July Tourism from an Attraction's Perspective & a Mid-Summer Howard Street Project Update

July is prime time for tourism season across the High Country. As the calendar flips, vacationers flock to the area, especially those melting in the record heat off the mountain. 

On this week's Mind Your Business, we will discuss the intentionality that goes into creating the visitor experience, and what July means to both the anchor attractions as well as other businesses that benefit from increased traffic. Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation Executive Director Jesse Pope returns to program to talk July tourism from the perspective of one of our region's most recognizable and frequently visited attractions. We'll learn how he and his staff help set visitors up with great experiences as they depart the gates and head toward other locations. We'll also get the latest on Blue Ridge Parkway road work, and how to access Grandfather Mountain and some of the area's more popular trails and features throughout the month of July.

Speaking of road work, we'll also bring Downtown Boone Development Association Director Lane Moody back to the show, as she gives us the latest updates on the Howard Street Revitalization Project.

Mind Your Business is written and produced weekly by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. This podcast is made possible thanks to the sponsorship support of Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.

Catch the show each Thursday afternoon at 5PM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

The month of July has arrived, and we are officially in the froze of summer tourism season. We get perspective from one of the high country's top attractions. And we'll have an update on the Howard Street project in downtown Boone. From the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, this is Mind Your Business.

SPEAKER_03 0:19

Mind Your Business. Brought to you by Appalachian Commercial Real Estate, providing professional commercial real estate services. Visit Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Hello and welcome into Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson, president and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. Thanks for joining us once again this week, whether through the airwaves of WATA here in Boone or as a subscriber of the podcast version of the program, which is made possible each week by our good friends at Appalachian Commercial Real Estate. If you have not yet subscribed, vacation week is always a good time to do that. Just search for it wherever you get your podcasts, those full archives, occasional bonus content, extended editions of the program, plenty more available for you there as we connect you with the business news that you can use from right here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. July is here in the high country. Welcome to all of our visitors who are running for the mountains to escape this oppressive heat wave. At the lower elevations, here's hoping you find a shady spot, a cool creek, or a favorite watering hole during your stay. This is the start of another one of those months that matter as it relates to our tourism calendar. To put it in a dollars and cents perspective, over the last three Julys, that's July of 23, 24, and 25, Watauga County has collected over $18.2 million in gross sales tax collections, which accounts for about 9% of the total annual tax collection for those three years. On the occupancy tax side, similar story, about a million dollars on average collected in those three Julys, or about 11 to 13% of the total annual occupancy tax collected. I remind you that part of that occupancy tax helps fund things like the Middle Fort Greenway project, the Howard Street revitalization, part of the rebuilding of the park area at Old Cove Creek School, Howard Knob Park, among other projects. These are tourism adjacent projects, meaning they are useful for the tourism infrastructure, but we local residents get to use these features as well. Sales tax dollars, yeah, a good chunk of that stays here too, and is split across municipalities throughout Wataga County. July is one of the highest performing months for both of these metrics of the entire year. Tourism is popular here because we have a variety of great attractions, some of them natural, like our trails, some of our parks, waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and a lot of these are free to access, by the way. We also have anchor businesses that draw people here, like Tweetsea Railroad, the Alpine Wilderness Coaster, scenic lift rides at Sugar Mountain, mountain biking and summer concerts at Beach Mountain, the Blowing Rock Symphony, and of course, Grandfather Mountain, perhaps the most recognizable feature of them all. From free trail access to otters in the zoo, maybe even the mile high swinging bridge for those of you that are not afraid of heights. Yes, and later this month, the Highland Games returns. If you've never been to North Carolina, you've still likely heard of Grandfather Mountain. On this week's Mind Your Business, we'll speak with Jesse Pope, Executive Director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, and he will give us an attraction operator's perspective of July traffic. We'll also talk kilts and caber tosses and all of the trappings of the upcoming Highland games and how Grandfather Mountain uses its resources to direct people to extended stays throughout the region, the old rising tide floats all boats approach. Then a little later on the program, we'll stay on the occupancy tax dollars benefit us all storyline, and we'll check in with Lane Moody, the director of the Downtown Boone Development Association, for the latest on the Howard Street Revitalization Project. Many of you Boonerang attendees got the chance to really start to see this pathway start to come together. We'll tell you what's next with the project and get an update on the projected completion of this important streetscape revitalization in downtown Boone. As a reminder, the Howard Street business community has been grinding through this community upgrade. Keep those folks on your mind if you're looking for that watering hole or perhaps some ice cream, some sushi. All right, now we've suggested an entire culinary experience. We've got all kinds of cool stuff to discuss on this warm day, wherever you might happen to be, so stick with us. You are listening to mind your business.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Appalachian Commercial Real Estate provides professional commercial real estate services in the Boone area. They provide sales, leasing, consulting, and appraisal services to owners and users of commercial real estate. For more information, go to their website at Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Welcome back to Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson. Before we scale to the top of your favorite attraction to help meat the heat, let us focus for a moment on a local business that stays close to the campfire when discussing the next great commercial real estate opportunity for you and your business. That's James Milner at Appalachian Commercial Real Estate. They solve simple and complex commercial real estate problems in and around the Boone area and beyond. Whether you own or lease commercial real estate, regardless of the property type, have an advocate on your side, along with the experience and expertise to assist you and your business. For more information, check them out on the web, Appalachian CRE.com. We know that people's connection to place is often driven by a recognizable feature: the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon, all connections to New York, San Francisco, and the solace of rural Arizona. You may have never been to those places, but you know of these locations because of their iconic status. For outdoor adventure seekers, Grandfather Mountain is equally top of mind. Not only does the park feature a clear physical point of reference for many travelers, it offers a wide variety of experiences: hiking, fishing, height-defying bridge crossings, a zoo, a museum, weather changes. It's all at Grandfather Mountain, and the mix of entry points from a price perspective makes it family friendly both for activity and for the wallet. Grandfather Mountain is a gateway to other experiences as well. An afternoon on the swinging bridge could lead to ice cream and banner elk, a bike ride at Rocky Knob, or any number of other next stop experiences along the way. Jesse Pope is the executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, and he says the intentionality of creating lasting experiences benefits everyone involved.

