Downtown plan to be unveiled
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on February 4, 2017 11:50 PM
A Virginia-based nonprofit developer interested in building a multi-million dollar residential and commercial building in downtown Goldsboro will host a public design input meeting Tuesday.
Second Act Communities, interested in constructing a multi-level, mixed-use property on South Center Street, will hold a public design charrette Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the conference room at the Goldsboro City Hall annex at 200 N. Center St.
"It's open to anybody who has an interest and wants to have input into the outside of the building and what it will look like," said Julie Metz, Goldsboro downtown development director. "A new project like this, especially this size, can have a large impact on downtown."
The meeting is expected to include design examples of what could become one of the largest private-investment projects for downtown in nearly 20 years.
The charrette, a common public input and collaboration effort for developers and local government, may also involve group discussions and a narrowed selection of the most popular design options, Metz said.
Second Act Communities is hosting the meeting and several staff, including its president, will be at the event. The president and senior project manager for UrbanWorks, a Chicago-based architectural firm, will also be present.
The meeting is part of Second Act's interest and commitment to involve the community in the development of the project.
"What we develop depends on what partners want," Second Act president and chief executive officer Addie Wright Thomason said during an earlier interview. "We are good with revitalization and building communities. We are not coming to Goldsboro unless the will of the people is for us to come to Goldsboro. The project idea came from the city."
Second Act Communities, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is pursuing the project that could become its first launch into market-rate apartment rentals. The organization has previously developed affordable housing in partnership with the Virginia Beach Community Development Corp., which operates a Section 8 housing complex.
In 2015, Second Act developed a new business plan and refocused its efforts on projects that meet the needs of partners, including cities like Goldsboro, Thomason said.
The multi-level property, which could have four floors, is planned to offer one, two and three bedroom apartments, with rental rates that do not involve subsidized funding, Metz said. Monthly rental costs will be in line with the average cost of apartment rentals in downtown, which are close to $900 per month.
Second Act Communities is offering to purchase 207 and 219 S. Center St. from the city, and the purchase is planned after a market study is complete, a contract is finalized between the city and Second Act and financing secured.
The market study, which is nearly complete, will indicate whether the project is financially workable and it will guide development, including the cost, number of apartments and size of the property, Metz said.
Early estimates tag the project cost near $15 million. Funding to build the property will primarily come from a bank loan and, possibly, investors, Thomason said.
Tuesday's design meeting is a possible indicator that the market study will have a positive result, Metz said.
"I think it's going to be favorable, but, at this point, they want to move it forward," Metz said. "I suspect by early summer, we'll know if we're moving forward or not."
Second Act Communities has named the development Drexel Place on Center on its website. The project includes a four-story building, with 15,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. The next three floors include a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 850 to 1,200 square feet. Other amenities include a community room, washers and dryers inside each apartment, stainless steel appliances, onsite storage and management office space.