ROBESON REBOOT: A $3 million civic center expansion could rejuvenate downtown Lumberton.

• Author: Nacem, Sarah

The story of the Carolina Civic Center in downtown Lumberton has had several chapters over the past century, from silent-film house to vacant building to born-again theater space. Its latest chapter will begin this spring with construction of a planned $3 million annex that can host business conferences, weddings, dinner theater and more. The project is at the forefront of the Robeson County city's efforts to revitalize its downtown district.

"Every time somebody goes to the civic center that's not from Lumberton and they've never seen it, they're like, 'We had no idea that Lumberton had anything like this,'" says Sarah Beth Ward, the downtown development coordinator for the city of 19,000.

The Carolina Civic Center, which opened in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, draws between 12,000 and 13,000 visitors a year to concerts, theatrical productions and other events, says Executive Director Richard Sceiford. He hopes to triple that number in the next few years.

Ward and Sceiford hope investors and property owners will take note and help breathe new life into historic downtown Lumberton, which spans several city blocks. With promises of property tax breaks, the goal is to attract retail stores, coffee shops and restaurants.

Downtown has two big assets: its proximity to Interstate 95 and the Lumber River.

Fast-food restaurants and gas stations along 1-95 are already popular pit stops for travelers on the major East Coast thoroughfare that runs from Canada to Miami. Downtown Lumberton is only about a mile off the highway.

The Lumber River, designated by Congress as one of five "wild and scenic" rivers in North Carolina, meanders along the west side of downtown and presents opportunities for recreation in a more urban setting. Ward envisions kayakers and canoers paddling south from the James L. Stephens Memorial Park to downtown, where they could get ice cream or drink a beer.

"We're sitting on a gold mine,"...