GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Cleveland’s vibrant downtown renewal began a decade or so ago when a hometown contractor turned developer set his sights on renovating a vacant, multi-floor building and converting it to housing.
That project spurred a renaissance in the Bolivar County seat’s downtown, which has become a vibrant tourist attraction.
Today, a hometown contractor turned developer similarly has his sights set on renovating a vacant, multi-floor building in Greenville’s downtown and converting it to housing.
“In the past three or four years, I’ve seen more and more momentum developing downtown,” said Bengy Nelken, a Greenville native and relator who created and curates the Greenville History Museum downtown.
“It’s exciting not only for downtown but for Greenville itself. Greenville is the heart and soul of the Delta and downtown is the heart and soul of Greenville.”
Once vibrant and subsequently forlorn, Washington Avenue has become the nexus of the downtown renaissance. Last year alone, several businesses - including The Pantry, a catering and fine linens retailer; Delta Brewery Supply Co., which caters to the burgeoning needs of home beer brewers; and Delta Arts Gallery and Craftorium, which in addition to arts shows, hosts a wine bar and musical acts - have opened along Washington Avenue.
Now, Bill Boykin, a longtime heating and air conditioning contractor, is hoping to build on that momentum by creating high-end apartments and a boutique hotel in a three-story downtown building that once housed a Sears Roebuck & Co. emporium.
Boykin took ownership of the nearly 51,840-square-foot building from the city in June 2012 after submitting a bid of $51,100, the highest among five seeking the property.
Now, he said he is nearly ready to move on to the construction phase of a $4 million project to convert the space into 20 handsomely appointed, two-bedroom apartments - the Sears Lofts, if he gains the retail giant’s permission - and 11 boutique hotel rooms, the latter of which would be a first for the downtown area.
“This is a large, costly renovation project,” he told.
He hopes to have financing by late spring.
To date, the interior has been gutted and the exterior buttoned up, but little in the way of actual construction has occurred.
For now, he said, “we’re trying to get a roof on it,” for which he has contracted with Greenwood Sheet Metal and Roofing Inc. He said he expects that aspect of the project to be completed by April 1, weather permitting.
The structurally sound brick and concrete building opened in 1947, said Tom Shields, vice president of May’s Wholesale Dry Goods Co., whose original owner, Robert May, built the three-story structure and leased it to Sears Roebuck & Co. under a 15-year deal.
Sears, in May 1962, renewed the lease for an additional 10 years, at the end of which, in 1972, the retailer moved out of downtown in favor of the recently opened Greenville Mall.
The downtown building later housed a jeans factory called Fine Vines Inc., which was operated by the Delta Foundation, which was founded in 1970 with a mission to provide industrial employment for African-Americans economically displayed by the rapid mechanization of agriculture that took place in the past century.
Fine Vines had begun as a contract supplier for Sears and moved its operations into the former Sears building downtown after the retailer moved from downtown.
The City of Greenville subsequently assumed ownership of the building and in May 2012 put it up for sale.
Two months later, Boykin purchased it with the condition that building renovations begin within 12 months.
Boykin said he has contracted with Chris Chain, the founder of Columbus-based Renovations of Mississippi Inc., for interior design work and that has been completed.
Chain, whose company has been involved in numerous historic restoration projects, beginning in Columbus, did not immediately return phone calls requesting comment.
As for the former Sears building’s facade, Boykin said, “we’re putting it back just like it used to look, including the awnings. One thing the Historical Society is adamant about is that I put the pink stone back. They have a bible they go by, and you’re going to follow their rules.”
Boykin said construction will begin shortly after financing is in place and be completed “in about 12 months.”
Marketing the lofts will be handled by Hammons and Associates of Greenwood, Boykin said: “They’ll do all the marketing and come up with our website, everything that’s needed.”
Hammons and Associates will be seeking tenants for “beautiful, luxury upscale apartments,” Boykin said. “These will be something never before seen in Greenville at an affordable price.”
The two-bedroom apartments will comprise roughly 1,200 square feet each, he said, and boast washer and dryer units, stainless steel refrigerators, dishwashers and stoves.
He expects they will rent for around $1,000, “maybe $950.”
Boykin last year bought the two buildings to the east of the former Sears building and hopes to secure a retail tenant for the front of the one adjacent to the apartments with a roughly 6,000-square-foot greenspace behind that, replete with grills and lawn furniture for use by tenants and hotel guests alike.
The apartment building’s first floor will house retail tenants and indoor parking and tenant storage units to the rear.
“Tenants and hotel guests will enter the interior parking from the back with a radio-frequency emblem on their car,” he said. “When they pull in, a rapid-rise door will open and then close right behind them.
“Let’s face it we still have a lot of crime in Greenville. From a life-safety standpoint, I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t for indoor parking. This is one reason it will be a success.”
The hotel will have no front desk, rather, “it will be self-check-in and self-check-out, all of it done over the Internet. Guests will receive a passcode for their room.”
The project, and its promise of furthering downtown Greenville’s resurgence, has gained support.
“The first thing people do when they come to a city is come downtown and see if you’re proud of your community,” said Al Brock, the recently retired chairman of the Greater Greenville Housing Authority. “We couldn’t always say we were. Now, we can say we are.”
The ongoing downtown revival “has been years in the making,” he said. “Everyone can ride down Main Street now and be proud of what it looks like, which wasn’t the case four or five years ago.
“Until you create a good feel about driving downtown, creating that energy, people are not going to feel strongly about making a financial commitment. This is how we are going to rebuild our economy.”
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Information from: Delta Democrat Times, https://www.ddtonline.com
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