Study gives reprieve to
warehouse
Three months ago, preservationists were writing a eulogy for one of
uptown's oldest buildings.
The 75-year-old Brown, Rogers,
Dixson warehouse's situation appeared desperate. Owner Levine Properties
Inc., saying the structure was probably too dilapidated to save, had
secured a permit to start demolition.
Before the wrecking ball could be hauled in, however, the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission intervened.
Now there's a flicker of hope.
"Dan Morrill (the
commission's consulting director) suggested that we come to a commission
meeting and tell them why we felt it was uneconomical to follow through
with our original plans to renovate the building," said Daniel
Levine, president of Levine Properties.
"At that meeting, we agreed
not to follow through on demolition until our organization and the
historic landmarks commission pursues a more detailed analysis of how they
might be able to help us renovate the building and make it a feasible
economic venture for us," he said.
Two years ago, Levine Properties
announced plans to convert the three-story, 55,000-square-foot building at
209 E. Seventh St. to offices on the upper levels and restaurants and
entertainment on the ground floor.
The warehouse, a surviving
example of the distribution buildings that sprang up along the center
city's railroad corridors in the early 20th century, is not a designated
historic landmark, but it is worth saving, Morrill said.
It's a reminder of the rail
corridor that bisected the First Ward neighborhood, he said, and it's the
second-oldest rail line in Charlotte, constructed during the 1850s when
the N.C. Railroad was extended from Goldsboro to Charlotte.
Today, it's also a key element in
the center city's long-range plan to create a cultural and entertainment
corridor around the proposed trolley stop beside the Seventh Street
Station parking garage and retail/restaurant complex.
The old warehouse is directly
across Seventh from Seventh Street Station. Extension of the two-mile line
from South End though uptown to near 11th Street is due to be completed in
2002.
Levine expects the historic
landmarks commission's analysis to take eight to 10 weeks.
"Daniel Levine is being very
cooperative, and we are very appreciative," Morrill said. "We
are working with him to see if there is a preservation solution."
He said the commission is moving
forward on two fronts.
It's bringing in restoration
architect Don Yelverton to help Levine determine if he can find more
flexibility in the building code and is asking one of Bank of America's
most knowledgeable executives on preservation tax credits to advise him on
applying.
The availability of state and
federal tax credits is encouraging developers these days to look seriously
at restoration as an option.
That has spurred much of the old
warehouse renovation under way along West Morehead Street, where exposed
bricks and ceiling beams are a hit with dot-coms and creative services
firms.
Levine said his company actually
favors preservation.
Levine Properties owns about 17
acres in First Ward, where it has converted nearly a dozen old buildings
to new uses - including the one occupied by Dixie's Tavern next to the
Brown, Rogers, Dixson warehouse.
"I'm encouraged by Dan
Morrill's commitment to working through this process," he said.
"If it becomes an economically viable project, we will
re-evaluate."
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