SPEAKER_04 7:04

Yeah, especially uh the summer months. You know, it's so beautiful here in the high country. Uh Grandfather Mountain is is really beautiful right now. We've had a nice spring. Uh, we've had enough rain here recently to make everything so lush and green. Um, it's fun being up on the mountain. I drove through the park yesterday and it feels like uh just a wonderland, really, just how beautiful it is up here. But I think uh the mountain is such a huge draw uh for bringing people to the high country, especially as the temperatures have heated up.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Yeah, and I know that we've talked some about um you know just July in general being such a busy time for tourism traffic up here. What does July look like at one of the top tourism attractions here in the area?

SPEAKER_04 7:51

So July, of course, is one of our busiest months, July and October, two busiest months for us. Um we uh and we're seeing you know strong attendance when the sun shines. Um, May was a little bit down for us, but June has been uh better. And going into the Fourth of July weekend, we're expecting some big crowds to show up here at Grandfather. So this is a big month for us. Uh going into the next several weeks, uh, we're excited. We have so many things going on at Grandfather. Of course, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are coming up uh and uh just a lot of great events happening here in the park as well.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

You know, we'll talk more in depth about the Highland Games here in a few minutes, but uh going back to what you've talked about in years past, too, about seeing license plates really from all over the country. And we were just talking a moment ago about how there are those places that are iconic because of name recognition and that recognition to a region you may have never been there, and people may have never been to North Carolina, but they probably have heard of Grandfather Mountain because of the stature. How does that impact your business model from where people are coming from and their expectations of a place they've heard of and read about and may finally get a chance to set foot on the grounds?

SPEAKER_04 9:04

Yeah, and we do. We get people from all over. Uh, I was just looking at some maps yesterday, uh, looking at the distribution of zip codes that come to Grandfather Mountain. And we are all 50 states in the United States are represented within the last uh 11 months. Um, it's pretty impressive to see. And uh certainly the summertime is when we probably see the highest diversity of license plates. When you drive through our parking lots, especially up at the mile high swinging bridge, uh, you'll see license plates from all over the country. And of course, when you cross the swinging bridge, you're gonna see nationalities from all over the world. So definitely uh, you know, becoming more and more of an international destination, I think the high country is. And uh Grandfather Mountain certainly um is is a piece of that uh of what makes the high country such a destination for people.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

You know, we've talked over the years about uh as we're talking about culture of staff, and your staff does such a great job of being knowledgeable about the other things around it. And we were talking a moment ago again about you know creating the extended stay, and that might start in a place and end in a place, but you get experiences in between that that really makes the trip beneficial. How intentional are you with that learning of what all is happening, both from a timing perspective and a location perspective? So your staff can continue to be great sources of information that can benefit others uh outside of the park.

SPEAKER_04 10:33

Absolutely. And as a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire conservation of the natural world through education, exploration, and example, it's exactly what we want to do. And it also helps from that tourism perspective of getting the extended stays and having people come and stay longer. We've been doing a lot of new events. Um, obviously, we just finished up our synchronous Firefly events here on Grandfather, which were really successful this year. Uh and again, people making plans from all over the world to fly in, uh, to drive in to see that. And events like that, um, we have a lot of summer nighttime events here at Grandfather that also um provide people those opportunities not only to see the park during the day, but then to come and see the park after hours uh at sunset, after dark. Um, and those certainly create extended stay opportunities for people. Um, you know, Grandfather Mountain, there's so much to do here now. Yanni's Clubhouse is a new event that um thank the Boon Chamber certainly for helping us launch that with a uh nice grand opening celebration on the mountain with an after hours. But um, you know, those those events and uh the different new attractions that are here at Grandfather are certainly extending that stay. Uh we're a full-day experience for sure. And you can come to Grandfather multiple days and still not explore it all, uh especially with including Grandfather Mountain State Park and the hiking trails and just all the things there are to do at Grandfather. Um, you can certainly spend multiple days here.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Jesse, I remember, and that wasn't all that long ago, the the after hours at Grandfather Mountain and how unbelievably cold it was when we left that night. It doesn't feel like it's in the same year as this, yet, here a few weeks later, people are roasting um uh down the mountain and and heading for the mountains for respite. So just funny how quickly the calendar changes from a meteorological perspective.

