Downtown Winston-Salem Developments

[zalo]

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said he expects Reynolds American Inc. to make an announcement sometime today regarding the development of its iconic tower in downtown Winston-Salem.  As the Triad Business Journal exclusively reported earlier this month, a boutique hotel and apartments are planned for the 22-story building, which was used as a model for the Empire State Building in New York City.

Sources told the Business Journal that a partnership between Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC of San Francisco and PMC Property Group of Philadelphia intends to purchase the 314,000-square-foot building for redevelopment. Joines spoke at a NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association luncheon as part of a mayors forum with High Point Mayor Bernita Sims and Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan.

Reynolds spokesperson David Howard did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is also planning to make an economic development announcement in Tobaccoville this Friday, where Gov. Pat McCrory and newly elected Reynolds American President and CEO Susan M. Cameron are expected to speak. Speculation on that announcement has centered on the expansion of e-cigarette manufacturing there.    Per TBJ.

[zalo]

It's official: The iconic Reynolds Building in downtown Winston-Salem will be redeveloped into a Kimpton boutique hotel, apartments and a restaurant. A partnership between PMC Property Group and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants jointly purchased the 22-story, 314,000-square-foot building for $7.8 million, Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) announced Thursday. “Our guests want to feel like they are part of a community when they stay with us and the Reynolds Building is full of the rich history and elegance that reflects the city of Winston-Salem,” said Mike Depatie, Kimpton’s chief executive officer.

Ron Caplan, president and founder of PMC Property Group, said the developers have had their eye on downtown Winston-Salem for a number of years. “We are ecstatic that our first foray into the city is such an important landmark as the Reynolds Building,” Caplan said. “We are looking forward to bringing our upscale residential living experience to the area and introducing a dynamic, downtown destination with our partner, Kimpton Hotels.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2014/05/its-official-reynolds-building-to-become-kimpton.html?page=all

http://www.news-record.com/news/article_323fa137-927a-5e6f-b79a-9bc6ac32d206.html

[cityboi]

Hampton Inn also coming to downtown Winston-Salem?

 

A Greensboro based hotel development company known for building Hapmton Inns is involved in a proposal for downtown Greensboro and the same company just bought land in downtown Winston-Salem. Looks like both Triad cities are seeing multiple downtown hotel proposals.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/print-edition/2014/05/23/hotelier-digs-triad-downtowns.html

Edited May 24, 2014 by cityboi

[zalo]

Thanks for the heads up, Captain Redundant. Looks like Winston may be a little farther down the road since the company has already closed on the property.

[zalo]

A line item of $50,000 in the upcoming Winston-Salem municipal budget has brought out behind the scenes discussions looking into the possibility of moving SciWorks downtown from its long time home off US 52 on the northside of the City . Talk has centered on possibly locating it at the Bailey Power Plant in the Innovation Quarter. Another mention has been the Winston-Salem Journal offices on N. Marshall Street, as that property has recently been placed on the market. 

Edited June 2, 2014 by zalo

[zalo]

Nice article on how the PMC/Kimpton deal came together. It's too bad Dennis Quaintance wasted a year trying to figure out how to solely do a hotel in such a large building. The companies are looking at approximately 50/50 split with the building. With 175 rooms/36 suites and around 130 apts. And to say they aren't wasting anytime is an understatement, he's indicating that both the hotel & apartments will be ready by late Summer/early Fall of 2015!

 

Nice comments on our local market: Initial thoughts on the Winston-Salem market? We have really just been in sort of the major cities in the U.S., but we are going into smaller cities and hope to continue to do that. We thought Winston-Salem just had so many great overall dynamics — the diversity of the economy, the things that are going on downtown, and of course the strong base with the university. It’s kind of a progressive business community.





http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2014/05/how-kimpton-hotels-chose-the-reynolds-building-in.html?page=all

Edited June 2, 2014 by zalo

[RichardC]

Winston-Salem is better off with Kimpton Boutique Hotels anyway.  This puts Winston-Salem in the leagues with the nation's largest cities, and with markets such as Miami Beach, Aspen. La Jolla and others, with the free publicity and advertising.  Plus with the 50/50 split occupancy of the Reynolds tower itself as hotel, and residency,  Winston-Salem's downtown will gain even more single and multi-family units....the most of any downtown in the Triad region.

