JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – Jacksonville City Council has approved plans for a temporary social district on Sept. 25 and 26, with the pilot project centered around the Clove Hitch Beer Company’s Oktoberfest event.
Court Street from College Street to Railroad Street will be closed both days to accommodate vendors and the social district.
The proposal was brought forward by the Clove Hitch Beer Company, which is partnering with the city on the event.
Jacksonville Assistant City Manager Anthony Prinz said the initiative aligns with council priorities. “One of the main goals of council is to further downtown redevelopment and just get more energy into downtown Jacksonville and this is a great way of doing it,” Prinz said.
Prinz said other cities in the region have social districts, but Jacksonville has never had one. He added that several downtown storefronts are currently vacant and said he hopes a social district would attract new businesses.
“I’m not so sure that we would need more businesses for it to become more permanent, but the end result is we’re hoping to attract more businesses because of what we’re doing here,” Prinz said.
Clove Hitch Beer Company co-owner Kevin Ryan said the social district concept has been a long-held idea for the business.
“We do hope it becomes a permanent thing,” Ryan said. “There has been talks of doing a social district where the streets get shut down Thursday through Saturday and we think that would be awesome because in New Bern they shut the street down for restaurants where people can eat and drink in the street and we think it would be a huge step forward.”
Prinz said after the September trial run, the city will reevaluate whether a permanent social district is a viable option. Officials said the next step will be developing safety plans for residents with the police and fire departments.
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