SPEAKER_04 12:28

No doubt, no doubt. I mean 40 to 45 days ago, we had nights in the 20s. Uh that's unbelievable. We're gonna be flirting with uh breaking records, you know, in the low 80s uh on the top of the mountain this week.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Well, you know, and that brings up a point, you know, some people plan these trips long in advance, and it's the highlight of the summer vacation to come up to the mountains and spend a week or 10 days or whatever it might happen to be. There are others, and I think we've seen evidence of this this last week, when the heat gets turned up, especially toward triple digits in the Charlotte's and Raleigh's and Columbia, South Carolina, man, those people flock here. Do you see the ebbs and flows of weather off the mountain impacting your summer operations?

SPEAKER_04 13:10

Absolutely. And um, you know, when it's not as warm, um, especially in the Piedmont, I think people tend to spend more time in the Piedmont in the spring. Um the beach is a little more uh enticing when it's cold in the mountains. But um this last week we've really seen an uptick in visitation on the mountain. It's certainly due to the high temperatures that people are experiencing in the Piedmont right now and across the southeast. Uh so when the temperatures rise, um we definitely have an increase in uh visitation interest in the mountain. And um, but it's such a great place. You know, the all-time record high here at Grandfather Mountain is 83 degrees, and we're gonna flirt with that record this weekend. I think uh projected high uh today or tomorrow is around 81, 82 degrees. So we're gonna be flirting with an all-time record that was set in the early 1980s. That that record uh we've tied it once or twice since then, but um, you know, that's a uh 83 degrees is the high hottest it's ever been at Grandfather. Uh of course, those same days, it's over 100 degrees in Charlotte, you know, in Raleigh it might even be 102, 103 degrees down there. So um great time to get to the high country.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

You know, usually there are some weather records that are set at Grandfather Mountain that you don't want to be anywhere near the facility for. I think of wind in the winter time, but this might be one where it's a-oka to be there uh when you hit an all-time high if it's only 83. So we'll we'll we'll keep the uh the eye on the thermometer and see if that happens. You know, that's going to lead into such a magical time at Grandfather and something that is unique uh to this area and really this entire part of the country. For those that may have never experienced Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, can you give us the overview of the inspiration for this and how this has become such a signature attraction, not only for Grandfather Mountain, but again for the entire high country?

SPEAKER_04 15:07

Yeah, Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, one of the largest festivals that happens in the high country. Um, you know, we estimate somewhere between 40 to 45,000 visitors a year that come for that. And the Highland Games is the largest gathering of um Scottish clans in the world, including Scotland. Um, so there's other games that are have have more attendees to it, but this is one of the most authentic and the large uh Scottish games and the uh largest gathering of Scottish clans in the world. Um, and so it's just really great. And it's tied, of course, to a lot of the early um uh Scottish culture here in southern Appalachia. Um a lot of folks here have um you know direct connections to Scottish heritage, but what's so great about the event is it's not really just tied to that. You do not have to be Scottish uh to enjoy the Highland games. Anybody can come and can be connected. And it what's fun is you know, these clans love adopting people in. So uh, you know, I I actually don't know my Scottish heritage very well, but uh it feels like a family reunion every time the games come back, and uh people love to you know to pull you in and uh to let you feel welcome and part of it. So certainly do not have to be uh someone with deep Scottish heritage and uh know your background to be able to go to the games, to feel the connection, and to really just uh enjoy a great event. So uh it's a great time, lots of good activities, um, recreational sport events happen uh, of course, through the Highland Games, all the Scottish heritage pieces. They have a um uh cultural village that they set up where they really teach a lot about Scottish heritage, uh playing certain types of music, uh, how Scotch is made, so many neat uh things that you learn uh at the Highland Games too. So it's a great time.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Yeah, I figure you have been adopted by several of those clans by now. So, you know, you get to pick the best of all of that. Um going back to some of the the attractions and again thinking about this from a first-timer's perspective, what when does this really kind of get cranked up in its in its full view? And when would be the best time, maybe for that first-time visitor to to wander in and see what this is all about?

