Closing 2014 with a Closing! Happy New Year!

What a nice way wrap up 2014 . . . with a closing on this very cute circa 1930 Dutch Colonial Revival style home in the Milford Hills Neighborhood of Salisbury NC! 128 Milford Drive South, with over 2300 square feet of living space, offers 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a large living room, new kitchen and was freshly painted inside and out! Even cooler...this circa 1930 home is rumored to be a Sears Catalog house.  Sears sold house 'kits' in the early 1900s and a few remain in the Salisbury/Rowan County area.  Realtor® Greg Rapp of Wallace Realty sealed the deal for new homeowners Kevin and Amanda today ~ and they get to kick off 2015 in their new Milford Hills home!

Salisbury NC visitors and residents alike are immediately charmed by the Milford Hills neighborhood, with its well-kept homes, quiet streets, and mature shade trees and gardens. And despite being tucked away, the neighborhood is just minutes from thriving shopping and banking areas as well as a short drive to Salisbury's historic downtown with its vibrant arts and culture scene that includes a nationally accredited art gallery, three theater troupes, and several live music venues.  

Downtown Salisbury celebrates the 1st Friday of each month with themed events that transpose the streets into fun-filled evenings for families, friends, couples...everyone! Gift shops, restaurants from casual to elegant, and an independent bookstore give Downtown Salisbury, with buildings dating back to the 1800s, its unique and special character. It's no wonder so many love calling Salisbury, North Carolina home! And the new residents at 128 Milford Drive, moving to Salisbury from Albemarle NC, are no different! Congratulations, Amanda & Kevin!

Realtor® Greg Rapp closed the sale on 128 Milford Drive South today, wrapping up a year filled with historic home sales like these. It's been an exciting year, from Greg's award from the Historic Salisbury Foundation for Preservation Professional of the Year, to watching Greg's sale of the historic Stokes-Snider House transform into the opening of the new Across the Pond Bed & Breakfast, to the sale and the current transformation of the Bernhardt Hardware Building...soon to be downtown residential spaces, retail, a shiny new restaurant, and office spaces ~ right in Downtown Salisbury! 

Here's to 2015 ~ that it bring happiness & health to all ~ and another bang-up real estate year!  

2015 might just be your year to catch up with Greg Rapp & Wallace Realty to make your real estate transactions come to a happy close, too!

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

Happy Holidays from Greg Rapp!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas ~ Thanks to You!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ~ thanks to you and the Historic Salisbury Foundation!

Historic Salisbury Foundation (HSF) has never been afraid of a challenge when it comes to neighborhood revitalization.  HSF is increasing its commitment to support the North Main Street Neighborhood, focusing on several key properties in an effort to strengthen this gateway into Historic Salisbury, North Carolina.  The organization recently acquired two vacant and distressed houses in the North Main Neighborhood (NOMA) in the midst of the Historic District. And the work has steam-rolled into action!

Things are starting to look different at 1428 North Main Street. The windows have been rehabbed and missing or rotten siding is being replaced. The interior of 1428 N. Main has been cleaned! Window repair has started. Work has begun on repairing flashing at the chimneys.

This expansive two-story dwelling was probably constructed about 1900. Little information about the home known as the Myers-Morris House is available from city directories or other sources, but it was occupied by 1923 by D. R. Meyers, a rural postman. By 1928 it was occupied by Z. W. Morris, a Southern Railway clerk, as well as by Vincent Brown and E. T. Meyers, also Southern employees. Morris continued to occupy it, perhaps as owner, into the 1940s. Its hipped roof and projecting front and side gables are characteristically Victorian, as is its asymmetrical composition and the rear porch, which features handsome turned posts and bold sawn brackets. The front porch supported by tall, slender columns, may have replaced an original wrap around porch featuring turned posts and sawn brackets similar to the rear porch. 

