Our Promise Zone
We serve the Rock Quarry Road Corridor in Southeast Raleigh, a defined area bordered by New Bern Avenue, South State Street, Interstate 440, and Sunnybrook Road.
Located within a six–census tract Promise Zone, the corridor includes long-standing residential neighborhoods, small businesses, and community anchors clustered around Rock Quarry Road.
Named for Raleigh’s original 1800s rock quarry, which supplied stone for early landmarks, the area carries deep historical roots. Today, it is shaped by infrastructure investments aimed at improving transportation and connectivity.
The corridor has long been home to predominantly Black neighborhoods with strong cultural ties and multigenerational histories. It includes older housing alongside newer development and sits near key community institutions such as the Southeast Raleigh YMCA and local health providers.
A Place of Celebrated History
Our impact zone is home to many celebrated sites and historic locations in Southeast Raleigh.
- Shaw University: founded in 1865 as the first historically black university in North Carolina.
- St. Ambrose Episcopal Church: founded post-Civil War era in 1868 as a ministry to recently emancipated persons of African ancestry.
- John Chavis Memorial Park: opened in 1937 as a segregated recreational space for Raleigh’s Black residents.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Garden: opened in 1989, the first public park in the U.S. solely devoted to Dr. King and the civil rights movement.
The Need
In each of the following key indicators that gauge overall community health and well-being, households within the six census tracts are experiencing unfavorable outcomes at a rate higher than those living in other parts of the city, county, and country.
- Access to Healthy Food
- High School Completion
- Rent Burden
- Broadband Connection
- Housing Cost
- Unemployment
- Children in Poverty
- Housing with Potential Lead Risk
- Chronic Disease (Diabetes,
- High Blood Pressure)
- Life Expectancy
The inequities are attributable to the lack of sustained investment, resources, and opportunities that are essential to create an environment and place where individuals and businesses can grow, thrive, and prosper.