[zalo]

Here's an WSJ article outlining the innovative re-purposing of one of the old Thomasville Furniture Factories in Downtown Winston-Salem. It is very gratifying to witness the enthusiasm that is contagious with people with all types of businesses that want to be apart of the Downtown's renassiance. Sorry, can't link to the article since the WSJ put up their paywall.

A former Thomasville Furniture warehouse and distribution building wasn’t the first choice for the owners of Plyler Supply when they decided it was time to find a new home for their growing wholesale company. “We wanted a good location on and off (U.S.) 52. or (Interstate) 40, or something like that that was easy for shipping and receiving for customers, mainly,” said co-owner Scott Sechler. Plyler Supply, an exterior building supply distributor in Winston-Salem, had rented space for 23 years out of a 40,000 square-foot building on Idlewild Industrial Drive, just off Kapp Street. But the company’s owners — Tom Collins, Stokes Huff and Sechler — wanted a building of their own.


When they initially looked at just the exterior of the 215,000 square-foot Thomasville Furniture building at 1245 Ivey Ave., Sechler said, “Nah. It’s three stories. It wouldn’t work for us.” But six months later, Plyler Supply’s owners had a different reaction, as they focused on the building’s seven dock doors and train shed. They also considered all the recent redevelopment of old buildings and warehouse space in downtown Winston-Salem. They were excited about having people going through a dock area to get to their showroom. “It gives us a different showroom than your basic building supply business,” Sechler said. We think that’s been a good thing. We like it.” The new space also gives the company a chance to expand Camel City Cabinetry, an independent company doing business under the Plyler Supply name. So S.T.C. Properties of Forsyth County, owned by Sechler and Collins, bought the property. Plyler Supply moved to the second floor of the building on Jan. 1, but Thomasville Furniture’s story in the building is far from ending. Plyler Supply’s owners just hired a historian in Greensboro to research and provide them with a detailed history of the building.


In addition to using its new showroom to showcase its products and provide a nice place for its customers to use whenever they invite their own customers to the building, Plyler Supply is trying to keep the history of Thomasville Furniture alive. The company has kept an overhead chain conveyor system that runs throughout the building. A siding display on boards hangs from the system in the showroom. Plyler Supply has also retained other features from the building’s former use, including a furniture trolley that is now a snack bar shelf. Some heavy metal carts have been repurposed as desks for employees. S.T.C. Properties is considering different options for the building’s basement and top floors. Ideas include leasing some space, and putting a residential loft or business condo component on the top floor, which has windows throughout the ceiling, giving it an abundance of natural light. “All the windows face north so the temperature really does not build during the day,” Sechler said. “You get the natural light all day, but you do not get the heat build-up.” Keith Maness, senior estimator for Rehab Builders Inc. in downtown Winston-Salem, likes the idea of offering a residential component. “That top floor would make awesome apartments,” Maness said. He said that the glass windows in the ceiling are what makes the space so great for residential units.

