High Point has a prosperous urban citizenry living in close proximity to historical economic and cultural assets in textiles and furnishings. It lies at the center of a world-class pool of design, manufacturing, and retail talent stretching across North Carolina and into neighboring states. The internationally renowned High Point Market remains the largest furnishings trade show in the world, addressing the largest furniture market and bringing tens of thousands of visitors to the area twice yearly. The High Point Bridge Group proposes developing a "Furnitropolis" campus adjacent to the Market Center District to sustain the furnishings industry and generate local and regional community interaction through industry centers, a cultural embassy with commercial projects like a design museum and prize, and cultural projects promoting the arts.

2. High Point has a prosperous urban citizenry living in close densest population of North America from north to south.
proximity to its historical economic and cultural assets in Within a few hours reach of three ocean ports and three
textiles and furnishings. It lies in the center spot of a world international airports, it is the co-beneficiary of unparalleled
class pool of design talent and manufacturing and retail logistics opportunities and futuristic Aerotropolis plans. It is
expertise that stretches across North Carolina and spreads the home of the cutting edge High Point University and a
into Virginia and South Carolina. The internationally branch campus of the rapidly growing GTCC, and shares the
renowned High Point Market remains the largest furnishings strong regional assets of other major state and private
trade show in the world addressing the largest furniture colleges.
market in the world. Twice yearly, it brings tens of thousands
of domestic and international visitors into the area. The high With the beauty of the region, moderate climate, and
point on the historic east-west Plank Road, High Point is the pivotal centralized position between ocean and mountains,
third leg of the prominent Piedmont Triad cities region, and is High Point enjoys timeless appeal.
seated where four major high ways intersect, connecting the
January 2010
To the City of High Point, Investors,
And Other Interested parties:
The High Point Bridge Group believes tremendous opportunity lies ahead for High Point to
grow our unique residential/industrial character. We believe the answer lies in part in
refreshing the community’s ability to prosper in its key home furnishings industry-- building
on a powerful design heritage by investing in transitional business models, the arts, family
entertainment, and by expanding retail and multi-use facilities that tie High Point into the
Piedmont Triad as an equal leg of the region through transportation and educational
projects.
The High Point Bridge Group’s core strength is that we are furnishings insiders, and we
know how to transition High Point’s past manufacturing assets into logistics, self-sustaining
commercial opportunities, and cultural assets. It is time to harness the vast unmeasured
knowledge base amassed in decades of being the center of the textile and furnishings
industries, and prepare our city for the global opportunities that do indeed exist for a city as
rich in talent, location and assets as ours.
We suggest an architectural symbol—The High Point Bridge—as an icon of our commitment
to transition, and recognition of the power of design. Literally, it is a foot bridge crossing
the rails from a historic Market Center District to a futuristic Furnitropolis. It is footed by a
transportation terminal offering express transit between the triad cities. It opens to a
boardwalk on the face of the Furnitropolis campus filled with cultural delights for the local
community as well as the international. The campus itself, the Furnitropolis District,
incorporates transitional textile and furnishings facilities, multi-use facilities, exciting retail,
food, urban housing, hotel, and entertainment facilities. Symbolically, The High Point
Bridge is the first step in creating a cultural embassy, a philosophical body of projects
providing incentives to artists, musicians, and students to develop their studios throughout
the city, supporting specialized curriculums in education, filling empty spaces in the
Furniture District for international promotion during Markets, inviting the community to
Market, building a world-class design competition, and ultimately developing the first all-
inclusive Furnishings Design Museum in the world. In this vision, High Point bridges all
barriers between the past and future, between community and private industry, between
the City of High Point and region, and invites the world to put their other foot down here
Sincerely,
The High Point Bridge Group

3. Core Strategies of a futuristic Furnitropolis
The High Point Bridge Group is conceptually aligned with the High Point City Council and Mayor’s office,
and with the Furnishings Cluster initiatives developing under the Wired grant through the Piedmont
Triad Partnership. We have approached the idea of a revitalization plan for a unique district in
downtown High Point by designing solutions to regional needs and by building on regional assets in our
field of expertise, the entrepreneurial furniture industry.
Furnitropolis is a campus adjacent to the Market Center District endorsing transitional business and
cultural models. Its targets relate to sustaining both a global position of prominence in the furnishings
industry, and to generating local and regional community interaction with this key industry. What
happens inside Furnitropolis will…
• Happen year –round.
• Create thousands of new jobs.
• Generate numerous entrepreneurial opportunities in furnishings, retail, education, the arts.
• Improve the quality of life for local families.
• Provide alternate usage for under-utilized buildings.
• Stimulate high-end new building.
• Retain High Point’s branded name as center of the Furnishings Industry.
• Support the High Point Market.
Furnitropolis is a commercially and culturally
driven concept for developing High Point’s
transitional Downtown Mixed Use District.

