The City of Kannapolis has been honored with the prestigious American Planning Association Excellence in Economic Development Award. The City was recognized for its Downtown Master Plan which resulted in the completion of new infrastructure, the West Avenue Linear Park, the VIDA parking deck and the Atrium Health Ballpark.

The honor is considered the Top Award for Excellence in Best Practices that can be achieved by a City. Presented annually the award is given by the American Planning Association. “The City of Kannapolis was selected on the basis of their written downtown master plan, the scale of the project, the successful completion and implementation of the project. The project was also noted as being a project that could be emulated and repeated elsewhere in the United States.

“We are excited to be recognized nationally with this award from the American Planning Association and their professional membership. We judge our success by the thousands of people enjoying our downtown weekly but it is an honor to be seen as a model for economic development on a national level. The City Council, staff and our contractors have worked very hard to ensure our downtown has something for everyone and will continue to attract businesses and people for decades to come,” said Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant.

The City would like to recognize key partners of the project during its planning and construction phase including: Barton Malow, Creech, Development Finance Initiative, Land Design, Lansing Melbourne Group, Populous and Temerity. 

The award was presented at the American Planning Association’s National Conference in San Diego recently to Assistant City Manager Wilmer Melton who gave a presentation on the Downtown Revitalization Project.