u-newsletter
To find out more information on downtown events, visit https://www.downtownmorganton.com/main-street/page/upcoming-events-0
Want to be a volunteer? Please contact Kasey Goodfellow at kegoodfellow@morgantonnc.gov or 828-438-5252. We would love to have you!
Many events including the Historic Morganton Festival, Halloween Spooktacular, Third Thursday Art Crawls, Morganton Farmer’s Market, the TGIF Summer Concert Series and Dogs on the Catwalk Pooches on Parade fill the downtown area with people excited to hear local musicians, smell fresh fruits and veggies or stroll through craft booths hoping to find a unique gift.
