Residents Invited to Help Design Future Festival Street in Downtown Holly Springs (NC)
A summer-long engagement process will let residents test ideas, experience a temporary street transformation and help guide the future of a downtown gathering space.
Holly Springs, NC, Jun. 20, 2026 — Residents will have a chance to help design the future of a proposed Festival Street along Avent Ferry Road as Holly Springs launches a summer-long effort to gather community input on one of downtown’s most visible public-space projects.
Town officials and project consultants introduced the public engagement process during the June 16th Town Council meeting, outlining a series of opportunities for residents to help shape what could become a new gathering space in the heart of downtown.
The proposed Festival Street would create a more flexible public space that functions as a traditional street most of the year while also supporting festivals, community events, and other downtown activities. While the concept has generated interest, town leaders emphasized that no final design has been selected.
Instead, consultants repeatedly stressed that residents will play a central role in determining what the space ultimately becomes.
“This is not our design. It’s the community’s design,” the project team told council members during the presentation.
Rather than presenting residents with a finished design, the project team plans to spend the coming months gathering ideas and testing concepts to better understand how people want to use the space.
The engagement process begins with meetings involving nearby property owners and stakeholders. An online survey is expected to launch in July and remain available for more than a month, giving residents an opportunity to share ideas, priorities, and concerns. Feedback gathered through the survey will help shape preliminary concepts and guide future discussions.
Residents will also have an opportunity to review early concepts and provide feedback during a community meeting scheduled for July 15th. Project leaders said the meeting will help refine ideas before a larger public engagement event later in the summer.
The most visible part of the process is expected to take place on August 21st during Summer at the Springs, when part of the project area will be temporarily transformed into a prototype Festival Street. Rather than looking at drawings or renderings, residents will be able to experience potential concepts firsthand and provide feedback based on how the space feels and functions.
Consultants described possibilities, including temporary murals, public art installations, seating areas, and other interactive features designed to help residents visualize how the space might be used in the future.
Town officials said the prototyping event will help planners understand how residents use the space and which ideas generate the most support. Feedback collected during the event will help shape recommendations for the project’s next phase.
Following the August event, additional stakeholder meetings will continue through September as the project team reviews public input and develops recommendations. Consultants are expected to return to the Town Council on Sept. 8 with a summary of community feedback and potential next steps.
For residents interested in the future of downtown Holly Springs, the coming months will provide multiple opportunities to influence a project that could help define one of the community’s most prominent public spaces for years to come.