Main Street in Davidson and Union Street in Concord were recognized among North Carolina’s top downtowns by the NC chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-NC). Online voters selected “People’s Choice: Great Main Streets” and “People’s Choice: Great Neighborhoods for Kids.” Expert panelists selected five “Great Main Streets” in the mountains, Piedmont, and coast and one “Great Place in the Making.”

Concord’s Union Street competed with widely recognized main streets in Chapel Hill and Wilmington for the “People’s Choice: Great Main Streets” award. While Union Street was the favorite with online voters, Main Street in Davidson grabbed the experts’ attention. Davidson’s Main Street was selected as one of two “Great Places in the Piedmont.” Kate Pearce, co-chair for the 2013 Great Places in North Carolina Initiative, said “Davidson was chosen not only for its buildings along Main Street, but also for its programming, way-finding and dedication to preserving what you have and enhancing it with all the work you’ve done around it.”

The 2013 Great Places in North Carolina are:

• “Great Place in the Mountains”:  Blowing Rock’s Main Street
• “Great Place in the Piedmont”:  Davidson’s Main Street and Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street
• “Great Place in the Coastal Plain”:  Fayetteville’s Hay Street
• “Great Place in the Making”:  Elkin’s Main Street
• “People’s Choice: Great Main Street”:  Concord’s Union Street
• “People’s Choice: Great Neighborhood for Kids”:  Clayton’s Riverwood neighborhood