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The Renaissance Investors Group made up
of Mike Johnson, Matt Hale and Charles
Grantham plan to begin reconstructing
half of the north side of East Jones
Avenue between South White and Brooks
street late this summer.
This will be the first
substantial private investment in the
Renaissance Plan for the downtown the
town adopted last year.
The first step will be to
raze the two older buildings that now
house jovi’s Kitchen and Market and John
Lyon’s Appraisal House. The group has
purchased the Lyon property, and jovi’s
is under contract.
Vivian Jones and Jonnie
Anderson, jovi’s owners, plan to
relocate later this month to The Cotton
Company and downsize their operation.
Lyon is relocating his business to
extension of Ligon Mill Road west of
South Main Street.
The Renaissance group plans
to build a four-story building with an
underground garage for the tenants of
the 18 to 20 condominiums on the upper
floors. The ground floor will have
commercial space.
The plans are now being
reviewed by town planners. “Because it
matches the Renaissance Plan it only has
to be approved by the planning
department” and not go to the planning
and town boards, Johnson said. “It’s
what they have already designated for
downtown.
“A lot of the town folks,
the administration, are excited about
the project because it’s bringing more
people into downtown,” Johnson said. “It
will be within a block of the heart of
downtown.”
Kara Loftin, the former
downtown manager, recruited the group,
Johnson said.
The building will have
balconies for the condominiums, a
communal courtyard in the back and a
rooftop area for the tenants. The
rooftop area is a feature of the Hale
Building on South White which Hale built
in 2001.
“We want it to be
first-class,” Johnson said. |
