Episode 96: Building a Town Center

As with other episodes of Municipal Equation, this one originated from a casual, hallway conversation with a local government official. In this instance, podcast host Ben Brown was chatting at a League event with Mayor TJ Cawley of Morrisville, who'd noted the progress there in a major project to essentially build a downtown from scratch, as Morrisville up to this point hasn't had one. The idea is to create that convergence of residence, business variety, fun and identity that can bring locals together and give outsiders a new destination. Several years ago, we'd looked at how Kannapolis re-energized from hard times in part by remaking its downtown district, and so we brought Morrisville leaders onto Municipal Equation to ask how they imagined their project (a public-private pursuit called Morrisville Town Center), how they've involved the public, and how they intend to fill it with a distinctly local vibe.