Pembroke Pointe boosts Pembroke Town Park

PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Pembroke Town Park project got a major shot in the arm this fall from Pembroke Pointe apartments and its owner Stephen F. Kenney.

A real estate developer from Raleigh, N.C., Kenney contributed $20,000 to the project that will transform the aging park that is located on Pembroke’s main street at the entrance to The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

“The people here could not have been nicer to us,” Kenney said. “I will always have a fond place in my heart for Pembroke. We asked town leaders how we could help the town as a way of saying thanks.”

Community leaders were pleased with the answer, said Spencer Howington, fund-raising coordinator for the project, which includes leadership from the Town Council, UNCP and the Pembroke Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Fundraising has reached $150,000 now, and we are working to get phase one started in December or January,” Howington said. “We are working on a fencing contract as we speak.”

Howington said construction costs have risen since planning began, but he believes that the town and UNCP will like what his committee has in store for the park.

With projects in five states, Kenney Companies has more in store for Pembroke Pointe too. There are plans for 150 more units and 6-700 additional beds at the site, located off 3rd Street behind the Food Lion Shopping Center.

Kenney said that the Pembroke Pointe project along with another at Western Carolina University were his first college housing developments. With enrollment surging at UNCP, Pembroke Pointe, with 260 beds and 72 units, is at full occupancy.

Kenney Companies has three divisions, construction, development and property management.

“All three of the divisions of our company are active in their communities,” Kenney said. “I appreciated the Pembroke Town Council’s faith in us.”

Kenney was named the 1992 Triangle Developer of the Year, and he was named the Raleigh News and Observer’s “Tarheel of the Week” on Aug. 20, 2006. In 1998 Kenney Properties received the Pinnacle Award for the Outstanding Business with under 50 employees by the Raleigh-Wake County Chamber of Commerce. The company’s management division Kenney Realty Services, Inc. was named each of the past two years by the Triangle Business Journal as one of the “Best Places to Work in the Triangle.” These awards are given based on the results of a questionnaire that must be answered by 80 percent of the company’s employees.

“We’re really proud of that award,” Kenney said. “It says that our employees know that they are appreciated and respected for their contributions to the company’s success. Our superior people have allowed us to grow rapidly without sacrificing quality.

A growing company and a growing town require a nicer park at such a prominent location, said Dr. Diane Jones, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

“We are very appreciative of Mr. Kenney’s support,” Dr. Jones said. “Located on Pembroke’s main street and as a gateway to the University, this is an important project.”