On September 19, 2023 the Greensboro City Council approved the establishment of the Dunleath Retaining Wall Restoration Program.  The Dunleath Wall Restoration Program falls under the category of “Preserve Historic Streetscape and Environment” in the neighborhood’s Municipal Service District Plan. 

The Dunleath Neighborhood Association has allocated $75,000 in funds for the 3 year Municipal Planning period of 2022-2025 for the purposes of repairing historic retaining walls that contribute to the character of the historic streetscape within the Dunleath District.

Property owners may submit applications at any point.  We encourage contacting Neighborhood Association Board members and Historic Preservation Staff at the City of Greensboro to learn more about the program and how a property owner may participate.

Application and program guidelines are available here. 

2022-2025 Dunleath Municipal Service District Plan

 Review the neighborhood's tree inventory report and
check out the interactive GIS map that illustrates the findings.

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The Historic Dunleath neighborhood (formerly Aycock) is located less than a mile northeast of downtown Greensboro along Summit Avenue. The area holds two levels of historic district designation, both as a National Register Historic District designated in 1993 and a Locally Zoned Historic District designated in 1984. Historically, the area was home to many of Greensboro’s middle and upper class residents and this can be seen through the variety of residential architecture in the area. The majority of the neighborhood was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century and is named for the public middle school located along Cypress Street within the neighborhood. The Dunleath neighborhood is also home to the World War Memorial Stadium, one of the nation’s oldest surviving minor league stadiums, and the Greensboro Farmer’s Market.

Designation as a locally zoned historic district has provided for the area, under State Legislation, to become a "Municipal Service District (MSD)." Property within a Municipal Service District is taxed at a slightly higher rate than in the rest of the city for the purpose of enhancing the special character of the historic district. This property tax is set aside and placed in a fund managed by the City of Greensboro for use on projects in the public right-of-way and for the benefit of the neighborhood. The installation of decorative historic street lighting and the restoration and landscaping of the Hendrix Street pedestrian bridge are examples of how this additional tax has been used to improve the neighborhood.

In summer 2002, a grass-roots neighborhood effort brought a design firm to Greensboro to develop the Dunleath Traditional Neighborhood District Plan. This plan, which holds many conceptual ideas for the future of the neighborhood, was then used as the basis for the neighborhood’s next effort. The neighborhood has partnered with the City to develop the Strategic Plan for the Dunleath Neighborhood. The Strategic Plan was developed as part of a comprehensive public input effort and identifies 10 objectives for improving the neighborhood. These objectives are further broken down into 12 priority actions and the neighborhood association is currently working with City staff to implement these priorities. The Strategic Plan for the Dunleath Neighborhood was adopted by the Greensboro City Council on November 5, 2003 and guides what initiatives and projects will be implemented with MSD funds.

Since the adoption of the Strategic Plan for the Dunleath Neighborhood, efforts have been underway to implement several of the priority actions. The Summit Avenue Corridor Plan was adopted by the Greensboro City Council on September 19, 2006. The plan assessed land use, market conditions and infrastructure needs for the section of Summit Avenue between Murrow Boulevard and Bessemer Avenue, and the area on Yanceyville Street that includes the Farmer’s Market and War Memorial Stadium. Improvements to the Summit Avenue Corridor were included in the 2008 transportation bond package.

Through a partnership with Guilford County Schools a decorative fence was constructed to replace a chain link fence along two neighborhood gateway points at Bessemer Avenue and Yanceyville Street.  On-going landscaping of public right-of-ways and neighborhood identification also helps to enhance gateway entrances to the neighborhood for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Street sign toppers were introduced at several intersections to help identify the neighborhood. The neighborhood association also participated in a design process for a vacant tract of land within the neighborhood known as the Dunleath Site to explore development concepts with the property owner. This design process has resulted in the current use of the site as a Community Garden stemming from the concept of an urban agricultural use.

Summit Avenue Corridor Plan 
Summit Avenue Market Study 
Dunleath Neighborhood Strategic Plan
Dunleath Neighborhood Association Website
Municipal Service Districts Program
National Register of Historic Places
Greensboro Historic District Program
Dunleath Traditional Neighborhood District Plan
Dunleath Charrette Planning Process