• Morris Newlin of New Garden Landscape
• Martha Faw of Southern Structures
• Robert Hayter of Hayter Designs
• Scott Sand & Stone representative
• Pine Hall Brick representative
• John Mallard of Archedeck
• Other potential businesses representatives

Altogether 30 people participated in the participatory planning process.

The planning group integrated their ideas to form the key concept of the development. The group decided the project would be developed as a commercial village. It would have three complementary pods, or neighborhoods.  These would be: Landscaping and Gardening; Outdoor Living; and Home Renaissance. Each neighborhood would have several businesses. The pedestrian friendly development would consist of living showrooms. This design would allow customers to enjoy ‘slow shopping’ as businesses would be in close proximity to one another. Village-wide promotional activities such as Fall Festivals would draw people to the entire village.

The participatory planning team then named several key components of the village which helped the vision come to life. Having a unique village identity would allow this development to be set apart from other shopping centers. A relaxing, gardenesque setting would entice customers to linger and patronize the various businesses. The group planned for continuous year round traffic in order to build a functional business site. Team chemistry became important for building the development as a whole and the momentum needed for the future.

The final design was created by Robert Hayter of Hayter Designs. He drew from the participants’ suggested features and characteristics that would project NGV as a unique commercial development. They decided there would be a main street character to NGV. A recognizable vertical landmark would help NGV be visible next to Greensboro’s new outer loop. And the new outer loop would give ease of accessibility from various points in the region.

Since the establishment of NGV in 2003, 25 businesses have opened. There is still opportunity for further growth in this unique development.

See the final design at:

http://www.newgardenvillage.com/pages/1/index.htm