Rehab Builders has been doing business with Plyler Supply for about seven years, typically for exterior siding, windows and cabinets. “They supply and install,” Maness said. He called Plyler Supply a “standup company. He said that “everybody has hiccups,” but Rehab Builders continues to do business with Plyler Supply because the company is in tune with the service side of its business. “If anything needs to be done, they do it, and they do what they say they’re going to do,” Maness said. Plyler Supply was started in 1991 in Winston-Salem by Chris Plyler. The company opened a branch in Danville, Va., in 1995. Huff bought Chris Plyler’s interest in the company in 2002. At the time, Sechler was Plyler Supply’s president and Collins was the controller in accounting. Those early years were the company’s heyday, when it primarily sold vinyl siding and vinyl windows to major national builders. But when the economy tanked between 2007 and 2008, the company changed its business model, focusing more on hometown business and providing the best customer service to local builders, Sechler said. “I think the Lord watched out for us,” he said. “Also, we’re kind of a close-knit family. Our guys, as far as our sales force, really got out and beat the bushes, and tried to go the extra mile to take care of the customers.” Plyler Supply also started stocking more products to broaden its customer base. “We tried to add more specialty type products and then stock some of those products so they weren’t just special orders,” Sechler said.

The company’s cabinetry side of the business started in 2009 as a result of the downturn in the economy. The company had one color — a standard brown that was marketed primarily to the apartment market. “If you liked my ‘tutti frutti’ color, I could sell you cabinets,” Sechler said. “If you wanted vanilla or chocolate or strawberry, I’d tell you, ‘No hard feelings, but I’ve only got this flavor.’” The company’s cabinetry business did well, and a year ago Camel City Cabinetry was born. Sechler joked that today Plyler Supply is more like a Baskin Robbins because of its increased cabinet color offerings. “I think we’ve got about 40,” he said. “We just added probably 15 of those in the last month.”


Today, Plyler Supply keeps a variety of products in stock, including real wood siding, fiber cement siding, white pine and aluminum railings, exterior doors, and composite decking. Sechler said that some of its products come from out of state, but the company tries to buy products from family businesses based in North Carolina whenever possible. With the new location on Ivy Avenue, Plyler Supply is poised to move to its next phase. The company, which employs 27 people, has forecasted its sales to increase 25 percent this year compared with 2013. The company’s sales rose 15 percent last year over 2012, Sechler said. “In the near future, we want to develop a cabinet showroom that’s dedicated just to cabinetry,” he said.

[zalo]

Imagine downtown Winston-Salem as a giant storybook. That is the vision of a new program by Associated Artists called Storefronts Winston-Salem. This program will commission artists and designers to create vibrant art installations for vacant or underused storefront windows. They are also looking for property owners and business owners interested in receiving one of these installations. The goal is to install a new series of at least six windows at different locations every three months. Each series will have a different theme. The unveiling of the first series will coordinate with this year’s annual Bookmarks Festival, which is where the idea of turning storefront windows into pages from a giant storybook comes in.
Organizers say that this program will reach out to people who may not typically attend visual arts activities. It also gives artists and designers a unique opportunity to create artwork on a larger scale and for a more public venue.

The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership is very supportive of the new program. Similar programs in Seattle, San Francisco, Durham, and Chapel Hill have shown that there are also benefits to the business community. The installations attract more foot traffic and help improve the appearance of downtowns. Studies indicate that installations in vacant storefronts have a positive impact on properties available for lease by increasing visibility for those properties. Information sessions will be held on Thursday, June 26 at 5:30 pm and Thursday, July 17 at 5:30 pm in the Conference Room on the main level of the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts at 251 N. Spruce Street in Winston-Salem. Information is also available at 336-747-1463.

There is no charge to property owners or business owners to participate in the program. Artists whose work is selected will receive a stipend of $250 per window. Deadline is July 31 for artist entries for the storybook-themed installations. The program is open to residents of North Carolina. A Call for Entries is on the website. The first series of installations is funded in part by a grant from the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation. Associated Artists receives annual operating support from the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County

[zalo]

It looks like it will be around the first of the year as to what will become of the GMAC tower in DTWS. CBRE is reporting interest among several southeastern developers in making a play for the building. All the existing proposals call for a mixed use development with varying degrees of retail/residential/office combinations. The key calling card with these developers is the amount of parking already available as part of the sale. Which makes the numbers easier to work with especially regarding residential.

