Carthage's Courthouse Circle Is Racing a Year-End Deadline Into the Square's Busiest Weeks

"We did not pick the timing for this," Carthage Town Manager Emily Yopp told The Pilot when it asked her about the roadwork around the historic Moore County Courthouse. "This came after we had to go through all the steps."

Those steps help explain how downtown Carthage's December is shaping up. State funding for the project expires at the end of the year, according to the same Pilot report. That puts the deadline for the Courthouse Circle work in the same weeks small shops count on for holiday sales, and in the same month the Christmas Parade ends at Courthouse Square.

A Grant Schedule Set the Start Date

The Downtown Revitalization Project is funded by $912,499 in grants, and SQ Civil Contractors is doing the work. Phase 1 is focused on the Courthouse Circle. It adds pedestrian refuge islands and marked crosswalks, which the Town says will make the circle safer for both drivers and people on foot.

Much of the work happens underground. Star 102.5 reported in late July that the first phase included four storm drains and the piping beneath the roadway. Construction was expected to begin in late August, with the start depending on when the storm drains were delivered, and the contractor said it was confident Phase 1 would be done by the Dec. 31 deadline.

When the work began, the deadline mattered more than the season. A late-August start meant that heavy equipment, caution tape and piles of red dirt took over the circle in September, as The Pilot described it, just as merchants were heading into the fourth quarter.

What the Fall Asked of the Shops on the Circle

The impact landed hardest on the storefronts right next to the excavation. The Pilot's report focused on two neighbors on the square, Kitten Around Cat Lounge and Wishflower Lane Bakery, where machinery was breaking up asphalt outside their doors. Patty Hoffman of Wishflower Lane Bakery estimated sales were down about 40 percent from the same time last year. The bakery moved to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, after previously opening earlier and staying open later on weekends. Kitten Around owner Laura Smith said the lounge had changed its hours as well and that sales were down by almost half compared with the July 31 to Aug. 29 period.

Karen Lewis, owner of Second Chapter Books, told The Pilot that the shops back the project itself. "We want the revitalization down here. We 100 percent want it," she said. Her answer was a Facebook event called "The Great Downtown Carthage Detour Challenge," with directions to each downtown shop that was feeling the slowdown.

The newest shop on the circle had the shortest runway. Moore Coffee Company, at 4B Courthouse Square and owned by Allen and Johanna Williams, was profiled by Sandhills Sentinel in May, months before the road work arrived. In October it was one of the businesses asking customers to keep coming.

"Downtown Carthage needs your support right now. I know roads and parking are inconvenient right now, but we are made up of small businesses who need your support."

Sandhills Sentinel quoted that Facebook post on Oct. 5. The same story included a post from Second Chapter Books that made the same case for a longer list of neighbors: "Construction is temporary, but small businesses cannot survive indefinitely without customers."

The Town has made the same appeal. Moore County News reported on Sept. 29 that the Town posted on Facebook asking residents not to let the inconvenience keep them from shopping, eating and doing business downtown.

Getting to the Square While the Circle Is Still Changing

Yopp told Sandhills Sentinel on Oct. 5 that Phase 1 was expected to be finished between late October and early November. Until it is, getting downtown takes a little more planning than it used to. The Town's project page posts the current status and detour notices.

These are the access details the Town and local outlets have published:

1. N. McNeill Street at Barrett Street. As of Sept. 21, the Town closed N. McNeill Street at its intersection with Barrett Street. It cited near-misses and at least one crash involving drivers who assumed McNeill traffic had to stop.
2. Heading west toward Robbins. To reach McReynolds Street and NC 24-27 westbound, the Town's suggested route is a left onto Saunders Street, a right onto S. Ray Street, and a left onto McReynolds Street.
3. Parking. The Town published a map of downtown businesses, public parking areas and the routes that reach them during construction. The county parking lot was expected to remain available throughout the work.
4. Larger vehicles. Sandhills Sentinel reported that the Town asked commercial drivers to be careful on roads that are not official detour routes, because of Carthage's tight turns and utility poles.

The Town says the work moves in sections, so only certain blocks are under construction at any one time and pedestrian access to businesses is kept open.

December on and Around the Square

Here is how the season fits around the funding deadline, with dates from the Town and local listings:

The Angel Tree is the most downtown-specific holiday tradition on the list. Working with Moore County Public Schools, Second Chapter Books matches local children with books chosen for their age, reading level and interests, and shoppers pick a book for an Angel at the shop. A visit to fill an Angel is also a visit to the square during the stretch merchants have been waiting on.

The water restrictions are separate from the roadwork but run through the same weeks. The Town asks customers to reduce use by at least 20 percent and prohibits non-essential use of drinking water. It says the restrictions are for scheduled plant maintenance and are not related to drought or a water-quality concern.

The Parade Ends Where the Work Began

The Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. follows Monroe Street to Courthouse Square, which puts its finish right at the circle the Town has spent the fall rebuilding. Kim Andrews at the Town of Carthage is the contact for parade information.

If Phase 1 finishes on the schedule Yopp gave, the parade will be the first large evening crowd to cross the circle on its new refuge islands and marked crosswalks. A safer walk around the courthouse is what the project was designed to deliver, and parade night is when the most people will be walking it.

Phase 1 is only the start. The Town's plan calls for later phases with parking, access and mobility improvements, followed by new lighting, more seating throughout downtown and landscaping. Like Phase 1, that work will move block by block so shops can stay open. The Courthouse Circle shops that stayed open through the fall now have the parade and the rest of December to recover some of the holiday traffic.

If you own near the courthouse and want to know how the downtown improvements could figure into your home's value, The Gentry Team follows Carthage block by block. Request a free market valuation or consultation, and we'll walk through what the project means for your street.