Mark West and Council member Stephen Whitburn hold the scissors at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for North Park Main Street’s new headquarters. (Photo courtesy NPMS)
2023 is off to a great start in North Park. As we look to put the pandemic behind us, we are ecstatic about the rising level in community engagement. That engagement is part of what makes North Park so special and we are excited about the things in motion.
Many already know the worst kept secret it in the world, but in case you missed it, here’s the official announcement: North Park Main Street (NPMS) is moving! After an exhaustive search, we decided to take main street back to main street and have secured a lease at the old Western Dental Building at the corner of University and 30th Avenue. As we are all quite aware this building has been an eye-sore for quite a long time and NPMS decided that we would take an active role in cleaning up the building to ensure the heart of our community can be the pride of our community. We kicked off our move with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Our first big kick off event of the year is quickly approaching. We are beginning our quarterly business forums out in the community to answer this question: What is NPMS and what do we do for the community?
There is a lot of work that goes into making North Park what it is and we want to open the curtain for you to see backstage. You’ve heard us mention the Business Improvement District (BID) and Special Enhancement District (SED) and this forum is to show you exactly what those mean and how they guide our mission and vision.
Starting at the west end of our Special Enhancement District, we will be meeting with the community to inform them about the services and programs available to them. At this free and open-to-the-public event, you will get a chance to meet the team, learn about what projects we are working on and let us know what we can do to continue to make positive progress. You will also have a chance to hear about the Mid-City’s Homeless Outreach Program, get updated on the University Avenue Median Project, learn about the requirements of commercial composting, and much much more!
All business and property owners located in North Park’s business corridor are highly encouraged to attend. The first meeting will take place at Pec’s Bar on Feb. 7 from 2-4 p.m. with a small mixer after. We are excited to reconnect with our community and we look forward to seeing you there.
Looking past our first forum, we want to take a moment to celebrate Black owned and Women owned businesses in North Park. We are working on documenting and sharing their stories. If you or someone you know wants to share their story, we encourage you to reach out to us.
Lastly, I hope you are stretching your vocal cords because the second annual North Park Music Festival is just around the corner! This festival will be held over Memorial Weekend in the North Park Mini Park and surrounding streets. After such a warm reception from our community last year, we are excited to share the newest iteration of the music festival with you. If you are extremely interested, you can reach out to us to get involved in the planning and/or execution of this event.
To wrap it up, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to the North Park community. Since I started at the end of 2022, I’ve come to know and work with many great people in our neighborhood. There is a ton of energy and enthusiasm about the future of North Park and we at NPMS are excited to be a contributing part of it.