The article does report that a couple of the surface lots are currently under contract & will not be a part of the bigger plan. Can't wait to see how this all turns out. Total investment costs with the larger projects is estimated to top $50 million dollars.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2014/10/01/exclusive-gmac-complex-in-downtown-winston-salem.html?page=all

[zalo]

It's official, the renovation of the RJR Tower into a luxury Kimpton Hotel & Apartments has begun! The construction fencing is blocking off the building on E. Fourth & N. Church. A large dumpster is on Church St. side connected with a debris chute.. The old courthouse square is getting a little congested with construction fencing & dumpsters. 3 projects are currently underway with aforementionedKimpton/RJR Hotel/Aprts along with Clachan Properties project to turn the courthouse into Aprts with retail space as well as the Pepper Building mixed use restaurant/residential development as well.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_141273751031210&key=79bd9386a12d9ac58a81d42672c87dc4&libId=bfdad301-e293-4bf1-8b60-8d0a588228f0&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.urbanplanet.org%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Fs%3Db7f14c06169a26fad2bc06daf2ad9504%26app%3Dforums%26module%3Dpost%26section%3Dpost%26do%3Dedit_post%26f%3D224%26t%3D4506%26p%3D1325530%26st%3D360%26_from%3Dquickedit&subId=&v=1&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2Ftriad%2Fblog%2F2014%2F05%2Fits-official-reynolds-building-to-become-kimpton.html%3Fpage%3Dall&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.urbanplanet.org%2Fforums%2Findex.php%2Ftopic%2F4506-downtown-winston-salem-developments%2Fpage-19&title=Editing%20Post%20In%20Downtown%20Winston-Salem%20Developments%20-%20UrbanPlanet&txt=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjourna...n.html%3Fpage%3Dall

Edited October 8, 2014 by zalo

[RichardC]

[zalo]

RichardC, could you re-post your link. I couldn't open it. Thanks.

[RichardC]

Sorry, I attempted to post a pic of the north facade, then copy & paste to no avail, of the GMAC tower, but you know what it looks like since you live in W-S....so.  This redux should be an interesting one, especially incorporating residential in the top floors, with the the glass windows facing north.  There is no better vista in town than looking north toward Wake Forest, Hanging Rock, Sauratown, Pilot Mountain, and northward to Fisher Peak and Roaring Gap along the Blue Ridge.  Even better is seeing the W-S skyline from the overlook at Roaring Gap, or Fancy Gap above Mt Airy.

[zalo]

You're right. Those views facing north are really spectacular. And most floors of the building will have great views. I would love to know what the different scenarios CBRE are reviewing. I'm real curious about the "ugly duckling" windowless (original Integon) building behind the tower. That is going to be a tough part of the puzzle to put together.

[zalo]

The W-S Journal has a update on Mast Gnl. Store. There's a link w/ pictures:

Mast General Store Inc. has set May for the opening of its store in downtown Winston-Salem. Mast General Store plans to use as much of the building’s original flooring as possible. The original wood floors are stamped “Biltmore Lumber Co. Pisgah National Forest.” Mast General Store is going into the bottom two floors of the former Coe Plaza at 516 N. Trade St. The store will have a main entrance off Trade Street, and a second entrance from the parking deck at Sixth, Cherry and Trade streets. Downstairs will house the outdoor and shoe departments.

Village Lofts, a 48-unit apartment complex, is under development above Mast General Store. A model apartment opened in September and all apartments will be ready by Nov. 15, said Jeff Prioreschi, a principal owner of developer US Development. Village Lofts’ main entrance is at 511 N. Cherry St. Residents will also have access to the apartments from the first and second floors by way of the parking deck.

Mast General Store bought the 64,000-square-foot T-shaped property on Trade, Fifth and Cherry streets, and will operate the building through a joint partnership with US Development and Mashburn Construction of Columbia, S.C. City Plaza LLC, which is owned by the principals of US Development and Mashburn Construction, will own the apartments. The Winston-Salem City Council approved a $1.27 million incentive package for the project in September 2012.


