Charlotte’s historic Wilmore School sells for over $8M, clearing the way for redevelopment
The historic Wilmore Elementary School property has sold for nearly $8.2 million, a move that may finally clear the way for a $42 million mixed-use redevelopment.
In fact, the landmark in the Wilmore Historic District switched hands twice on Feb. 19, first when the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education sold it to the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina for an undisclosed amount. And then from Preservation NC to Lakemont 77/85 LLC for $8,160,000, according to county records.
The school is celebrating its centennial this year. It’s also been the site of a number of fires in recent months. The fires have not damaged the building.
The property was rezoned last May. Redevelopment plans called for 250 multi-family or single-family units, 3,500 square feet of retail and 4,300 square feet of office or community space.
About 5% of the units will be reserved for those making 80% of the area median income or less. For a family of four, that’s an annual income of less than $84,800.
With the completed sale, Jack Thomson, regional director for Preservation NC, said the development should be moving forward. The double changing of hands through Preservation NC allowed the foundation to place a deed restriction on the site that prevents demolition of the original portion of the building.
When completed, developers would have invested $42 million into the property, Thomson said.
“We’re going to have this fabulous historic school that stays in use, that stays out of the landfill, along with new developments and the school now becomes an authentic accessory,” Thomson said. “Some neighbors were highly concerned about the intensity of the development, which I understand…
“Even though the neighborhood is going to see a pretty high level of development on the site, the fact that we were able to save the school, I think, is a win.”
Wilmore neighborhood history
Wilmore Elementary opened in 1925 and was the only school in the Wilmore neighborhood, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.
The school was originally designed by Louis Asbury Sr., the first native North Carolinian who was part of the American Institute of Architects. Additions to the school were done by Martin Boyer Jr. and Tebee Hawkins, both of whom were local architects.
The school’s lifespan chronicles the changes the Wilmore neighborhood has seen since its own inception in 1906 by the Suburban Real Estate Company, the landmark commission notes. Including systemic racial divides.
At its inception, Wilmore and the school had a predominantly white population. Just three blocks down was an African American enclave, according to the commission. The two communities did not mingle.
But by the 1960s, that began to change. Black residents in uptown and other center city neighborhoods were pushed out of their neighborhoods through federal urban renewal grants. As they looked for new places to live, Wilmore was the next neighborhood, according to the commission.
In the 1960s and ‘70s, as white residents began to sell their homes, real estate investors turned the houses into rentals. The neighborhood became a predominantly Black and rental area.
The school’s racial demographic led to its closing in 1978, according to the landmark commission. At the time, the school board was mandated to bus kids in from different schools to promote integration but didn’t do so with Wilmore, instead opting to close the facility.
The mandate was part of the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education decision.
Julius Chambers, who was the lead attorney in that case, told The Charlotte Observer in 1978 that “the closing of mostly black Wilmore Elementary School… showed officials aren’t willing to bus young white students to Black communities.”
The school was later used as a staff development center.
Adaptive reuse at the Wilmore school
The neighborhood became a historic district in May 2010 and the school became a historic landmark in May 2018.
The school was in danger of being demolished, but the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board decided to sell the property in 2023.
Last year, Wilmore Preservation LLC applied for a rezoning of the site, seeking the creation of a mixed-use development. Collin Brown, a Wilmore Preservation representative, said at the rezoning hearing that New York-based developer Avery Hall would be working on the project.
Avery Hall did not return a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer. It’s unclear if it is still part of the redevelopment.
It’s also unclear what Lakemont has to do with the redevelopment.
According to the N.C. Secretary of State website, Bailey Patrick is the registered agent of the LLC. He’s also a managing partner with real estate firm MPV Properties. A representative from the firm said MPV is not going to be involved in the project but didn’t immediately add any further details.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 5:25 AM.