HSF also just acquired the house one block away, at 1600 North Main ~ The ca.1912 Hunter-Mowery House. L.F. Hunter constructed this handsome working class cottage about 1912. Hunter, a Southern Railway machinist occupied the home until 1925 when he sold it to J.L. Mowery, a railway blacksmith. It is the best preserved working class Victorian cottage in the district with its high hipped roof with projecting front gable, accentuated with a colonial lunette, and its asymmetrical stuccoed facade with recessed side entrance. Although not as elaborate or eclectic as its larger contemporaries in the southern part of the district, it does possess a handsome porch with turned posts and an interesting sawn dentil-like gallery.

The North Main district's late Victorian character was interpreted in a more modest tradition in the small working class cottages closer to Spencer. These smaller dwellings feature the steeply pitched hipped roofs and projecting gables of their larger and more elaborate contemporaries, but lack the rich exterior ornamentation of those structures. Typical of this modest late Victorian motif are the adjacent dwellings located at 1600 and 1604 N. Main Street. These similar dwellings have steeply sloped hipped roofs with projecting gables and dormers, as well as asymmetrical facades featuring recessed entryways on one side; found on several of the district's houses. They are both defined by wrap-around porches with turned posts, yet only 1600 N. Main Street, where a gable lunette alludes to a Colonial Revival influence, possesses an interesting sawn gallery typical of the exuberant ornamentation on the more elaborate Victorian dwellings to the south. 

The North Main Neighborhood of Salisbury, North Carolina lies between Lafayette Street and 17th Street, and between N. Railroad Street and N. Jackson Street.  In the center of the neighborhood lies the North Main Historic District. The district built up during the heyday of the trolley system in Salisbury in the early 1900s. The trolley tracks traversed the center of Main Street to the Spencer Shops. Rumor has it that the tracks are still there under the pavement.

Both 1428 N. Main and 1600 N. Main Street are homes that the Historic Salisbury Foundation is working to stabilize for future restoration! These homes will be on the market for sale and further restoration soon!  And who do you call? . . .

Realtor® Greg Rapp is known for being a part of the preservation movement in Salisbury, North Carolina, and one of the premiere agents for historic home sales.  Greg has properties listed in the North Main Neighborhood worth seeing.  And Greg believes in the process of revitalization, understanding that there is definitely strength in numbers!  

Please consider supporting HSF's revolving fund and the impact it has on neighborhood revitalization. A donation is quick and will be used to stabilize 1428 & 1600 North Main and other historic houses for years to come. 
CLICK: http://www.gofundme.com/heq7tg 

Make an investment in this community's history and watch the progress with us.


 
HSF and NOMA are planning a volunteer work day for these revolving fund properties on Saturday, January 24th, so if you'd like to pitch in and help, mark your calendars now. And if you are interested in selling or buying a historic home in Salisbury/Rowan County, North Carolina ~ Greg Rapp is the one to call!  704.213.6846

 

http://www.gofundme.com/heq7tg

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

Home for the Holidays!

Wouldn't your family just jump for joy when they realized that this gorgeous 2700+ square foot home in the heart of the prestigious West Square Neighborhood in Salisbury NC was the present under their tree? Let the visions of sugar plums begin. . . because this is where it could happen...at 
226 South Ellis Street in Salisbury, NC! 

A four bedroom Queen Anne house, 3 upstairs off a grand second-story mezzanine, and 1 on the main level, you'll be thrilled at the space in this circa 1900 beauty!   Large parlors, a welcoming foyer and grand staircase, and an enormous 17 x 14' kitchen that stretches across the rear expanse of the home. A 'to-die-for' wrap-around veranda ~ that wraps 3/4 way around the home ~ will be your go-to place on summer evenings! 

 If 226 S. Ellis Street sounds like the 'Home for the Holidays' for you, do not hesitate to give listing agent Greg Rapp a call. Greg can walk you through the expanse of this grand home and explain the benefits of living in both a historic district and the City of Salisbury, with its vibrant arts and culture scene, great local shopping, and wonderful locally owned restaurants. 226 S. Ellis Street is waiting for you to make it your home! 

Call Greg Rapp at 704.213.6846 and get all the 'Home for the Holidays' details! 

