OLD TO NEW: Renovation of an old textile mil weaves new hope in a Gaston County town.

• Author: Ellis, Kevin

A vacant mill dominates the small downtown of Bessemer City, its red-brick facade partly caved in. Town founder John Smith built the 250,000-square-foot plant in 1896 for his company then known as Southern Cotton Mills, and it became a major Gaston County employer, positioned as the town's literal center. About 420 people had worked at the Osage Mill in its heyday.

After 99 years as a textile mill, the final 250 workers left for good in 1995. The plants former owners, Spartanburg, South Carolina-based Reeves Brothers, couldn't compete under the pressures of NAFTA and cheaper labor in Mexico.

So the building, which represents half of the square footage of structures in the town's four-block downtown, began a 28-year decline. Open spaces replaced windows. Weeds overtook grass. It isn't a vibrant look for any downtown.

Now, however, a makeover appears on the horizon through a $35 million effort to transform the old mill into 139 apartments. The historic renovation aims to spur new investments and add residents, helping reverse Bessemer City's stagnant population growth.

PRESERVATION BRINGS HOPE

After eight years of planning, Boston-based WinnCompanies closed on the 5-acre property for $ 1.9 million in December. The developer will use historic and affordable housing tax credits, as well as loans from Bank of America, to convert the property into apartments. The units will target working-class families who earn 60% or less of the area median income in the town of fewer than 5,500 residents. Its population only grew by 88 during the 2010s, a contrast to fast-growing Charlotte, which is 30 miles east.

Jon Fioritto Jr. and Nikki Grisdale opened their Blossom Bakery and Cafe near the old mill three years ago. "When we look outside and there's people working on the roof of the mill, it's like we see dollar signs," says Fioritto.

"We just see growth. That's going to be 139 families and customers moving in," adds Grisdale. "People are going to want to come out at night, and come through town and look for things to do."

It's the first adaptive-reuse project in North Carolina for WinnCompanies, which owns more than 100 apartment communities in 23 states and the District of Columbia. It has properties in Charlotte, Monroe and Raleigh and at the Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point military bases.

WinnCompanies, which came on board in 2020, stuck with Chapel Hill-based Tise-Kiester Architects, which had been working on the project for a previous developer whose...