Allison Platt & Associates completed the Pembroke Master Plan in 2016. We led a team to develop a master plan for downtown Pembroke, NC. Although the community is small (3,000) it is home to University of North Carolina Pembroke and the largest population of Lumbee Indians in the country (~86% of the population). The master plan delineates streetscape improvements, relocated overhead power lines, and improved bike and pedestrian connections between the University, the Tribe, and the downtown. In the downtown, improvements to streetscapes and circulation were outlined in order to revitalize the downtown and capture restaurant and retail leakage to other communities. The plan also included design guidelines to help ensure appropriate development and site planning, and cost estimates for recommended public improvements.
RESULTS: Since completion of the plan in 2016, the University rehabbed a building in the downtown as a business incubator, and an investor has built a mixed-use (retail, restaurant and residential) building across from the business incubator. The Town has been pursuing a BUILD grant to implement the most important transportation and infrastructure improvements outlined in the plan. In September 2020, Pembroke was awarded $5.2 million. This will be added to a $1.2 million commitment from the Town, and $250,000 from NCDOT, for a total of nearly $6.7 million in implementation projects.