Built in 1928, the former Coe Plaza was originally home to the Brown-Rogers-Dixson Co. hardware store. The property is a contributing building in the Downtown North Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Terry Moore, facilities manager for Mast General Store, said that when renovations began on the new store, workers found offices, drop ceilings and carpet in the building. “To be able to come in and take what people have done over years and years and take it all back to what the building was when it was originally built is gratifying,” Moore said. “Even the storefront is going back. It’s as close to the original. We’ve got all the original pictures from the Brown-Rogers-Dixson hardware company that was here.” The retailer’s new store in Winston-Salem will have 15,000 square feet of retail space and 30 employees. It is designed to mimic the feel of an old-fashioned country store. Items include candy, rocking chairs made in North Carolina, tents, traditional fashion clothing, shoes, cookbooks and outdoor gear.

Every Mast General Store has its own “little quirks and things that are a little bit different about it. We carry most everything you need for life, and we have something for everybody from 2 to 102.” She said that a lot of the inventory in the retailer’s Winston-Salem store will be similar to what is offered in other Mast Generals. But she said, “Then we’ll try to carry some things that are made in Winston-Salem or some things that would be more appropriate for the needs of the city.”


http://www.journalnow.com/gallery/new-mast-general-store/collection_fc8aad9c-639e-11e4-93f7-0017a43b2370.html

[RichardC]

The W-S Journal has a update on Mast Gnl. Store. There's a link w/ pictures:

Mast General Store Inc. has set May for the opening of its store in downtown Winston-Salem. Mast General Store plans to use as much of the building’s original flooring as possible. The original wood floors are stamped “Biltmore Lumber Co. Pisgah National Forest.” Mast General Store is going into the bottom two floors of the former Coe Plaza at 516 N. Trade St. The store will have a main entrance off Trade Street, and a second entrance from the parking deck at Sixth, Cherry and Trade streets. Downstairs will house the outdoor and shoe departments.

Village Lofts, a 48-unit apartment complex, is under development above Mast General Store. A model apartment opened in September and all apartments will be ready by Nov. 15, said Jeff Prioreschi, a principal owner of developer US Development. Village Lofts’ main entrance is at 511 N. Cherry St. Residents will also have access to the apartments from the first and second floors by way of the parking deck.

Mast General Store bought the 64,000-square-foot T-shaped property on Trade, Fifth and Cherry streets, and will operate the building through a joint partnership with US Development and Mashburn Construction of Columbia, S.C. City Plaza LLC, which is owned by the principals of US Development and Mashburn Construction, will own the apartments. The Winston-Salem City Council approved a $1.27 million incentive package for the project in September 2012.

Built in 1928, the former Coe Plaza was originally home to the Brown-Rogers-Dixson Co. hardware store. The property is a contributing building in the Downtown North Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Terry Moore, facilities manager for Mast General Store, said that when renovations began on the new store, workers found offices, drop ceilings and carpet in the building. “To be able to come in and take what people have done over years and years and take it all back to what the building was when it was originally built is gratifying,” Moore said. “Even the storefront is going back. It’s as close to the original. We’ve got all the original pictures from the Brown-Rogers-Dixson hardware company that was here.” The retailer’s new store in Winston-Salem will have 15,000 square feet of retail space and 30 employees. It is designed to mimic the feel of an old-fashioned country store. Items include candy, rocking chairs made in North Carolina, tents, traditional fashion clothing, shoes, cookbooks and outdoor gear.