226 S. Ellis Street - circa 1900
Salisbury NC 28144 
MLS #: R56682 
$200,000

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

More Commercial Opportunities ~ from small to large ~ from purchase to lease!

The timing could not be more right to position your business in Downtown Salisbury! With incentive grants just passed by City Council this Fall, upfits to existing buildings are easier and less financially painful to accomplish!

One of the most special opportunities we have here is the current home of the Okey-Dokey General Store ~ right in the center of town, and on the main corridor that sees over 20,000 automobiles per day!  The building, at 126 E. Innes Street is quite large ~ three stories large ~ with over 4,000 square feet per floor!  Think of the possibilities.

Right around the corner, renovations to the Bernhardt Hardware Building are blossoming at an astounding rate of speed!  This 2-story building will house retail and offices on its first floor, and (6) residential apartments above ~ over looking the city.  

Did the developers take advantage of the new City of Salisbury incentives for downtown structures?  YES!!!  And you can too, and the Okey-Dokey!

Call Greg Rapp at 704.213.6846 to learn more about the building and to see pictures of this fantastic space!

Just outside of center-city Salisbury, but still visible from the main Innes Street corridor, is 1029 Old Innes Street ~ and a wonderful steel beam building in a prime commercial locale, with many, MANY thriving businesses around it. And at just $89,900, when the tax value is at $126,440, the price can’t be beat!!! 

And as if that's not enough, the building has solar heat to help you save on utilities once you're the boss in this fine commercial location! 

Not a city dweller by nature? Check out this potential live/work opportunity just beyond the downtown area of Salisbury... Webb Road Mini-Storage!  This package includes 4) mini-storage buildings, and a single-story brick home, on 4.4 +/- acres right off Interstate 85.  The mini-storage business has been in place since 2001 ~ you wouldn't skip a beat! 

The 2-bedroom home has a finished basement that currently houses the office space for the business.  Time to be your own boss!


If a huge space is just way more than you need....check out this little storefront/office location on E. Council Street!  

E. Council Street in Salisbury is home to lawyers' offices, architects, massage therapists, antique galleries, and Wong's Chinese
Restaurant!  This could be the perfect location for that little shop or office you wanted in the downtown location!  It's one block from the center square in Salisbury, less than that from the beautiful historic Rowan County Courthouse and Rowan Museum buildings, and around the corner from F & M Bank's Financial Center!

To learn more about these and other commercial spaces available in Salisbury and Rowan County, be sure to give Realtor® Greg Rapp a shout!  Greg is in the process of leasing spaces in the aforementioned Bernhardt Hardware Building, and can help you find the ideal space for YOUR business.

 

704.213.6846

GregRappRealtor@gmail.com

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

Commercial Opportunities Abound in Salisbury, North Carolina!

Now is the time to take advantage of the commercial opportunities in historic Downtown Salisbury, NC!

The ca. 1882 Bernhardt Hardware Building

If you've driven down North Main Street in Salisbury, North Carolina lately . . . you can't miss the hustle and bustle that's going on in the 100 block ~ where massive renovations are full-speed-ahead on the historic circa 1882 Bernhardt Hardware Building!  Salisbury City Council just unanimously approved incentive grants for the renovation of the Bernhardt Building on N. Main Street. 

The structure, formerly home to Bernhardt Hardware, is being re-developed for commercial and residential use by Calm Holdings LLC. The grants total $148,155 and will go toward renovation of the building, water and sewer infrastructure and fire-suppression utilities. Once renovated, plans call for the 16,000-square-foot building to have six apartments in the upper level and 7,000+ square feet of commercial space on the first floor. 

Realtor® Greg Rapp sold this important property to Calm Holdings to kick-start this vibrant downtown revitalization. You can contact Greg at (704) 213-6846 to learn more about the available commercial spaces (some are already claimed!) or the residential units above! 

And there are more valuable opportunities in Downtown Salisbury . . . and with the Bernhardt Hardware Building on fast track to completion, these opportunities will be ever more popular!

