POPULATION 33,000
When we began working with the Economic and Community Development Director of the Town of Leland, the people in Leland did not have a good understanding of the uniqueness of the town’s assets and resources. They had been struggling with the development of a cohesive and authentic branding and identification for decades. Even though the area located right across the river from Wilmington, NC, was settled in 1667, the Town of Leland was not incorporated until 1989. Since then, the population had grown from a handful of housing developments scattered about and two major retail areas with little to pull them together. Infill to connect the two was being planned, and the lack of annexation power that had been taken away some years ago was being reinstated. A cohesive branding and identification was critical to spur both economic development and tourism development.
A comprehensive inventory of assets and resources revealed an irreplaceable world-class collection of:
• Nature Areas
• Parks
• Trails
• Connected Greenways
• Blueways – Connected Waterways
• A Large Nature Preserve
• More Land in a Natural State Being Purchased
These assets and resources pointed to a quiet, serene landscape located in the center of a highly commercialized area surrounded by the remainder of the county and the towns around Leland that were only promoting beaches, beaches, beaches, even though there are outstanding historic resources in many locations. To use these unique resources to the best advantage, branding the Town of Leland as North Carolina’s Urban Nature Haven and promoting it under a common logo with the town’s administration beautifully focused the effort on the uniqueness of the Town. The brand both resonates with visitors and residents are proud of the uplifting descriptor of their town, resolving a 25-year challenge to authentically identify itself.
A 5-Year plan is defined
• the scenario of placemaking needed to put all of the interconnected elements of the Urban Nature
Haven in place
• define the urban water trails system for visitors
• connect the water trails with the greenways,
• enhance the walking and biking trail that already exists all over Town
• complementary actions to enhance arts and culture offerings,
• actions to develop the concept of the nature haven
• a structure for a tourism department with the strength and capabilities to support the entire effort
• Recommended 2, 3, and 4 Day itineraries for visitors to explore both the Town and the region
• a series of driving trails focusing on such themes as history, traditional foods, tasting at breweries,
wineries and distilleries
• additional placemaking strategies to enhance the visitor experience
• an event strategy
• a sustainable tourism strategy to protect and preserve the irreplaceable nature areas.
When we illustrated the scope of the available assets and resources and the target markets that could be aligned with them, the opportunity is so robust that the Town is now hiring.