Four old Charlotte buildings that are getting a new life
If you spend much time in Charlotte’s shiny new center city, where historic plaques stand in for actual historic buildings, you probably agree with the stereotype that Charlotte is better at tearing old buildings down than saving them.
But that’s not always the case. Throughout the city, developers and small businesses are breathing new life into older, historic buildings for creative uses.
Here’s a look at four Charlotte buildings that are being creatively reused:
1. From music notes to brews
The old: Brodt Music on Commonwealth Music. For 80 years, until it closed in 2013, Brodt sold music and instruments
The new: Reopening later this year as Legion Brewing.
The details: Working with Bluewater Design-Build, Legion has stripped off the drop ceiling from the building’s interior to expose bow-shaped trusses that support the roof. The ceiling in the taproom is made of reclaimed wood, and the owners are keeping the original Brodt neon sign on the building’s roof.
The taproom will feature framed sheet music and Brodt photos in a nod to the history.
2. Former cotton mill will host beer, culinary creations
The old: On west Charlotte’s South Turner Avenue, the Savona Mill has sat idle since the late 1990s, broken windows announcing the South Turner Avenue building’s decay.
The new: Argos Real Estate Advisors plans to renovate the 180,000-square-foot structure. Blue Blaze Brewing will be the project’s first tenant, occupying an 8,000-square-foot space facing the adjacent greenway. The brewery is aiming to open in spring 2016. A design company has signed on for another 45,000 square feet, and a 10,000 square-foot incubator kitchen will offer space for aspiring chefs.
The details: The master plan calls for creative offices, studios, residences and retailers. A nonprofit group of trolley lovers called Lakewood Trolley Inc. is working to get an old streetcar running from Cedar Street uptown to the mill, along a stretch of abandoned railway tracks.
3. Once making cookies, now home to codes, coworking and cuisine
The old: Since opening in 1945, the factory at Louise Avenue and Otts Street made cookies and other snack foods for decades in Charlotte’s Belmont neighborhood. Kellogg closed the factory last year.
The new: Doug Bradley, president of Bradley Construction, bought the property with investors and is considering building a restaurant, music venue, coffee shop or indoor soccer arena.
The details: Two new tenants have already signed up: Advent Coworking is using about 5,000 square feet for shared office space, a podcast studio, art gallery and event venue. Codescape, a real-life puzzle and escape-themed game venue that involves solving mysteries and finding hidden passages, is opening on the second floor.
4. Ford dealership to entrepreneurship
The old: The three-story building at the corner of Fourth and South Poplar streets uptown has stood for 85 years – practically an eternity by uptown standards. Once a Ford dealership selling Model A cars, the 25,600-square-foot building was also a film studio at one point.
The new: Chicago-based Level Office bought the building for $2.1 million earlier this year and renovated the structure for shared workspace.
The details: Level added modern touches, such as carbonized bamboo flooring, efficient heating and cooling systems and ultra-high-speed fiber Internet, while exposing beams and old ceilings that emphasized the historic elements.
This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Four old Charlotte buildings that are getting a new life."