Plans for developing a new hotel and market center on portions of the former Spencer’s property in downtown Mount Airy have been well-received since being announced recently, but could affect other uses of the old industrial site.
A 77-room “boutique upscale” hotel is envisioned for the Sparger Building, a four-story structure on Willow Street which is among a cluster of facilities once used for textile manufacturing where production ceased in 2007.
That project is being spearheaded by Sunhouse Development Co., which includes Sunhouse Hospitality, LLC, a local entity that now owns and manages Hampton Inn by Hilton on Rockford Street.
Sunhouse Hospitality would be the developer and owner/operator of the planned Historic Spencer’s Mill Inn. It is seeking to run the inn — containing 70 to 80 rooms — as part of the Marriott chain’s portfolio, based on a project presentation earlier this month.
The Cube factor
Along with the proposed hotel, Sunhouse has announced plans for a multi-purpose market center in another part of the old Spencer’s complex known as the Cube Building. It is located behind the Sparger structure in the vicinity of a public-housing neighborhood along Lovill Street.
“The Cube” is also a sprawling structure that includes three different components: a large main area, a section once containing a Spencer’s dye house and an annex.
Sunhouse Hospitality is targeting only the former dye house portion for the market center, with plans calling for it to contain mini-convention meeting rooms, mezzanine amenities both for hotel guests and the public, a spa and a tap room/coffeehouse.
However, according to a recent disclosure, this might present an obstacle for the overall redevelopment of the old Spencer’s textile property the municipality bought in 2014 to transform into new uses to benefit the community including creating jobs.
Converting the old dye house for the market center would leave the annex and the larger Cube Building area behind the center untouched.
“That may or may not be an important issue,” Bryan Grote, a local financial expert assisting the city government with the Spencer’s redevelopment, said during a project update. Grote is working on a volunteer basis through his membership in the Mount Airy Downtown group.
“You don’t want to strand what is left of The Cube,” Grote warned city officials during a council meeting on Dec. 17.
There are questions about whether everything will fit on the site if it is fully developed when taking parking and other needs into account, the discussion indicated.
A culinary institute to train local residents for chef and other positions in the restaurant industry had been proposed for the Cube Building by the Piedmont Triad Regional Council. It is a multi-county group in Kernersville which spearheads economic-development and other efforts in the region.
Surry Community College also sought to locate a workforce development center offering classes in The Cube in conjunction with the culinary institute.
But plans for that fell through due to the failure of multiple grant requests to aid the proposed institute.
This led to the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners voting in October to terminate an agreement with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council for the use of The Cube, thus freeing it up for other uses.
Along with the Sparger and Cube buildings, a vacant site along Franklin Street nearby eyed for townhouse/commercial use has been a focus of recent development solicitations by Mount Airy Downtown.
Further updates about the hotel and other redevelopment plans, including implications for The Cube, are expected in the coming weeks.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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