by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Two local businessmen have expressed interest in taking one of the city’s oldest buildings and redeveloping it for mixed-use.
Bob Green, owner of local night spots Club 5, Square One and the Ocean Club, and consultant Stephen Behringer want to convert the Churchwell Building into a 21-unit loft apartment complex.
Located on the corner of Market and East Bay streets, a retail component on the first floor of the building is included in their plans.
Both Behringer and Green declined comment about the venture, but a conceptual design has already been prepared and distributed by design firm Rink Reynolds Diamond Fisher Wilson, P.A.
Before any deal is finalized, the two are asking for City incentives.
In a statement issued by Behringer and Green, they said “City backing is required to make this project viable. Without it we simply cannot proceed, as it would not be a profitable venture.”
An application for a Historic Preservation Trust Fund grant to subsidize construction costs will likely be submitted, though Behringer and Green would like “at least a verbal commitment” from Mayor John Peyton and City Council member Suzanne Jenkins, who represents the district where the building is located, by the end of the week.
Jenkins toured the site Feb. 26, but according to representatives from Peyton’s office, “no formal presentation or staff discussion has taken place.”
The City recently approved a $365,950 grant to the Warehouse, a four-story project located next door to the Churchwell Building, and something “comparable” is being sought.
Preliminary project costs covering the purchase of the building, demolition efforts and individual unit build-outs total are estimated at $6.3 million.
The Warehouse project is budgeted at $1.3.
Also being addressed is parking for the project. Behringer and Green say without it, it’s too risky a venture.
The two currently have a contract on a lot adjacent to the Blackstone Building and hope to swap it for a closer City-owned lot located on the corner of Market and Forsyth streets.
According to their statement, “(they) are ready and willing to discuss various options to make that swap work for everyone.”