historic preservation
Cain Center announces revitalization for historic properties on Catawba
Sept. 11. The Cain Center has released an artist’s rendering that shows plans for a historic parcel on Catawba Avenue that will house ceramics studios and offices as well as a “creative courtyard” that will part of a new western gateway to downtown. The Cain Center, which celebrated its first anniversary in January, will preserve […]
Cain Center gets accelerated zoning application procedure
July 31. By Dave Vieser. The rezoning needed to facilitate the Cain Center for the Arts’s acquisition of three properties on Catawba Avenue is getting accelerated handling by the town, beginning with a Planning Board hearing on Aug. 12, followed by the Town Board public hearing and decision Sept. 3. The process is infrequently used, […]
Cain Center will buy historic properties downtown
March 22. By Dave Yochum. Cain Center for the Arts has three parcels of land at the corner of School Street and Catawba Avenue under contract for an undisclosed amount. The prime site contains three folk Victorian-style homes, two of which the Cain Center will save. One of them will be used for a ceramic […]
Abigail Jennings lands top award from leading preservation group
Oct. 20. By Dave Yochum. Cornelius businesswoman Abigail Jennings received the Best All Around Preserver Award at the Golden Night of Preservation at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte this week. The CEO of Lake Norman Realty has been an advocate of historic preservation and served on the Historic Preservation Commission in Cornelius before it was […]
Preserve Mecklenburg moves to save historic houses on Catawba
HISTORIC PRESERVATION June 6. By Dave Yochum. Preserve Mecklenburg (PMI) has obtained a one-year option to purchase four parcels of land at the corner of School Street and Catawba Avenue, not far from the old agricultural building on the grounds of the Cornelius Elementary School where town officials hope to house a museum for local […]
Mill’s Market: High expectations for prime downtown real estate
Feb. 22. By Dave Yochum. The proposed Mill’s Market project in downtown Cornelius will be worth on the order of $60 million at build-out—a massive amount worthy of uptown Charlotte—that comes on top of the new $25 million Cain Center for the Arts. Developer Mark Miller says he wants Mill’s Market to raise the bar […]
Work to begin soon on tenant house, but commercial project delayed
Jan. 26. By Dave Vieser and Dave Yochum. There’s some good news and bad news regarding the ongoing construction at Alexander Farm, according to Jesse McInerney of Win Development, the Florida-based developer. First the bad news: “Due to some unfortunate delays we are likely not going to see buildings coming out of the ground in […]
Tenant house on the move
Aug. 19. The tenant house on Alexander Farm was making its way to the corner of Westmoreland and W. Catawba Thursday afternoon. The historic structure was jacked up and towed across a field to its new site. The tenant structure is significant because so few are left in a once-agricultural county where sharecropping was commonplace. […]
Historic building downtown faces partial demolition
June 3. By Dave Yochum. There may be no saving a historic downtown building whose roof collapsed earlier this week. State inspectors yesterday directed the property owner to remove the second story. Owner Corner Oak LLC could not be reached for comment, but they are consulting with contractors and Mecklenburg County as to how the […]
Roof of historic building falls in
June 1. By Dave Yochum. The roof of a century-old brick building at 21320 Catawba Ave. in Cornelius has fallen in. Separated by an empty lot from the new Cain Center for the Arts, the historic Smith Building has been unoccupied for years. No one was injured. The sidewalk in front and just to the […]