SPEAKER_04 17:29

Absolutely. So Thursday night is when everything kicks off. The official opening ceremonies happen Thursday evening. Uh that's a really special torchlight ceremony. If you've been to the games before and you've missed that, it's really something worth going to because it's very special. Uh, all the clans come in and announce their arrival on the field, and um it's just a really special event. But if you really want the full taste of the Highland games you've never been before, Friday and Saturday are the days to really get the full effect of the games. So they have a wide range of heavy sports that happen on the field, the cabra tossing, the you know, the tug of war, the wrestling, all the things that go on, all the dancing and the music competitions are occurring too. Um Friday night and Saturday night, they have concerts uh that happen on the field as well. So uh it's action-packed. I mean, it's almost from sunrise to uh well after sunset on Friday and Saturday. Those are the big days. And then another really unique um event that happens on Sunday is the parade of tartans. And so they at sort of towards the windown of the games, uh, usually happens around noon on Sunday, but a great event. Um, all the bagpipe bands come together, all the clans again come together. There's this big parade of tartans. Uh, so it's a great introduction to all the clans if you're interested in seeing that. So, you know, it's it's a great weekend from beginning to end, lots of fun things that go on uh on the field. And I know Steve Quellen, who's the president of Highland Games, they're a separate uh nonprofit organization that operates the Highland Games, but happens on our property here at Stewardship Foundation. And uh I know Steve's really excited about the games this year, and uh they've got a lot of exciting things set up for it.

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Jesse, I know we've talked a lot about the Blue Ridge Parkway, you and I over the last few months and how that relates to not only Helene repairs that are going on south of you still, but the Great American Outdoors Act work that we've all advocated for that we are seeing move a little closer every day toward its conclusion. Can you talk about how that work is going to overlay with the busy summer season and especially the Highland Games?

SPEAKER_04 19:44

Absolutely. And you know, the the Parkway have been just such great partners on um managing these uh closures for the Great American Outdoor Act uh construction that's been going on around Grandfather and just in the high country. Um, but for uh the next few weeks, the next couple weeks, um there's a limit, one short closure between Grandfather Mountain and Blowing Rock. So you cannot drive the full route, but it's just a very short closure. The closure's uh gosh, probably less than a mile, maybe even a half a mile long. It's between Rough Ridge Overlook and the um Boone Fork parking area uh at mile post 305. So, and that is uh that is the uh place you park to access the Daniel Boone Scout Trail and the Grandfather Mountain State Park hiking trails uh from the Blue Ridge Parkway. And so you can get from Blowing Rock to those hiking trails uh from the north, and you can also get onto the Blue Ridge Parkway at Grandfather Mountain at milepost uh 299.9. Um, and you can get up to the Linco Viaduct, you can cross the viaduct, uh, but the road will be closed just past the Boon Fork or sorry, the uh Rough Ridge parking lot. So um got access to the south, got access to the north, we got a short closure. Following the Highland Games, right after that, there'll be a more extended closure, I think, which goes up the Holloway Mountain Road, maybe even a little bit beyond that, but there's a more extended uh closure. There is a map out there, I think you all have published that on your website on your socials. But uh yeah, we've got a little bit more closures coming this summer. We'll continue to have these closures, of course, uh through the summer and uh into the early part of the fall. But um, they're making great progress. The updates that we got a couple weeks ago is that you know, they're actually ahead of schedule. Uh the weather's been good to them so far. So fingers crossed, that continues to go as planned. And um, you know, we have an outside opportunity perhaps that a lot of those closures are behind us by fall colored. So um we're excited about that opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Yeah, and and I think again, the other thing to continue to have in mind is that these closures and this work is setting up the Parkway for long-term success and viability for years to come. And while you might see closure and think Helene, this is actually work that's been planned long before the storm ever got up here. Uh, and we know that it's going to set us up uh for the future. Jesse, I wonder if you could touch on some of the uh continued Helene maintenance and rehab that's gone on on and around the mountain that the you know the profile trail is has been a uh a popular topic of discussion and excitement. Um, how are things rehabbing from that perspective uh at Grandfather?

SPEAKER_04 22:31

Yeah, and you know, like the whole high country uh hurricane Haleen impacts, they're they're gonna continue for a while. Most of the big things have been fixed, which is exciting and really exciting, uh excited to see the profile trail come online, actually a little bit earlier than we first expected, but uh you can hike it now. The lower stretch, um, if you're familiar with the more recent uh map of the trail there, there's a loop uh not far from the profile trailhead that goes down to the Watauga River headwaters. And so that lower loop is still closed. That's gonna be quite some time before they get that fixed. The trail was just completely wiped out um along the Watauga River, and so that stretch is gonna take longer to get repaired. But the upper loop is open and the full access to the top of Grandfather, so you can get all the way to Callaway Peak on the profile trail. Um, it's a great uh hike. You will see uh some uh history there. I mean, you'll get to see some of the remnants of Helene. Certainly, there's lots of trees down, there's still some root balls along the trail uh that you'll see. But um, by and large, the trail's in really good shape, and um, and we're just excited that that's back open and accessible for folks this summer.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

That's awesome. I I thought you were gonna say that you might see you out on the trail just guiding people along. So we'll we'll look for that as well. Uh Jesse out in the wild. Uh, last thing for you here, and and certainly appreciate your time and appreciate what Grandfather Mountain means to our overall economy up here. Again, I wonder if you might be able to speak to those businesses that are trying to find their way to connect to that intentionality. Just, you know, maybe the the way that that being part of the larger picture has paid Grandfather Mountain back over the years with repeat traffic, other referrals, things like that. Can you touch on what that's meant to the overall growth of the experience that now you've you've created that that really anchors the region?