Every Mast General Store has its own “little quirks and things that are a little bit different about it. We carry most everything you need for life, and we have something for everybody from 2 to 102.” She said that a lot of the inventory in the retailer’s Winston-Salem store will be similar to what is offered in other Mast Generals. But she said, “Then we’ll try to carry some things that are made in Winston-Salem or some things that would be more appropriate for the needs of the city.”

http://www.journalnow.com/gallery/new-mast-general-store/collection_fc8aad9c-639e-11e4-93f7-0017a43b2370.html

This buiding looks great, and is getting a real overhaul.  I can't wait to see it when I'm in Winston.

[zalo]

Lynn Felder/Winston-Salem Journal:

The City of Arts and Innovation will soon have its first art park, appropriately situated between the Downtown Arts District and Wake Forest University’s Innovation Quarter, Derwin Montgomery announced Thursday at the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership’s annual luncheon. Montgomery represents the East Ward on the Winston-Salem City Council. Art for Art’s Sake (AFAS), a nonprofit group, is spearheading the creation of an art-themed public park, ARTivity on the Green. It will cost about $2 million, according to Harry Knabb, AFAS chairman and chief executive. Ground will be broken Dec. 1, with completion expected by May 2015, Knabb said.


The location and design of the park are intended to create a vibrant and entertaining link between Innovation Quarter and the downtown Arts District, and will incorporate a variety of features. Red lines will be potentially set into the sidewalks around the green space to lead visitors into the park. The red lines will meander to create raised setting elements and raised entry portals for art displays. Located at the center of the park, the red lines will converge to thrust upward 50 feet, and create 13 masts that will periodically emit vapor to create illuminated fog formations — a visual nod to the city’s industrial past. Other features planned for the park are an “artist performance shelter,” sculpted from silvery steel bands, and a concrete mural wall designed to serve as a constantly evolving canvas for local artists.

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/city-to-get-first-art-themed-public-park/article_de0b9f11-b555-5e8a-be26-a9c3904f53aa.html?mode=image&photo=1

[zalo]

A café, outdoor reading garden, 308-seat auditorium, “technology petting zoo” — those are all part of the concept for a renovated Forsyth County Central Library on Fifth Street. The front entrance would lead to a central area – called the marketplace – with computers, new reading materials and more. Glass panels would allow people to see into the second and third floors. The children’s library would be to the left, with a connected outdoor program space. To the right would be a 308-seat auditorium, other event space and a café.

An open computer lab and computer learning center would also be available on the first floor, as would the “technology petting zoo,” which would allow customers to test out various devices. The North Carolina Room would take up a large portion of the second floor and would be given state-of-the-art climate control. Teen Central would be in one area of the floor, and administrative offices in another. Maker Space would also be provided, where people could come to create anything from a traditional craft to a video. The general collection would be on the third floor, where windows would provide surrounding views of the city and a covered roof terrace of Pilot Mountain to the north. Hal Bowen, principal in charge for Ratio Architects, said “It’s not going to look anything like the existing library,”

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/new-library-will-have-auditorium-cafe/article_c704043c-8080-529e-8b0e-64ed0e1b29e2.html?mode=story

Edited December 5, 2014 by zalo

[zalo]

The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership took the opportunity on a cold winter day during their annual meeting to describe how hot the revitalization initiative has been the past 15 years. The nonprofit group listed 88 downtown investment projects since 2000 that have either been completed, are under way or for which a firm commitment has been made. The combined capital investment value is $1.23 billion, topped by the $106 million spent on Wake Forest BioTech Place and the $100 million commitment by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center toward a major medical education facility. Both buildings are in Wake Forest Innovation Quarter.  There is a detailed list describing each project with greater detail.

 

Its good to get a consolidated listing of what all has occurred since the turn of the new century to reflect how much has actually been accomplished.  
http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/more-than-billion-spent-on-downtown-since/article_e60aef18-bc55-11e4-8258-7f23cc2adb2b.html

Edited February 25, 2015 by zalo

[zalo]

Sutler's Spirit Co. will hold its grand opening from 5-8 p.m. Saturday in the West End Mill Works Building. The company will offer distillery tours ad tastings, along with entertainment. The company will offer its products in vintage-style ceramic bottle similar to those used in the 1700's and 1800's. Sutler's Spirits is the first distillery in Winston-Salem or the Triad with another one named Broad Branch Distillery slated to open at the Big Winston complex on N. Trade Street in the coming weeks.