4. One: Industry Centers in Furnitropolis
What remains of the furnishings industry without manufacturing as an industry anchor? The High Point
Bridge Group has fleshed out several business and cultural models to regenerate a center of gravity
nourishing domestic and international interior furnishings trade. The first two business models
launching the campus are:
1. International Trade Center for Interior Furnishings (ITC), an office and convention center for
international and domestic producers, suppliers, industry associations, and service providers to
the industry promoting product development for residential and commercial applications. This
is a meeting place for product developers to research and develop new global resource
relationships. Trade shows and educational events will be produced throughout the year
targeting niche and new market segments. A high-rise building will house 750-1000 industry
members, offer cutting edge video-conferencing, meeting space, design thinking workspaces,
and recruitment services.
2. International Design Center, a complex of buildings supporting both retail and wholesale
showrooms especially targeting the design trade on a year-round basis. These buildings and
showrooms will be filled with vertically organized furnishings firms such as Roche Bobois,
market segment specialists such as kitchen and bath companies, and composite groups such as
governments and agencies sponsoring their countries’ furnishings exports (for example, The
Italian Pavilion, Brazilian Exports.)
Many entrepreneurial or independently housed businesses that are transitional in nature and support
the vital Furnitropolis profile will be stimulated and attracted by its targeted mission:
• Specialized warehousing
• Overlapping, extant, traditional showroom buildings
• Design studios
• Interior design firms
• Architectural firms

5. Two: The Cultural Embassy
The Cultural Embassy has two faces with one mission. First, the Cultural Embassy, a High Point Bridge
Group foundation, will develop commercial projects with cultural goals. Second, it will create and
manage incentives and special projects and events that create bridges between regional assets.
1. Commercial Projects
a. International Furnishings Design Museum, the first
museum in the world building a collection of
furnishings and related textiles to represent an all
inclusive history of international furnishings design.
The museum will generate both profitable income and
proven tourism benefitting many regional interests.
b. International Annual Furnishings Design Prize, a
million dollar prize awarded through an international
board of judges for design with specific art, function,
and production criteria. The prize will be self-sustaining, and will also provide fund
raising for the museum as well as other Cultural Embassy non-profs.
2. Cultural Projects
a. The Cultural Embassy Arts Incentives
i. Managing incentives and world-wide promotion to artists, arts groups,
musicians and colleges to develop studios in under-utilized buildings throughout
the city, in and outside of Furnitropolis.
ii. Placing gallery shows in empty High Point Market spaces utilizing the unique
exposure to retail and design buyers available during Markets for fine art while
revitalizing showroom corridors.
b. High Point Market Consumer Tours, managing public tours at the High Point Market to
invite regional residents into what has been an isolated and impersonal event,
incomprehensible to most of the public and therefore difficult to support at grassroots
or public sector levels.
c. Evolving Ideas, working with other agencies to promote cultural events and concepts.
d. Piedmont-Triad Cultural Transportation will promote public transportation and
entertainment venues from transportation centers in High Point, Greensboro, and
Winston-Salem. The public can travel easily and inexpensively from the Elm Street area
in Greensboro, the Art Gallery district in Winston-Salem, or the Airport--to the High
Point Furnitropolis in 15-30 minutes.
3. Furnitropolis Mall Entertainment, managing mall and Railwalk activities, including the exercise
trail, a skate-board facility, and promotional family events throughout the year.

6. Three: Retail, Dining, Entertainment
1. The High Point Bridge. Spanning the tracks, the High Point
Bridge carries pedestrians from the old High Point of
manufacturing and traditional showrooms to a new High Point of
international business opportunities and fine living.
Like Venice’s Rialto, the High Point Bridge itself is a retail mall and is designed to be an
icon of change, recognizable throughout the world.
2. The Railwalk is a boardwalk flanking the tracks, offering a nostalgic view of a freshly landscaped
track to pedestrian traffic, serviced by retail shops and dining. The Railwalk is broad enough for
art shows, musical and theatrical venues, café seating,
and hosts part of an exercise trail for walkers, joggers,
and skaters.
3. Furnitropolis Mall is the heart of High Point
Bridge Group’s Furnitropolis vision,
encompassing:
The International Trade Center for
Interior Furnishings
The International Design Center
An Imax Theatre
A House of Blues
Dining and Bars
World-class Hotel
Emergency clinic and pharmacy
Radiating from Furnitropolis Mall are independent multi-use facilities, including
furnishings-related facilities, fine dining, mall-quality grill and fast food dining,
bars, boutique shopping, art galleries, additional world-class hotels, and
planned convenient public parking.

7. Four: Urban Living
Refurbished, loft, and condominium dwellings will support Furnitropolis from the inside-out. As an
alternative to hotel dwelling for frequent international travelers, as an investment for business class
rental properties, and as urban dwelling for those who love urban living, Furnitropolis will offer big city
features in a warm southern town setting.
Imagine specialty food stores: wine, cheese, meat, produce…open air shopping…within walking distance
of home and entertainment.
Five: Industry Advocacy Groups, Going
Green
Roughly 50 industry associations exist in the region related to the furnishings industry. The High Point
Bridge Group will build incentives to augment the natural draw for industry intelligence to gather in
Furnitropolis.
Not the least of the intellectual movements afoot is the green movement. A major goal of Furnitropolis
will be for High Point to become the world capital of green intelligence in all building and furnishings
design and construction.

8. The High Point Bridge Group
Linda McLean
Lin123@triad.rr.com
336-669-8747
Scott Morgan
Sdmorg51@mac.com
310-962-7354
Hal McAdams
smcadams@triad.rr.com
336-312-1180