The ca. 1902 Washington Building

The fabulous Washington Building, directly across from the Bernhardt Hardware renovations, is for sale!  This incredible building must be seen to be believed! The Washington Building at 118 North Main Street was built in 1902 in a Richardsonian Romanesque style, finished with rough-cut granite stones, and boasting beautiful rounded arched windows and a Spanish Mission style element in the shaped gable at the roof line.  

This 3-story, 20,000+ square foot building, with retail space on its street level and office/meeting rooms above, retains many of its original circa 1902 features, such as the imposing grand wood staircase, original doors with transom windows, original light fixtures, and plenty more. The amount of stained and finished, intact original woodwork on this floor is astounding. Meeting rooms and offices alike feature large double-hung windows with broad decorative transoms and deep wood sills and casings, and stained wood baseboard molding. The pebble glass transomed windows and fine woodwork is completely in tact. 

And when you're ready to be completely blown away by the Washington Building's features...visit the 3rd floor...with two large front rooms that face Main Street, and feature the two immense arched windows that are part of the Washington Building’s impressive façade characteristics. The large northeast room has gorgeous brick walls and original fireplace that shares the original chimney with the second floor fireplace. An immense ballroom-esque room sits to the rear of the third floor that is crying out to be a party room or film studio. The room is huge! You will have to see it for yourself! 

Beautifully renovated (awarded the Best Historic Rehabilitation and was the 2005 NC Main Street Award Winner ), this over 20,000 square foot property is for sale for just $650,000.  The top two floors of the building are handsomely restored office space, and the building can be converted to a live-work situation if desired. You, too, can take advantage of the new incentives program for downtown building recently adopted by the City of Salisbury. This building is like no other in Salisbury, and is one of the most impressive buildings along Main Street. Call Greg Rapp at 704.213.6846 to have a look and get in on the Downtown Salisbury movement! 

The ca. 1930 Flowers Bakery Building

Not ready to buy? Perhaps leasing is your preferred option! Check out the former East Square Artworks space on the main floor at 122-B East Innes Street! WOW!  Originally the c. 1930's historic Flowers Bakery Building, and formerly the home/studio of Michael Baker sculpture artist, the building boasts 4500+ square feet of space for lease!  Right smack in the center of Downtown Salisbury, and a stone's throw from Interstate-85, and with great parking availability all around it...this space is IDEAL for any number of enterprises! 

With the coming update of the Bernhardt Hardware Building (soon to be retail on street level with 6-residential spaces above), this might be the time to scoop up this awesome space - located directly behind the exciting Bernhardt Hardware renovation! 

Give Greg a call at 704.213.6846 to see this great space and to get the jump on this awesome opportunity to be at the hub of a downtown revitalization! 

The Wallace Building

For over 20 years, the Wallace Building at 122 East Fisher Street was the home of Las Palmas restaurant...a favorite local watering hole and eatery that featured live music, a full bar, and great menus.  The wonderful ground floor restaurant/bar area looks like it's right out of an old Western movie, complete with its long, curved bar, staircase to the second-story balcony that encircles the room, and hanging light fixtures.  In your imagination, you can almost hear old honky-tonk piano music coming from the corners and picture cowboys toppling from the balcony and swinging from the chandeliers!

Recently renovated, the Wallace Building is the centerpiece of Downtown Salisbury's 'Brick Street' entertainment district....so called because the City repaved this portion of E. Fisher Street with brick, lined it with strands of glove lights, and hosts many street festivals and outdoor concerts in this area.  The Wallace Building has a great multi-space parking lot that goes with this 3-story building (call for information about the upper levels) ~ a rarity and treasured feature in Downtown Salisbury!  The Fisher / S. Lee / S. Main / Innes Street block is home to at perhaps a dozen or more restaurants, wine shops, and pubs ~ creating a thriving downtown culture!  

Give Greg Rapp a shout - 704.213.6846 - to get in on the entertainment scene in Salisbury!

Opportunities Abound!

