From the February 28, 2003 print edition
Triad Talk
 

S. Elm Street thrives, but Greene's coming
Justin Catanoso   The Business Journal

GREENSBORO — When it comes to downtown revitalization, the action in Greensboro has been primarily on South Elm Street. But suddenly, Greene Street, just one block west, is seeing renewed activity.

A couple of weeks ago, an old office building at 330 S. Greene came under new ownership and the promise of a thorough renovation. Also, office condos and new apartments are being planned across the street.

And now, a couple of first-time entrepreneurs, hoping to ride and contribute to downtown's momentum, are digging into their own pockets to open the Renaissance Jazz Café in the 100 block of North Greene.

This week, Shawn Shaw, 30, a national accounts manager for Volvo Parts North America, and Jamie Blunder, 34, a Greensboro firefighter, signed a three-year lease for the old Book Collection, a narrow, 8,000-square-foot space spread over three floors.

The friends, who met in 1998 while working at Volvo, have been kicking this idea around for more than a year: "We just feel a jazz club is needed in this town. We don't have that. We don't have a place where people over 25 can mingle and network," Shaw says.

It's no secret that downtown Greensboro's nightlife is mostly geared toward younger adults and college students at places like the N Club, The Blue Hour and Greene Street Club.

Over at Ritchie's, the third-floor bar and restaurant attracts a diverse, eclectic crowd for live entertainment. So, too, does the Green Bean. But thus far, jazz and blues in a smoky, Chicago-style cafe setting is missing from the mix. And Shaw and Blunder are racing to fill that niche.

Let's pause here to note that none of these places — zero — existed in downtown Greensboro a little more than five years ago.

Not surprisingly, Shaw and Blunder, who have never operated a business before, were turned down by four banks for small-business loans. "Nothing panned out; we decided to finance it ourselves," Shaw says.

Thus, the partners will pour in excess of $40,000 of their savings and family loans into a first-floor bar and lounge, a second-floor jazz café and a third-floor private-party space.

"We want a warm, comfortable environment," Blunder says. "This isn't just for one set of people. We want a diverse culture of people coming out to enjoy music and enjoy each other."

To contain costs, they are calling on friends. Firefighter Clint Smith, who runs Smith Construction, is doing the renovations; interior designer Anna Hilliard, another friend, is handling the layout, furniture selections and color schemes.

Once the building's owners, Daniel and Kathy Craft of Greensboro, finish the installation of a sprinkler system (should any club be without one these days?), Shaw and Blunder will start renovations. They hope to be open by Memorial Day, but admit that might be a stretch.

"We're not expecting to become millionaires with this," Shaw says. "But both of us have had this vision for a long, long time. We want to contribute to Greensboro and we want a place to call our own."

Adds Blunder: "I'm actually a little nervous about this. You never really know if the community will embrace something like this or not. There's a lot of apprehension there. But we're taking it a step at a time and we'll just see what happens."

Indera Mills filling up

The renovated Indera Mills factory that has become The Mill at Tar Branch, a mixed-use residential and office building in downtown Winston-Salem at South Marshall and Wachovia streets near Old Salem, is now fully leased on the commercial side, says developer Beau Dancy.

Work/Family Resource Center, which provides child care resources and referrals, will move into about 3,000 square feet in April, joining Dancy's construction firm and Meridian Realty Group as tenants in the commercial part of the building.

The 10-unit condo section, meanwhile, has six units under contract and two others reserved, which is allowing Dancy to focus on Tar Branch Towers, a $9 million, four-level building across the street.

The residential component will have 24 units ranging from 1,300 to 5,000 square feet, with eight already being spoken for, Dancy said. The condos will sell for about $150 per square foot, making the asking price between $195,000 and $750,000. There's also room for a 5,000-square-foot commercial operation, where Dancy hopes to house a restaurant, possibly an Irish pub.

Dancy says plans for the $60 million Unity Place project on Fourth Street have helped spur interest in his projects: "It makes people see that downtown is for real."

Twin City Big Easy

Winston-Salem's downtown Nissen building continues to take steady steps toward its ultimate conversion into more than 140 apartments. To celebrate that eventuality, downtown advocates and project director Historic Preservation Inc. of New Orleans are planning a Mardi Gras party on March 8 at 8 p.m. in the building itself.

"We're doing this event to raise awareness of the historic preservation that's about to take place and educate the community at large about our plans," says Hal Fairbanks, project manager with Historic Preservation.

He adds that a select group of contractors is now developing bids for the 18-story renovation, which are due in a month. Fairbanks says unless estimates far exceed the $24 million in costs his company is anticipating, work will begin this spring.

Aside from $6 million in tax credit equities, the City of Winston-Salem is providing a $3 million loan and the Millennium Fund is providing $3.5 million.

"The only question left is: What is the cost of the work?" Fairbanks says. "We'll know soon."

Proceeds from the Mardi Gras will benefit the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County. A limited number of tickets are available at the Arts Council office.

...................you can find the rest of the story at http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/

© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.