Piece by piece

The demolition of two buildings in Civic Plaza last week could be a boost that leads to the completion of two key pieces of this downtown project -- the renovation of the Pepper Building and the completion of a park. They're needed for the plaza to become a hub for those working and living downtown, spurring further revitalization and economic development.

The demolition "definitely opens up that area and shows the potential," Jason Thiel, the president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, told the Journal last week.

A former drug store at 116 W. Fourth St. and an office building that's long been vacant at 115 W. Third St. were demolished.

Revitalization has been an incremental process in downtown Winston-Salem, one characterized by sweat and serendipity, by setbacks and success, by drama and dreams. That's been the story with efforts in the arts district, in the Goler development area, in the Piedmont Triad Research Park and in the area around the new ballpark.

And it's the story in Civic Plaza. Developer Kerry Avant got the plaza started with a stately condo complex, One Park Vista. It's been finished for about a year and half and is at about 55-percent occupancy, Avant said last week. Most of the units sell for between $299,000 and $670,000, and there's one $1.1-million penthouse left. Four or five of the 32 units in One Park Vista are being leased, Avant said, for $1,800 to $2,200 a month, and a couple of those arrangements are lease-to-own. The housing rental market is going better downtown now than the sales market.

Plans for the rest of the plaza, which occupies land between Third and Fourth streets in the heart of downtown, haven't proceeded as quickly. Avant's plans for redeveloping the historic Pepper Building at the corner of Fourth and Liberty streets were derailed, mainly by the recession. "We just couldn't pull all the pieces together before the economy just tanked," he said. "The market just fell out, financing markets went away; there were a lot of things."

Plans by other developers over the last 10 years to renovate the Pepper Building, which went up in 1929, have fallen though as well.

The partnership, which owns the Pepper Building, is negotiating to find a developer for it. That's a welcome step, because a few months ago, the partnership had been willing to consider plans that might include demolishing the building, which has a lot more class and historic value than the two buildings torn down last week. The building is named for Thomas Pepper, who owned tobacco warehouses around the city. It was one of the first art-deco buildings to be built in North Carolina, and has housed a department store, offices and a coffee shop. Residents objected to potential plans to demolish it.

The partnership listened. And Thiel said the developers his group is talking to would rather renovate, anyway. One reason is that they could get historic-tax credits to do so. Thiel declined to name the developers, but said that there's talk of putting retail space on the ground floor and residential units for rent on the upper floors.

Ideally, Thiel said, once the developer buys the building from the partnership and renovates it, the partnership can talk with the developer about what it will take to finish the park between the Pepper Building and One Park Vista. There's a nicely manicured lawn there now, but Thiel and others envision more: landscape architecture and perhaps some public art befitting The City of the Arts, a park where people living and working in the area can relax. "We're talking about a gathering place," Thiel said.

He sees the plaza as a magnet for revitalization in the area, the culmination of plans long laid. Piedmont Federal Savings Bank donated the Pepper Building.

The city of Winston-Salem bought the two buildings torn down last week and the park land, realizing that they would be key components of revitalization plans for the area. "We knew eventually some type of new development would occur along that strip," Ruben Gonzales, the director of the city's development office, told the Journal's Laura Graff.

The city demolished the buildings as bond money set aside for that purpose was about to expire. They may have been seen as an impediment to some developers interested in Civic Plaza. Now there could be room for another new building in the plaza.

Nailing down a deal for the renovation of the Pepper Building won't be easy, but there are some strong selling points. Construction costs are down in the tight economy. And once the financial picture improves, this building on prime downtown real estate will grow in value. We need a mix of old and new buildings downtown where we can live and work, as well as a park where we can gather.

The Civic Plaza should provide that. Piece by piece, it's coming together.