SPEAKER_04 24:30

Absolutely. And you know, a big part of our business, more than 50% are repeat customers. Uh, we got a lot of visitors who come. Uh our bridge club membership, our annual membership at Grandfather is continuing to grow. I mean, it's it's probably doubled in uh five to six years' time. And so repeat visitation has grown a lot here. I think that's a testament to new experiences, new opportunities. Um, you know, we're continuing to uh not necessarily just from a construction standpoint, but just from an experience standpoint, offering more ways to connect to the mountain, unique opportunities to see it, see it at different times, different times of the year, different times of the day. And um that's that's really helped a lot. Um, you know, we've been looking at some of our economic impact recently, and um, you know, it's amazing the number of people that are coming. Uh, our visitation now is consistently around 300,000 visitors a year to Grandfather, uh, which that's grown substantially too in the last 10 years. But um, the other thing that I think is helping all of us is when you look at the high country as a whole, I mean, we are becoming a bigger destination. Um, when you look at new experiences that have come online, new improvements that um other attractions and other places have made. Um, it's just continuing to make this place an even better destination. Great, and you know, when you look at the whole of that, great festivals and events, concerts, um, the attractions that are here are world-class, and uh they're continuing to get better and better all the time. Um, the just the natural resources we have up here, the beautiful rivers, the hiking, the scenery, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Um, this is a really exciting destination. And um, we might have been a secret 25 or 30 years ago, but I don't know that it's such a secret anymore that this is such a great place. And um, you know, we'll we'll continue to um look look to the future to see that continue to grow here in the high country.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Well, Jesse, I must say too, along with that, I so much appreciate, and I know others that that live here year-round appreciate the fact that you all, while while you've said everything that is very true, the the growth of popularity of this area, you all remain one of the most consistent voices when it comes to managing that growth against the environmental, uh environmental stewardship that we all must think about in preserving this place to look and feel like it, like it does. Uh, you know, when we first all fell in love with this area. So uh it's it's one thing to say and it's another thing to lead that way. And you all have led that way and then some. So thank you for keeping all of those things in perspective and finding ways to connect visitors with the things that that we know that they can get here and nowhere else. And I know that that's uh certainly a big part of your mission and something that we all benefit from. So really appreciate the time as always, and best of luck with uh finding uh all of the right things at Highland Games, and and I know we'll be on the horn with you again soon.

SPEAKER_04 27:30

Well, thank you for saying that. And you know, protecting the resources here at Grandfather is one of the key things uh for us for sure. And we do something that our business, our business friends look at us like we're a little bit crazy, but you know, we cap the total number of visitations daily, and we do that to protect the natural resources here. Uh that comes first, you know, protecting the mountain and protecting the resources comes first. But our our visitors, I think, really appreciate that too. They they value the fact that we're protecting this place in the way that we are. So I appreciate you uh recognizing that. That's a very important part of our nonprofit mission. Uh, but we want people to be part of that too. So we want people to come and experience it. But we hope they leave uh with just a little better understanding of our natural resources up here in the high country.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

Thanks to Jesse for joining us and for the team at Grandfather Mountain for creating such a high bar for high country experiences, opening the door for many to come for one adventure and stay for more over the course of a summer vacation. And again, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games July 8th through the 12th. Check out gmhg.org for the latest on schedules and details. And if you've never been to the Highland Games, this is certainly one of those must-attend bucket list events that you should scribble down on your to-do list while you're sitting in the passenger seat. We will head down to Howard Street right after this if you are listening to MindYour Business.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Appalachian Commercial Real Estate provides professional commercial real estate services in the Boone area. They provide sales, listing, consulting, and appraisal services to owners and users of commercial real estate. For more information, go to their website at Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Welcome back to Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson. We celebrate the July tourism season by charting the next steps in the ongoing Howard Street Revitalization Project. Started a bit more than a year ago, the shape of this massive streetscape redesign is beginning to come into focus, and the finishing hardscapes will soon be installed. We have benefited from the insight, information, and patience of Lane Moody throughout this process. She is the director of the Downtown Boone Development Association, and she has the latest on what you can currently see on Howard Street. And what comes next?

