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HIGH POINT - When the plan to revitalize the Washington Drive district came before the planning and zoning commission recently, some worried the economy would put the expensive project on the back burner.

But this is one project that can't wait, City Councilman Latimer Alexander said. And when the plan comes before council members for final approval next month, they know what's at stake.

"This is something we shouldn't wait on, and we know that," Alexander said. "The life of a city is its downtown and our Core City Plan is going to revitalize ours. The Washington Drive plan is the first part of that, and it's important."

The plan, which received the planning and zoning commission's stamp of approval last week, seeks to restore an area of town that was once the boyhood home of John Coltrane, a hotbed of jazz and blues, and the center of the city's black culture. If it passes muster with the City Council, work could begin early next year.

Some on the council said they don't want to comment until they've had time to weigh the plan's latest draft, but Alexander said he's seen what core city plans have done for other cities.

He wishes the Coltrane house and the historic Kilby Hotel and Arcade had been preserved earlier, Alexander said. But extensive as their damage is, the time to save them is now.

"You know, the preservation of history is passion and timing," he said. "Wouldn't it have been great if those could have been preserved, protected and enhanced from the early '50s? Yes, but that's not where we find ourselves today. Now, the right people have passion at the right time and that's going to create action."

Councilman Mike Pugh said restoring the historic buildings in the area has to be a priority.

"There are buildings out there right now that need to be purchased before they reach a point of no return and that history is lost and gone," Pugh said.

Andy Piper, the city's senior planner, said the Kilby and the Coltrane home would be early action items.

In early plans, the abandoned Kilby hotel, a registered historic building that was once a venue for live jazz and blues, was reimagined as mixed-use loft apartments with a downstairs studio. But roof repairs and the removal of lead paint and mold alone could cost about $2 million.

Construction of a museum to showcase African American and North Carolina history is a more long-term goal. Early estimates put its cost at upward of $7 million.

But Alexander said the price will be worth it.

"People are looking for a unique experience," he said. "The excitement of Coltrane in an area that's uniquely High Point, an area that people will recognize and reclaim as High Point, that's something unique I believe people will come to see."

Pugh, who is on the project's steering committee, said he sees the Washington Drive district as a test of how well the rest of the Core City Plan will go. It won't be easy, he said.

"Money's tight right now," Pugh said.

"It's tight on everyone, so it's going to be slow going for a while. It will definitely take some private dollars, some public-private partnership, but if someone steps up to the plate, it's going to be a great endeavor and the beginning of bigger things."

Contact Joe Killian at 883-4422, Ext. 228, or joe.killian@news-record.com