Venerable Lake Norman antique shop closing, citing quadrupled rent, historic mill changes

After 27 years in business, the Oak Street Mill Antiques store inside the white, clapboarded-sided front of the former Gem Yarn Mill in Cornelius is closing. Substantial renovations on the nearly 120-year-old mill will begin next month.

“The landlord has mandated renovations that necessitate the closure of my beloved antique shop,” the store said this month on its social media sites. The antique store will close for good at 5 p.m. Oct. 31. The mill site at 19725 Oak St. is less than 20 miles north of Charlotte.

Store owner Janet Dellinger has known about the remodeling plan for about four years, she told The Charlotte Observer recently.

Landlord The Knox Group, a Cornelius commercial real estate firm developing the project, and affiliates are investing $6 million to $8 million to upgrade and renovate the mill, Knox Vice President Steve Knox told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.

He said renovations will begin Dec. 1, starting with converting the antique mall’s 11,000-square-foot upstairs space into offices. The renovation, which will be completed in phases, should take about 12 months, Knox said.

After seeing the modernized design plans last fall, Dellinger said she decided not to renew the lease. The rent also would quadruple, she said.

“It would not be a venue for the antique store,” said Dellinger, who bought the antique store seven years ago. Instead of relocating the store, she decided it was time to semi-retire to her mountain home in Laurel Springs.

“It’s a landmark that’s going away,” Dellinger said.

Plans for renovating the mill

The Gem Yarn Mill that turned cotton into yarn opened in 1905, according to Visit Lake Norman’s website. The mill, which at one time had about 150 workers, closed in 1962.

The site has since been converted into shops and offices.

Some tenants will remain at the mill, Knox said, including furniture store COCOCO Home, Cain Center Pottery Studio and Movement Mortgage. He expects to sign new leases soon, including restaurants.

The mill is about to get “a new life” again, Dellinger said on the antique store’s Instagram. She said The Knox Group has been a good landlord and offered her the option to stay.

The over 41,000-square-foot site on nearly 5 acres will undergo major renovations for office and retail space that could include a brewery and restaurant, according to The Knox Group. Illustrations of the mostly brick building show a modernized look by architecture firm Peadon Finein.

Customers lament store closing

Oak Street Mall Antiques customers overwhelmed the store’s social media posts, saying they were “sad” and “heartbroken.”

“You were the last real antique shop in this area,” one person said on Instagram.

“It’s the best and most charming antique place I’ve found. So sorry to hear,” another person said.

Others were upset by the plans to modernize the historic mill.

“I think this is disgusting to see a special, stand-out historical building being given such a cold, modernized facelift,” one person said on Instagram. “Nothing is special about taking an old mill and turning it into a building that looks like everything else.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 9:41 AM.