Press release from City of Hendersonville:
City of Hendersonville Downtown Economic Development Office won a Bronze Rank for its Grey Hosiery Mill Reuse, a project in the Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse category of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)’s 2020 Economic Development Awards Program. The honor was presented this week at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference, which is currently underway.
Lew Holloway, Community Development Director noted that, “We are thrilled to receive this award for a hard-fought local victory in Economic Development. The Grey Mill Apartments, now fully occupied, represents the largest historic rehabilitation project ever completed within the City and is the culmination of a multi-year effort to redevelop the building and site. IEDC’s recognition of the project and our role in it is a fitting capstone to a once in a generation opportunity to save a historic resource within the community and we are grateful to see our good work recognized.”
IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. 35 award categories honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of economic and community developers from around the world, following a nomination process held earlier this year. IEDC received over 500 submissions from 4 countries.
The Grey Hosiery Mill is an iconic building that connects the 7th Avenue and Main Street districts in Historic Downtown Hendersonville. Originally constructed between 1915 to 1918 with operations as a hosiery mill ceasing in 1967, the building served a variety of uses, before becoming vacant and falling into disrepair over the last 20 years.
The finished project which includes 35 rental units, has an estimated property value of $3.1 million and is expected to generate an estimated ~ $32,500 in City and County tax revenue beginning in 2020. The 28 units of workforce housing, plus 7 units of moderate income units, combined with the convenient in town location are having a positive impact on quality of life for the area workforce. With early targeted recruitment of tenants from local civil servants, these benefits are assisting our community in supporting and retaining a quality workforce.
The City of Hendersonville Downtown Economic Development Program is a nationally accredited Main Street program and led the Grey Hosiery Mill reuse project, in partnership with the University of North Carolina Development Finance Initiative, Land of Sky Regional Council of Government, and developer Belmont Sayer.
“The winners of IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the very best of economic development and exemplify the ingenuity, integrity, and leadership that our profession strives for each and every day”, said 2020 IEDC Board Chair and One Columbus CEO Kenny McDonald. “We’re honored to recognize the more than 100 communities whose marketing campaigns, projects and partnerships have measurably improved regional quality of life.”
About the International Economic Development Council
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 5,000 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth and provide a stable tax base. From public to private, rural to urban and local to international, IEDC’s members are engaged in the full range of economic development experience. Given the breadth of economic development work, our members are employed in a wide variety of settings including local, state, provincial and federal governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, universities and a variety of other institutions. When we succeed, our members create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities, and improve the quality of life in their regions. Learn more at iedconline.org.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.