SPEAKER_01 29:47

You know, I I think one of the key themes for Howard Street is figuring out how to pivot. Um and so I feel like for this section of high uh of roadway, you know, we kind of learned in between Depot Street and Burrell Street. Um, and so where they didn't do some of the hardscapes, so for this side of the road, they have been more intentional about holding in those hardscapes um as they go to prevent those road closures moving forward. There'll probably be still some additional ones in the future. Um, and so what's been nice is to see those hardscapes coming into place. A lot of concrete work. Um, and so this is kind of an adaption from what we learned on that other side of the road, uh, like I said, between Depot and Burrell, um, and applying what we learned there over on this side. So it's been nice to see it, see it really start to come together. I thought it was really exciting in May uh when we got all the underground duck bank work, uh, but it's underground, so it's not nearly as exciting. It is for me because uh I thought it was really neat to watch it go in underground, and it's still amazing that we have over eight miles of conduit and uh a quarter mile of roadway. Um, but I I tell you what, seeing the parking stalls come into play. Um, and then we've got some loading zones. They don't necessarily look like loading zones right now. Um, and then even just from last Wednesday to Thursday, um I had to run out of town for a day and then came back that afternoon and just to see where some of the concrete borders had been put in, and then where there was going to be hardscaping, there was gravel, and then there was dirt where the landscaped areas was gonna be was really fun to see uh see it really start to come together.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Yeah, you mentioned some of the things that you can't see, and another one of the things that I know has been exciting, an exciting milestone in the project has been the undergrounding of cabling, putting things in that eight miles of conduit, and utility crews have been out there pulling new wire to get that uh in. Can you kind of give an overview of that portion of the project, who those people are and and how that process will ultimately lead into connections to buildings and then the the overhead lines coming down?

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Yeah, well, I think the duck bank itself, uh, like I said, it's underground. So it really doesn't seem like the shining star of the project that it is. Um, but it really is gonna be so uh uh wonderful to see it when it's fully in use. So all of those utility poles and all the wires uh that you see overhead on Howard Street, those are now gonna live in the duck bank. Um, and so we this was many years ago, uh, we did uh a survey kind of asking about parking and uh and Howard Street and some other things. And somebody said that Howard Street looked like a road in Syria. Um, and and they were referencing all the wires that were out there. And at the time they weren't wrong. Uh and so it's gonna be really nice to see that tidied up. I I will say that if you have some free time and are downtown, maybe uh uh well, anytime there's a lot of good opportunities to be downtown, go stand behind the 1850 hotel and look towards campus. Once you realize the amount of overhead poles that are gonna be gone, uh, it's gonna look fantastic. And so um, to your point, what we're in the phase now that now we do have the duct bank underground. And so we have the utility companies that can come in and start pulling their wire underground. Um, so that is gonna be New River Light and Power. Uh, if you're downtown with uh uh et al. or much here lately, they have been pulling wires quite a bit. You'll see their equipment back there. Um, Ridgelink, which is through Blue Ridge Energy, they have already pulled their lines. And I want to thank that ATT, Charter, and Skyline are the last three utilities. Um, and it's my understanding that they are working on um getting everything in order to be able to start pulling their wire underline underground into the duck bank.

SPEAKER_02 33:42

Well, that's wonderful. And again, something that you're not gonna see on a daily basis because you won't see it on a daily basis anymore. And we'll just go to the overall aesthetic uh upkeep of downtown and make this really uh a shiny project in all directions. If you can kind of speak more now to the physical part of the road construction, the top that we can see, what comes next at this point in time, now that some of these hardscapes are taking shape, kind of walk us through what the next few weeks or maybe even months looks like in that regard.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

So between um Appalachian Street and Burrell, uh, or not Burrell, between Appalachian and Depot, excuse me, uh, we have been kind of working on a phase approach. Um, there are a lot of parking lots on this side of the road, and so we've been uh doing sections at a time. The first section that we did was kind of from ECRS and to phys ed. And so they have got their hardscapes in, and then we worked, and then the roadway and bike path were the last things that we're uh doing. So it'll be kind of a wash, rinse, repeat. Um, and so we are uh for the for the next two phases, and we're actually pretty close to the end of the second phase. Um, thank you for everybody who's been bearing with us. Um, it doesn't make for ideal parking lot conditions when the uh entrance is also having to double as the exit for the town hall and the King Street lots. Um, but we were hoping that we will get uh that Moret's paving will be back there on Monday. So we'll get those opened and then we will move into the next phase, and that will be from roughly behind the Appalachian Theater to Appalachian Street. Um and so we will come in and do the same thing there. They initially start working on grade for the project, and then they come in and then they do the forms for the concrete and then the the asphalt, and and keep in mind uh that it will be a base layer of asphalt for the roadway and as well as for the bike lanes. Um, and so I will say that even though it looks like it's coming together, uh, well, it is coming together well. Uh, a lot of people have said, well, there's water pooling here and there's water pooling there. Just know that we're not all the way there yet. Um, so we are still working to make sure that the water lands at those drains and where it needs to go, but it is a base layer of asphalt, just so that we can maintain access during the project.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Yeah, I think this is a fascinating example of getting to watch road construction in a safe place because most people are on foot anyway in that particular area. But one thing that struck me during Boonerang was just the depth of the roadbed as compared to the top layer of what will ultimately become the street. I mean, that's not just like a surface level project. They're they're down there a little bit, and that's not even including the duck bank below it. So uh, you know, this this again speaks to the totality of the project and and why it's taken some of the time that it has to get all of these pieces put together. Um, the the money question here, and the one that I know you've been waiting for me to ask when is this gonna be done, Lane? Just ask it like that.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

