Developer, business owners seek to give back to southeast Raleigh neighborhood where they grew up

A $4 million development in southeast Raleigh will help people get back to work and help students join the workforce.

The 16,000-square-foot Montague Plaza, off Rock Quarry Road, will house Black-owned businesses, as well as math, science and financial literacy programs for Raleigh youths.

"I grew up about two minutes from here," developer James Montague said, calling himself "a project kid."

"This community means a lot to me, being able to give back and encourage young people," he said. "I try to be the person I needed at that age."

A former convenience store on the site will be demolished next month so construction can begin on the plaza. No date has been set for the plaza to open.

"It’s going to have a lot of give-back into the community. It’s going to be everything from clothing to food," said Sabrina Newton, owner of Outer Skin 2, a clothing store that will have a spot in the plaza.

Cedric Palmer, owner of Beautiful Distraction, another clothing store in the development, said he also grew up in southeast Raleigh and looks forward to giving back.

"I grew up riding my bike up and down here, and now I am building something here, and I am going to have a business here, so it’s kind of a dream come true," Palmer said.

Denise Wiggins, chief executive of Einaff Cosmetics, said she didn’t learn how to manage finances until she was in her 40s, so a financial literacy program for girls ages 8 to 17 will give them a leg up.

"We’ve created a junior project where we are going to be teaching our young girls about financial literacy, budgeting, credit, life skills and leadership," Wiggins said.

The property is in an Opportunity Zone, a program Montague applauds to encourage investors to contribute to projects that affect people and communities that are often overlooked. Opportunity Zones have been criticized because they give large tax breaks to developers.

"This is from a home-grown leader here in southeast Raleigh. It's not someone coming in from the outside that's doing this," Raleigh City Councilman Corey Branch said, "It's our community uplifting and doing it for ourselves, and that's what it's all about."