The future of the one historic Kingsdown building still standing in downtown, the so-called Cotton Building on the corner of Washington and South Third streets, is now in danger.
Earlier versions of the project had preserved that building and incorporated it into the new commercial and residential construction around it. But David Allen, the project’s developer, told the planning board Monday night that the expense associated with shoring up the foundation and walls of the historic structure has escalated to such a point that it is no longer affordable to save the building.
Planning board member Colin Cannell, who chaired the meeting in the absence of planning board chairman Judy Taylor, pressed for details about the plan to remove the Cotton Building from the developer’s plans. Cannell said the explanation might “help with the grieving process” of losing the historic structure.
Allen relayed the potential cost just to get the structure of the building up to modern standards as being in the range of $4 million to $5 million.
Allen acknowledged that he originally “had grand plans for this building” but said it is no longer feasible to keep it. Allen said he had “spent half a million dollars” trying to figure out how to restore and renovate the historic building but had concluded “it was simply too expensive to renovate.”
[Story continues below other photos of the Cotton Building.]
Allen produced a letter from an engineering firm that concluded that all of the work needed “will result essentially in a completely new structure within an existing facade.”
Allen described the building as having “eroding bricks that are disintegrating,” which would, in Cannell’s words, leave “only the veneer of the Cotton Building.”
Allen also pointed to the renovation costs as similar to those that have generally impeded other downtown Mebane businesses from renovating the second and third floors of some downtown buildings that have companies on the first floor. He said most of these second and third floors are largely vacant “because it is too expensive to renovate.”
Allen did express some interest in an idea relayed to him at the planning board meeting by Jane Boyd Grant, present for another item on the board’s agenda, of trying to preserve some of the bricks from the original structure for some future use.
Another resident also suggested saving some of the iconic shutters on the building, although some discussion indicated they might not be in good enough shape to be saved.
