April 11, 2007

Published in Wake Forest, NC

            There are a number of buildings for sale, including the former Not Just for Kids bookstore and Solid Sounds building owned by Paul Brixhoff – the two appear separate but are one building. Archer and Nancy Tebeau, the assistant manager, said bids have been placed and the building’s exterior may be changed if one of the bids is accepted.

            An antique store had been using the former bookstore space for storage and had to vacate because storage is not a permitted use in downtown. To refit it for a future tenant or owner, the sagging floor was replaced and underneath workers found a few cow and pig bones and other artifacts from the building’s much earlier uses as first the Brewer seed, feed and grocery store and later Keith’s grocery. After a disastrous fire one freezing winter night, the Keiths built a new store on Brooks Street, a building that is now The Forks Cafeteria.

            Renee Cloud has the building for sale next to Fidelity Bank. The W.E.B. DuBois Community Development Corporation occupied it briefly before moving north into the former Lyon’s grocery store, later the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary housing office.

            The old Edwards drug store, most recently The Irish Republic, has been sold to North End Concepts, and Archer said a hair salon specializing in color will open there.

            Builder Rod Bannerman, who had renovated the building that was built as the town’s first Ford dealership, is planning to sell the building but is also willing to take new tenants.

            One of his tenants, The Well coffeehouse operated by Mark Edwards, is planning a move to South Main Street in the Forestville area if the purchase of a house goes through. Edwards plans to continue the coffeehouse/church concept at the new location and would like to have the house listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

            Sue Holding, who owns the historic Holding building that most recently housed Burkenstocks restaurant, is looking at her options for the empty building, she told Archer.

            Joy Tanner, who operated the Art of Design, has decided to continue her business from her home, Archer said, and the building’s owner, Joan Miller, is leasing the space to a retailer who had been at The Red Door consignment shop..

            Make A Key Locksmith, which had been on Roosevelt Ave., has moved south on South White Street out of the historic downtown but still in the Renaissance Plan area to the front of the former Holding cotton warehouse, now owned by Bob Johnson.

            Rich O’Neill, who operates The Wake Forest Art & Frame Gallery, plans to retire and is looking for someone to buy the business. The building was once half of the B & S Department Store and is now owned by BAJO, a corporation created by John and Barbara Lyon. The other half is now home to Domino’s Pizza.

            Many of the buildings in the historic downtown are owned by people who no longer operate businesses here. Most businesses lease their space. Several of the buildings are said to need extensive repairs and/or renovations.

            Well, yes, Archer says. “Revitalization is a process.” And she and Tebeau have a long list of ideas to help the process.

            One of those is her advice to downtown owners. She urges them to have an inspection of the property and an appraisal and then use the information in planning for their future.

            Another is the Downtown Economic Summit on Saturday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to noon at The Forks Cafeteria that will tell downtown property owners about the tax credits available for historic properties. (The downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places.) Other topics will be the standards for rehabilitating historic properties and the local and nonprofit programs available, as well as the Downtown Revitalization Corporation’s Façade Improvement Grant.

            Archer will also talk about the new property database she and Tebeau are creating that will shortly enable her to tell reporters, potential buyers and prospective businesses the average rent per square foot, which properties are available and other information critical to marketing the downtown.

            Archer and Tebeau use the database to communicate with downtown merchants about meetings and promotions.

            It includes all the information about the 2006 Christmas Parade, for instance. This summer they will contact all the float sponsors and other participants and ask them to sign up early using their credit card and a payment service. They can ask all the 2006 dignitaries to attend again. No more loose sheets of paper.

There’s a lot in a name

            As the opening paragraphs of this article illustrate, many, maybe most, of the downtown buildings can be identified by the name of their builder or former business. Archer and Tebeau are creating a downtown historic walking tour which will feature the histories of the buildings and the people connected with them. They would like to name the buildings just as the homes in the North Main Historic District are identified by name.

            Right now they are putting together a Dining Guide which will be distributed at HerbFest and Meet in the Street with the names and menus from all the downtown restaurants.

            Other businesses will not be neglected. The residents at Turnberry Apartments will be stuffing the plastic bags filled with flyers and information from most of the downtown businesses as well as town and county information.

            People at HerbFest and Meet in the Street will also see a new T-shirt with the DRC’s logo of colored leaves on the chest and two numbers, a latitude and a longitude, on the back. What are those, people will ask, Archer said. They pinpoint the location of downtown Wake Forest.

            She wants to see at least one more ATM in downtown for the convenience of people at the Farmers’ Market, street festivals and ordinary shopping. The only one now is at SunTrust Bank.

            In the meantime, she is preaching that the downtown needs more retail – only 14 percent of the 131 businesses are retail – and restaurants – now at 10 percent.

            If you want to see more about downtown, go to http://www.wakeforestdowntown.com.