These are just three of the special opportunities in Downtown Salisbury! There are more ~ from small office or retail spaces, to large properties with potential for retail, residential and more! And don't forget the City's incentive program. The City of Salisbury is very supportive of new development in its downtown area! And Greg Rapp is the agent to call ~ with more knowledge and experience with these fabulous buildings than any other in the area!  Pick up the phone ~ 704.213.6846!

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

An Awesome Find!!! Super-Cute Country Post-War Cottage! $50,000!!

An awesome find!!! A cute-as-a-button post-war cozy cottage ~ on a quiet road with a country feel, yet just around the corner from town!  Greg Rapp has this wonderful little home for sale, now! 


At just under 900 square feet ~ these cozy 2-bedroom/1-bath cottages don't come along every day! In an era of the 'tiny house' fascination or the 'less-is-more' philosophy, 1000 Rowan Avenue fits the bill!

Home sizes vary around the world; while some families live in one room huts, others have gigantic homes which seem to never end. Since 1970,the size of the average new American home has grown by 50 percent, a growth trend is similar to most western countries. However, for every trend there is a counter-trend. In the case of home size, more and more people are choosing to live in small homes. Most downsizes opt for more modest quarters, while some homeowners take this trend to a new level, choosing to live in tiny homes (and we mean tiny!).  Some of these tiny homes can be as small as only 90 sq. ft. complete with bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and living quarters, and run the gamut from fixed homes to those with wheels and everything in between. 
 

The small house movement is a return to houses less than 1,000 square feet, some as small as 80 square feet. Sarah Susanka has been credited with starting the recent counter-movement toward smaller houses when she published The Not So Big House (1997). Earlier pioneers include Lloyd Kahn, author of Shelter (1973). With the financial crisis of 2007–2010, the small house movement attracted more attention as it offers housing that is more affordable in acquisition and maintenance and ecologically friendly.
 
Welcome to 1000 Rowan Avenue in the Town of Spencer, North Carolina!  A post-war cottage built in 1947, this darling home is decidedly in town, but in such a wooded and country setting, you might forget that city amenities are just a stone's throw away!

In the Town of Spencer, just around the corner from this home, you will find Pinocchio's Italian Restaurant (yum!), the Green Goat Gallery with its wonderful art and knitting workshops, and the North Carolina Transportation Museum ~ a real treasure!  Just to the south you'll find the City of Salisbury, with its thriving arts and culture scene, including three theatre troupes, symphony performances, and a nationally accredited art gallery, as well as over 70 restaurants, and a variety of shopping choices.

This darling home has wonderful wood floors throughout.  The kitchen boasts apple green cabinetry ~ a nice change from the every-day and perfectly suited to this little charmer home that welcomes an artistic touch!  

And just look at that wood floor!  Oh, how wonderful not to have that awful laminate that you'd often find in a home from this era!

An enclosed front porch makes a wonderful sunroom.  In fact, nearly all the surprisingly amply-sized rooms stream sunlight and cheerfulness!

Stock up on bubble-bath!  

The bathroom has a vintage claw-foot tub, a lovely pedestal sink, and wonderful wainscoting and beadboard throughout!

This home offers an amazing amount of storage space.  It has a full (dry!) unfinished basement, perfect for storage AND workshop areas.  

A small shed in the rear of the home is almost like a small addition, and there is another small outbuilding, perfect for lawn mowers and garden tools, a carport AND a 1-car garage.

 
There is also a pull down stair case that leads to a finished room in the attic ~ offering even more storage or a complete other room.

1000 Rowan Avenue has a large fenced back yard backed by a thick woods.  We told you country setting, and it's marvelous!

1000 Rowan Avenue (and how cool is that address?!) is close to everything yet is nestled into the most peaceful country setting.  You'll want to call Realtor® Greg Rapp as soon as you can ~ (704) 213-6846 ~ to see this cozy cottage for yourself!  Mmmmmmm ~ home-sweet-home ~ and for just $50,000!

MLS #: R57142   
1000 ROWAN AVENUE
Spencer, NC 28159
List Price: $50,000 
 

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net