So I will bet really good money that it's gonna be done in 2026. That's awesome. Is that your standard non-answer? No, I I will say that we are we're is it fair? This is the standard government answer, right? It depends. We're getting so close, we're closer than we've ever been. Um, and I will say the one thing that's that is a little bit uh I'll and I won't say that it's necessarily holding us up. So we you know we have a contract with our contractor for the construction of the project. The one thing that we don't have is with the utilities. Um, and so waiting for them to pull their wire underground and get off the poles so that we can take the poles out. We are a little bit at their mercy to a certain extent. Um, I will say that everybody has been great to work with so far, New Year's Light and Power, on it. Uh Ridge Link, they're already done. Um, and so we're waiting for those communication utilities, like I said, which have been great to work with, uh, to start pulling their wire underground. So we're a little bit at their mercy, um, but thankfully they've been they've been good. And so um I feel like once we wrap up phase two or the middle section between Appalachian and Depot, then we'll finish that third phase, like I just talked about, that's between Appalachian and Appalachian Street and the Appalachian Theater. And then we've got some hardscape work that still needs to be done on uh between Depot and Burrell. But I will say um the concrete crew that we've been we have down here is fascinating. They go so incredibly fast. Um and so it's amazing how quickly the forms go up, they get concrete poured and they're trialing it. Um and so I anticipate that it'll go just as quickly on the other side.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

Well, that's excellent news to to hear, even in its uh governmental vagueness. Uh we know that things are are moving in the right direction, and I know that that it gets complicated when you know one utility can be pulling wire at a time, that kind of thing. Um, you know, all of all of those things will come together at just the right time.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

Can I add that at our DBDA meeting this week, we did have on there that we are gonna start talking about ribbon cutting. So if that tells you we're getting really close, we might not have a date in stone just yet, but I think that there are some things that we can talk about as far as ribbon cutting. Um, so it's like this ribbon cutting that feels like light at the end of the tunnel. Um, and so I feel like we will probably take, and you didn't ask this, uh, but I'm just giving it to you, but we will probably use a footprint that's similar to boon rang for that. And so I'm starting to get really excited about what those invitations look like and what the budget for that looks like and all the different fun activities, you know. Can we do another um silent disco and have it be all construction themed songs?

SPEAKER_02 39:14

Oh man, yeah, that that's uh yeah, I I I hear the dad jokes beginning right now. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

So even though I can't the I'm still super vague on on the date of when it's happening, we're close enough that we are starting to party plan.

SPEAKER_02 39:27

That's fantastic. Well, one last thing to kind of close on, and and speaking of boonerang, I think this is a great tie-in to that, whether that's the celebration of the completion of this project, Boonerang, the Mountaineer Ten Mile, the Fourth of July parade, as this construction has been going on and impacting really not only Howard Street, but but the surrounding areas as well. Um, there the importance of these one-off events that bring people in, I think has been magnified. And certainly you layer that over with the economic conditions that that are rocky at best in in some of these areas. Um, man, these things have been so well-timed and so important to the surrounding community. And I know you've gotten a lot of feedback on performance from those things. Has it been largely positive?

SPEAKER_01 40:12

Yes. Yeah. Um, Boonerang, of course, um, love it. And what's so nice about that is is how local locals love it. Uh it's a regional event that drives our locals. And, you know, we had made some significant progress on Howard Street, but it was still uh an active construction zone um for that weekend. Um, and people still navigated it well. I sat back there and watched people come down through there, and it was nice they were coming down the gravel walkway. And so um I think it's a testament to the uh footwork of our regional population. You know how they say mountain cows have two shorter legs, maybe we're just better on our two feet. Um, and so I was grateful. Um, and our contractor, I don't want to throw off on them, they definitely did some work to try and make that a lot better. I know that there are some parking stalls that they need to have pavers in them, and so they put some additional screenings in there to make sure that there weren't the trip hazards. So uh was grateful for that. And then the Mountain Year 10 Mile, how cool. What an 840 runners from 18 different straight states. Uh, I'm excited to welcome that back next year.

SPEAKER_02 41:18

Well, we we need a a Howard Street aid station for sure for those of us that maybe aren't as in the greatest of shape. Um, you know, just stopping by there and and being able to uh cool off for a minute. Maybe that'll be on the uh maybe you can create an area for that. I don't know. Silent disco probably not, but uh, but definitely some some uh locally sourced uh uh energy drinks would be perfect.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

Yes, we'll make it happen.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

That's awesome. Well, Lane, we appreciate the info as always. I know we'll check in with you again as the summer continues, but but we just really appreciate the continued transparency and the information uh that you're providing. It's helpful, even though it's not always what people want to hear. The fact that they hear it allows them to make plans, and and that is as important as anything. And you've been driving the the car on that uh on a one-way street now. So uh thank you for that. And uh we we look forward to hearing from you again soon.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Well, thanks to everybody that supported those businesses along Howard Street. It's a really important project. It's not been easy. Uh so thanks to the businesses that have been patient and gracious, um, and thanks to the to all the folks out there that have loved on those businesses during this time.