The name of the distillery comes from an old Civil War era term "sutler" which was used to describe a merchant who sold provisions to soldiers.

Source: WSJ

Edited April 21, 2015 by zalo

[zalo]

Wanted to note the passing earlier this month of one of Camel City's premier DT developers and one of the giants in historic preservation efforts across the state & Southeast over the decades. The man had an impressive career.

DeWayne Anderson, the founder of The Landmark Group of Winston-Salem, died Sunday at age 78 after a long illness.

His long and sustained track record of converting old mills, factories and other historic properties into residential and mixed uses had earned Anderson numerous preservation awards and a reputation as a national expert on historic tax credits. But, as he told the Triad Business Journal during a profile interview back in 2007, it was never about the awards or the recognition. It was about bringing disparate groups together to accomplish a greater good. One of his most heralded projects was his redevelopment of 19th century tobacco properties in downtown Winston-Salem in 2001 into Piedmont Leaf Lofts, a luxury condominium project on East Fourth Street. That project would become an anchor for one corner of the ambitious and ongoing redevelopment of the former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. complex into what is now known as Innovation Quarter. “DeWayne was really a catalyst for taking historic tax credits to convert abandoned buildings,” Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said in a prepared statement. “He created a nucleus downtown that has grown to have tremendous impact. The ripple effect continues today.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2 ... l?page=all

[zalo]

Read the following in the TBJ, Wow, what a great problem to have as a small businessman. I've been noticing his efforts on my visits to the WestEnd Millworks to The Porch Cantina & Hoots Roller Bar.

 

 

Scot Sanborn has been waiting months — even years — to see the fruits of his labors as head of Winston-Salem's Sutler's Spirit Co. hit the shelves of the state's ABC stores. And that day finally came on Tuesday, with Sutler's Gin, offered in a ceramic bottle and retailing for about $30, finally available at Forsyth County outlets. But a visit after Wednesday would find that shelf space empty again, after an initial order of of 15 cases — 90 bottles — sold out by Wednesday. "We did not even make a public announcement in an effort to keep some on the shelf for the grand opening," Sanborn said.

That grand opening comes Saturday, with Sanborn opening the distillery at West End Mill Works to the public, who can get at look at what Sanborn says is the county's first legal distillery in more than two centuries. I talked with Sanborn last week after he had received word from the Triad Municipal ABC Board, which handles liquor sales in Forsyth County, that they'd begin stocking Sutler's Gin, the first in a product line that will later include rum and other spirits. Sanborn said he expects to begin bottling "large amounts" after this weekend's grand opening as he moves into full-blown production and sales, with plans to next target the Greensboro ABC Board, which covers Guilford County. "There's just so much work to do still," Sanborn said. Asked if he was looking forward to Saturday's celebration, Sanborn said he was. "I hope to finally start drinking some of my gin," he said.

[zalo]

Here's another national article relating events & updates on the Camel City.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-snedeker/trading-tobacco-and-textiles-for-live-music-and-award-winning-films_b_7086962.html

[zalo]

Here's another national travel profile regarding the Camel City titled "Small City, Big Luxury: Winston-Salem in one Perfectly Indulgent Weekend" It's really great exposure for the City coming from a very upscale publication. The adjacency of the Yadkin Valley wine country & the growing availability of upper end accommodations & restaurants will continue to cause tourism to continue to grow. The Kimpton will definitely provide additional resources to attract upscale weekend travelers. The construction crews are working fast & furious on the Reynolds Tower. They really are pulling out all the stops.

http://privateair.uberflip.com/i/503694 ... e-2015/224