DOING BUSINESS IN DOWNTOWN MOORESVILLE

The prospect of opening a new business or relocating a current one can be intimidating.   Below is some information that may assist if you are considering purchasing or leasing space within the Downtown Mooresville district.  

Our network of business owners is also an excellent resource for advice and helpful hints; we encourage you to join one of our monthly Mooresville Downtown Commission Board Meetings to make acquaintances and hear our efforts first-hand.

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The Mooresville Downtown Commission (MDC) is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization that exists to provide leadership dedicated to the improvement of the Downtown Mooresville district.  

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Formed in 1987, the MDC facilitates downtown development, creates promotions, plans and implements events, supports preservation and serves as a clearing house of downtown information. We strive to enhance the appearance, desirability, and vitality of this very important economic and social center.

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The district is funded in part by a Municipal Service District (MSD) that encompasses approximately 24 acres. The MSD was created in the late 1980’s and the property owners in this district pay an additional property tax.

Benefits & Advocacy

Being located within the Downtown Mooresville Municipal Service District has many benefits, including advocacy, guidance, and marketing efforts from the MDC, support from fellow business owners, and advantages such as being in an official Main Street community.  The MDC strives to provide innovative ideas to assist our entrepreneurs - from sustaining a strong digital presence to advocating at the local or state level on topics that may negatively affect our businesses, to maintaining a steady stream of information about the current and future projects that will impact our businesses, and even providing monetary support via grants for new and developing projects.

To help encourage the strength of Downtown small businesses, the MDC and the Town of Mooresville (ToM) partnered in FY19 to fund the grant program.  The program focuses on assisting both property owners and business owners in improving the visual quality of their buildings, signs, and interior spaces.  The program has been very successful and the allocated pool of available funds has already grown*.  More details can be found in the application (CLICK HERE).

*These grant funds are part of an annual budgeting process and are subject to renewal each year. 

Planning & Growth

Downtown Mooresville’s presence has grown immensely in the last decade.  Currently there are multiple projects and enhancements in progress, in alignment with the Comprehensive Downtown Master Plan to ensure balanced growth.  In the last three years alone, 28 building renovations have been completed and 9 public projects undertaken, with 14.2+ million in private investments and 4.7+ million in public investments made in the district.  (See FY20 & FY 19 Annual Reports for more!)

A significant public enhancement came with Downtown’s Liberty Park renovations.  Work began in 2019 and the park re-opened in 2020 with an amphitheater and performance area, new green space and walking paths, new pedestrian connectivity to Church Street, and a Veterans promenade.   Phase II is currently being developed and will include new play structures, connective greenways, a regulation basketball court, and shaded area for the town Farmer’s Market.

Residential development in Downtown is underway which provides a new and extended audience that will positively impact our business patronage.  Identified as a much-needed demand, Downtown residential opportunities have been a high priority for the MDC over the last few years and became realized over the last 12 months, adding another element that is advantageous for Downtown business success.

Located adjacent to Liberty Park along Church Street, on the site of a 126-year-old textile mill, Mill One is a new mixed-use development property in the last phase of construction in Downtown Mooresville.  The first floor is slated for restaurant concepts and retail shops, and the second and third floors have 90 high-end luxury style apartment homes that are available to pre-lease as well as additional business space. 

Broad Street Place, a renovation of the former Mooresville Ice Cream production facility consists of approximately 20,000 square feet of newly redesigned historic street retail, almost all leased by female entrepreneurs, and 8 residential lofts directly accessible from N. Broad Street and W. Moore Avenue with a new private parking lot.