Renovations are beginning on three historic buildings in the Old Cherry Street neighborhood, starting the next piece of redevelopment there.
The renovations will turn three "y-staircase" buildings into town homes and apartments, and represent the start of private development in a neighborhood that, to this point, has been a focus for the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity.
"This is a very historically significant community that has played an important role for the city of Winston-Salem over the years," said Dewey Anderson, the president of Blackpine Development Corporation, which is renovating the three historic buildings and turning them into apartments. Blackpine also is renovating a building in the neighborhood that is not designated "historic." That building also will become apartments, Anderson said.
The Old Cherry Street neighborhood has been a focal point for city planners for years, pushed by outgoing council member Nelson Malloy, who represented the city's North Ward for 20 years.
This summer, Habitat for Humanity began building new homes in the neighborhood. The nonprofit organization expects to build 15 homes there in total.
Anderson said he was drawn to the neighborhood because of the historic significance it holds for black people in Winston-Salem. In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, the neighborhood thrived as a home to black entrepreneurs, teachers and business owners.
Preservationists have pushed for the renovation and safeguarding of the y-staircase buildings, named for the staircases that split in a "y" shape from the base of the building to the second floor. They believe those buildings are unique in the state to Winston-Salem.
Anderson said that Blackpine Development intends to turn the buildings into one- and two-bedroom apartments and town homes, with energy-efficient appliances and security features such as surveillance cameras and fences.
Blackpine also will manage the units once they are finished. Rent will range from $525 to $625 a month.
Anderson's company is one of two private companies that plan to invest there.
The other, Inspired Spaces, is backed by husband-and-wife developers Susan and Jeff MacIntosh, who developed homes along Holly Avenue in downtown Winston-Salem.
Inspired Spaces will focus on single-family homes, Susan MacIntosh said. She said the combination of investment from Blackpine Development and Habitat for Humanity drew her company to the neighborhood.
Inspired Spaces plans to buy the homes from the city, which bought the properties, many of which had fallen into disrepair, as part of the redevelopment plan for the neighborhood. MacIntosh said she expects to close on the first home in the next few weeks.
"If we were doing this by ourselves and just doing six homes, it would be a huge risk," MacIntosh said. "We wouldn't take on this project."
lgraff@wsjournal.com
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