We’re in the thick of summer’s swelter now, but blizzards could soon be in the forecast for Graham.
The former PNC Bank property at 832 South Main Street in Graham has been sold to the parent company for Dairy Queen, based on documents that have been filed with Alamance County’s Register of Deeds.
The former PNC Bank property at the intersection of South Main Street with East Crescent Square Drive was purchased for $700,000 by D7 Graham LLC, which is based in Minnesota, the street address for which also corresponds with that for the parent company of Dairy Queen. The company and its subsidiaries have more than 7,000 locations worldwide, many which are locally-owned and operated by franchisees, according to Dairy Queen.
In addition to more than a half-dozen varieties of its Blizzard, Dairy Queen’s menu features ice cream cones, sundaes, and Dilly bars. DQ locations that also sell hot food – known as “Dairy Queen Braziers” – sell burgers, chicken baskets, salads, and sides, alongside its staples of Blizzards, sundaes and cones, blended beverages, and soft drinks.
The sale of the PNC Bank property along South Main Street in Graham was initiated last year but later stalled, according to Karyn Ostrom, a spokesperson for PNC Bank representing the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, who had previously confirmed the sale to The Alamance News.
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Other sources told the newspaper at the time that the transaction hadn’t been finalized due to an error in the title work.
That error was subsequently addressed, and a corrective deed for the property was filed earlier this year, based on documents filed with Alamance County’s Register of Deeds to consummate the sale.
Graham planner Cameron West told the newspaper Monday that the city has yet to receive any site plans related to the redevelopment of the former bank property, but added, “Something probably will be coming sooner, rather than later.”
West said it’s likely that any plans to upfit the interior of the former bank would need to be filed with Graham’s building and inspections department, while substantial changes to the existing structure, such as an addition or expansion of the parking area, would need to go before the city’s Technical Review Committee (TRC) to ensure that the building façade and other design elements conform to the South Main Street Overlay building design standards.
Built on less than an acre in 1990, the former PNC Bank branch spans 4,054 square feet, according to Alamance County tax records, which list the latest assessed value for the property at $1.5 million.
West said Monday that the site plans also would have to be reviewed by the state Department of Transportation, as part of the city’s TRC process, to “make sure there are no queuing issues,” i.e., any potential increase in traffic volume and/or vehicle staffing that may require roadway improvements.
The former PNC Bank property is currently zoned B-2 for general business, West said. That zoning designation within Graham’s development ordinance allows for uses such as retail, convenience stores, and restaurants, including those with drive-through windows, among other types of businesses.
West recalled Monday that the city’s planning department has “had a couple people call and ask” about the process for submitting site plans for the property but said the city has received “no site plan submittals so far.”
A Graham location would make this the third Dairy Queen restaurant in Alamance County. There are currently two Dairy Queen locations in the county: one is along Huffman Mill Road in Burlington, and another is at the Pilot travel plaza along Jimmie Kerr Road in Haw River.
A spokesperson for the company had not responded to an inquiry from The Alamance News by press time.
