GOLDSBORO, NC - Asheboro was one of twelve communities to receive an award of excellence in downtown revitalization during the annual North Carolina Main Street Conference Award Ceremony held in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The Church Street Lofts project was awarded under the ‘Best Adaptive Reuse’ category.
Landmark Development led the rehabilitation of the former Parks Hosiery Mill-McCrary Hosiery Mill #2, located at 170 North Church Street in downtown Asheboro, into apartments to serve the senior adult population. The $11,000,000 investment utilized state and federal historic tax credits, the North Carolina mill rehabilitation tax credit, and low-income housing tax credits to bring the project to fruition. Dunn and Dalton Architects of Kinston prepared the rehabilitation plans, KMW Builders completed the construction, and Fearnbach History Services served as the historic preservation consultant on the project. The City of Asheboro and the Randolph Senior Adults Association were also partners in the project, helping to secure access to parking and amenities for the Church Street Lofts residents.
“The Randolph Senior Adults Association is thrilled to be a partner with Landmark Development in providing our senior adult services to residents of the Church Street Lofts. The ability for a senior adult to leave their residence and participate in our broad menu of activities while never setting foot outdoors provides access like nowhere else in our area. Since our center was part of the original Acme McCrary textile campus, it is wonderful for our downtown that these two facilities have now been renovated and are again serving citizens every single day. As we are in our 49th year of providing services to the senior adult population of Asheboro and Randolph County, we are excited to add residents of the Church Street Lofts to our family of clients.” said Mark Hensley, Executive Director of the Randolph Senior Adults Association.
Significant features of the Church Street Lofts rehab include the installation of the expansive multi-pane aluminum sash in McCrary Hosiery Mill #2’s window openings that had been enclosed with brick and smaller glass block windows in the 1950’s. The exterior Art-Deco style metal canopy and sconces at the north entrance were also restored. Inside the building, painted brick walls, posts and beams, wood ceilings and roof decking boards, hardwood and concrete floors, metal kalamein doors, and double-leaf-glazed and paneled doors were retained.
The project, completed in May 2023, added more than 57,000 square feet of occupied space and 50 new one- and two-bedroom residential units in the downtown district. Prior to the redevelopment project, the tax valuation was $480,000. After rehabilitation, it is valued at nearly $2,900,000 and resulted in a net gain of $21,000 in property tax revenue for Asheboro and Randolph County.
“The textile industry is a huge part of our culture in Asheboro, and Downtown Asheboro Inc. is excited to see the historic architecture in our district restored and rehabilitated to serve in a modern way. This project increased residential living options downtown by fifty percent, and we are grateful for resources like historic tax credits which make mill rehabilitation projects for housing possible. We look forward to continuing our expansion of residential options in the downtown district,” said Addie Corder, Executive Director of Downtown Asheboro Inc.
The North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center works in regions, counties, cities, towns, downtown districts, and designated North Carolina Main Street communities to inspire placemaking through building asset-based economic development strategies that achieve measurable results in investment, business growth and jobs. Downtown Asheboro Inc. is the program administrator of the North Carolina Main Street Program for the City of Asheboro and is dedicated to creating a vibrant downtown by promotion economic development through historic preservation.