SPEAKER_02 42:21

Thanks to Lane for the update. Thanks to those of you that have prioritized not only Howard Street businesses, but just downtown Boone in general. It's all one big happy family down there. And whether that's at Boonarang, the Fourth of July parade, shopping and snipping on a Saturday, the fact that these businesses have survived the construction calendar is a testament to both people's desire to seek them out and a motivated group of shoppers, diners, and casual walkers by that make sure the dollars they're spending these days are helping those that may be battling a few extra circumstances along the way. We look forward to catching up with Lane again a bit later this summer to see where things are progressing on Howard Street, especially as we get closer to completion. You are listening to Mind Your Business. Each fall, the Boon Area Chamber of Commerce leads a celebration of community, the people and businesses that make us unique, the leaders that make the high country strong. This celebration captures the spirit of food. Join us Thursday, September 24th from 5:30 to 9 o'clock in the Grandview Fallroom at Kid Brewer Stadium as the chamber hosts Spirit of Foon. Connect and network with nearly 400 fellow business and community leaders. Enjoy a delicious dinner, proof to the livestounds of Watanga County's own Adam Church, and help us celebrate the accomplishments of the Chamber's annual community award on a reads. Spirit of Boon is the chamber's largest fundraiser of the year with event proceeds that fuel our mission-driven work, programs, and projects. Join us as we celebrate the spirit of Boone. Reserve your seats today at Boonchamber.com.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

Mind your business. Brought to you by Appalachian Commercial Real Estate, offering sales, leasing, consulting, and appraisal services. Visit Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_02 44:22

Numbers, numbers, and more numbers. Math does not take the summer off, especially in a community like this. We do like to help provide some context to the economic activity around us, and we have data galore if you are looking to add to your vacation reading. The Boon Area Chamber of Commerce and our quarterly contributors recently released the quarter one economic indicators for the year. You can find that at Boonechamber.com. We gave you Boonerang numbers from Placer AI last week. That's a service that tracks visitor trends in communities. Some more reporting from that service and more numbers that suggest our summer ramp up was a bit slower than usual. Over the last six months of data collected, that's December 2025 through May 2026, the Boone area saw over 559,000 visitors come into the area from out of market. That's down about 5.8% year over year. Remember, a few weeks ago we were talking about snow on the wrong days and how that impacted our ski season traffic, particularly in January. 78% of about 438,000 total trips, and again, those trips are people entering the market from out of town. Seventy-eight percent of those trips were overnights, with the average day of 2.3 nights, which was down seven percent year over year. And that's a nod to perhaps some belt tightening and the travel line item, and also that travel is a bit shorter in nature during that time of the year because of the pesky school calendar that rears its head at those times. Top markets within the state for travelers, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, in that order. And part of the reason that even with elevated gas prices, there is some optimism heading into the busiest part of our busiest season. We are close to people. And even at a time where the week-long trip maybe shrunk to just a few days, we have so much for visitors to do here. Us too, for that matter. So when it comes to the bang for the vacationing buck, you can't go wrong with a trip to the high country. Again, these numbers are available through our partnership with Placer AI, and we enjoy breaking down these data sets for our champion and summit level members. Insights lead to action, which leads to operational efficiency. If you are interested in learning more, give us a call or visit us online at boonchamber.com. We're back to wrap things up after this. You are listening to Mind Your Business.

SPEAKER_00 46:45

Are you a young professional looking to expand your network? The High Country Young Professionals, affectionately dubbed the High Country YoPros, is a dedicated group of 200 plus professional young adults under the age of 40 serving in various industries across the high country. Join us for our casual networking events on the first Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. As we visit locations across the high country. Events are free of charge. However, donations are appreciated. Not a chamber member? That's okay. No membership needed to join us. You just have to be under 40. Learn more about High Country Yo Pros at Boonchamber.com slash HCYP.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

Spirit of Boon Season is upon us. Tickets and corporate tables are on sale now at Boonchamber.com. We are in the process of finalizing our community awards for this year's celebration. Some simply amazing stories we get to tell. So come join us. It's our largest fundraiser of the year with proceeds fueling the work of the chamber and our foundation as we continue our work to impact the business community and to impact quality of life overall right here in the High Country. That will do it for this week's Mind Your Business, this program, written and produced by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. Thanks to WATA for placing us on the airwaves each and every week. Thanks to James Miller and the team at Appalachia Commercial Real Estate for making the podcast version of this program possible every week. If you are not a subscriber, fix that today. You can search Mind Your Business wherever you get your podcast. Visit us online as well at Boonechamber.com. I mentioned that we're on every week, except next week we're taking the week off for vacation. So we're back with you the week of July 13th. So until then, have a great four. So long, everybody.