Ideas, projects and efforts to build community are integral to Greensboro’s development. The following transformational opportunities are meeting important needs in our community. Their purposes range from the enjoyment of nature and exercise, to the learning, spaces and enrichment of young people and students, and to the growing entertainment and performing arts scene in Greensboro.
Transformational Spaces and Opportunities
Preserve the unique beauty and shared resources of the region
Center City Park
Center City Park is an urban green space at the heart of Greensboro’s Downtown. Designed by Boston’s Halvorsen design Group, it features The Cemala Fountain and a welcoming theme with NC pottery, a “roomy feeling” for spaces and more.
Children’s Museum
The Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum boasts more than 20 exhibits and the 30ft tall Neptune Climbers to inspire hands-on learning through play. The museum adds to the character and vitality of Greensboro’s downtown. The Cemala Foundation contributed to the startup capital campaign “Reaching Greater Heights”, the creation of the Outdoor Play Plaza, and to the renovation of the theatre.
Downtown Greenway
The Downtown Greenway, a collaborative project of the City of Greensboro and Action Greensboro, is a planned 4–mile walking and biking trail that will encourage economic development, increase the tax base for the city, and will improve quality of life for its citizens.
Hayes-Taylor YMCA
The Hayes-Taylor YMCA opened in 2015, moving from the NC A&T campus. It was built at Barber Park under a lease agreement approved by Greensboro City Council. It includes 55,000 square feet of indoor space, outdoor fields, a daycare center, and afterschool and camp programs. The cost to build the Y came from private fundraising. The Cemala Foundation contributed $1,000,000 to its development. The Foundation has a long history with the Y as Ceasar Cone II contributed to establish the first Hayes-Taylor Y in 1939.
Performing Arts Center
Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts is a state-of-the-art facility with a seating capacity of approximately 3,000. The venue is located in downtown Greensboro at the site surrounded by North Elm and East Lindsay Streets and Abe Brenner Place.
Public Art
The Cemala Foundation envisions a vibrant and innovative Greensboro that is nationally known as a magnet for individuals, families, and businesses. Consequently, Cemala invests in public art to engage, entertain, and inspire residents and visitors alike.
Tiny Houses
Tiny House Community Development focuses on alleviating the housing crisis in Greensboro and constructs tiny home communities. Reducing homelessness by engaging in public and private partnerships is at the forefront of Tiny House’s mission, alongside donors, volunteers, and local organizations. Tiny House provides education, training, and social services resources to individuals and families, to help these families become independent.
Union Square
Union Square Campus is a $34 million project between Cone Health, Guilford Technical Community College, NC A&T State University, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Union Square is a state-of-the-art facility to educate nurses from the associate (2 year), bachelor (4 year), through the doctoral degree level. Cemala was one of many public and private funders.