The Empire Hotel in downtown Salisbury is one of the largest buildings in the four blocks known as 'The Square', and for years it has held nothing but untapped potential. In August of 2016, long-awaited announcements were made that the circa 1800s hotel was finally under contract! The City of Salisbury revealed details of the first steps toward the sale of the building in the 200 block of South Main Street, and introduced the new owner/developer.
The hotel originally opened in 1859, then known as the Boyden House, after Nathaniel Boyden, a local attorney and political figure. The building is an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, a French term meaning “fine arts,” and the style is known for being highly ornamented.
The hotel was a gathering place during the Civil War, and according to local lore, the hotel was occupied by federal officers following the Civil War, according to the building's history page on the county web site. On April 1, 1870 General Robert E. Lee and his daughter took a carriage from the Salisbury Railway Depot to the Boyden House to have breakfast.
The hotel was remodeled in the early 1900’s by Frank P. Milburn, who designed the Salisbury Depot. After extensive renovations in 1907, the name was changed to Central Hotel and then later, the Empire Hotel. There was once a domed ballroom on the top floor, and local lore suggests that there was a tunnel from the hotel to the Meroney Theatre across the street to allow famous actors, such as Charles Chaplin, to go back and forth without going outside through crowds and inclement weather. The hotel closed in 1963 after 104 years in business. (Whisenant, D., August 11, 2016, http://www.wbtv.com/story/32736179/empire-hotel-sold)
Downtown Salisbury Inc. purchased the building in 2007, and then our Great Recession hit...causing a stall in the development of this wonderful potential in the heart of downtown.
Realtor® Greg Rapp, with Wallace Realty Co. in downtown Salisbury, has been managing leasing varied retail spaces in the Empire Hotel for Downtown Salisbury Inc. for several years. With Downtown Salisbury's budget constraints and limited maintenance on the structure, leasing these prominent spaces has been an interesting challenge.
History Preservation Partners Holding, LLC (HPPC), known for developing Loray Mill in Gastonia, now has the Empire Hotel under contract, with due diligence expected to last one year, and intends to develop the property into apartments above and street level shops. Initial plans include 29,000 square feet of retail space in the former Montgomery Ward main floor, mezzanine and basement. WOW!
While the Empire is undergoing its 'due diligence' with HPPC, retail leases are likely to be unavailable here, but if you are looking for a prime downtown location for your business, be assured that Greg Rapp can help you find it! Greg was the match that lit the flame under the award-winning Bernhardt Hardware restoration in downtown, and the catalyst for bringing the buyers to the old Stokes-Snider House, now a fabulously restored bed & breakfast. Greg is on top of the varied grant programs that are available and more to make establishing your business in Salisbury feasible.
Greg Rapp can make it happen for you, too!
Put this number in your phone: (704) 213-6846 . . . and when you are ready, give Greg Rapp a call. Together, let's get your business into one of these fabulous spots in historic Downtown Salisbury!
Greg Rapp
Wallace Realty Co.
704 213 6846 Mobile
704 636 2021 Office
www.realestatesalisbury.net
The beloved circa 1897 Old Salisbury Firehouse that once housed the fire department, the mayor's office, and the "calabose" ~ the jailhouse ~ is for sale in Historic Downtown Salisbury, North Carolina. An opportunity to own a special building like this comes once-in-a-lifetime. Any business in this wonderfully unique building is sure to succeed, as have its neighboring businesses!
The Old Salisbury Firehouse is surrounded by thriving businesses in the heart of downtown Salisbury, and the support network provided by Downtown Salisbury Inc. is unmatched.
The building, because of its original roots as a firehouse, has wonderfully unique characteristics, from its brass and wood cupola which once housed the fire bell to its high hipped roof punctuated with decorative gables featuring heavy console brackets on each elevation to the many other exterior features that leave The Old Salisbury Firehouse appearing much as it did when first complete in 1897.
The Old Salisbury Firehouse is one of North Carolina's oldest firehouses. The first firehouses here were often small buildings that reflected the nature of early American firefighting when citizens answered alarms with buckets, ladders, and
eventually hand-powered fire engines. Larger and more formal buildings
appeared as the size of the hand pumps increased, and engine houses
needed meeting rooms, sleeping areas, and accommodation for horses. The
State's oldest firehouse is a single-story brick building in Old Salem
in Winston-Salem. Built in 1803, the Market and Fire House served as both the town market and as a storage facility for the town's hand-pulled, hand-powered fire engines. The Old Salisbury Firehouse, completed during the spring of 1897, housed Salisbury's Fire Department on the first floor, the city jail in a one-story rear section, and city offices on the second floor. The fire department included four horses, four horse carts, two horse wagons, and hone hook and ladder truck. A
one-story brick addition was added to the north side of the building by 1913 and was used to store the city's police wagon. The building continued to be used by the City of Salisbury as a fire station into the early 1960s, then stood vacant for several years before being adapted to a restaurant in the late 1970s. A fire in the 1980 destroyed much of the building's interior, but by the 1990's it housed a florist and gift shop. The Firehouse is now another of Salisbury's 'diamonds-in-the-rough', awaiting its new resurrection!
The Firehouse retains many of its unique firehouse architectural features. A heavy wooden cornice with console brackets runs around the edge of the entire roof, which has an attractive brass and wood cupola in its center that was the original site of the fire department's bell tower. The first floor is characterized by broad arched openings with striated brickwork frames that originally accommodated the wagons and horses of the fire and police departments. The second floor features a three-part square window
flanked by two round-headed windows with heavy arched hoods with keystones.
Downtown Salisbury Inc, (DSI) a non-profit agency devoted to promoting, enhancing, and managing the
development of Salisbury's central business district, helps to ensure that any business that might make its home in The Old Salisbury Firehouse is supported in a manner which will make the district the economic, governmental, social, and cultural center of Rowan County. DSI addresses the needs of impacting neighborhoods and businesses within and adjacent to the Salisbury Municipal Service District and accomplished this by promoting activity in economic
restructuring, design, promotions, and building partnerships.
The Old Salisbury Firehouse building recently underwent minor interior rehabilitation. Central Piedmont Builders created an estimate for further rehab work. For more information regarding estimated costs for further rehabilitation, or for a customized estimate to meet your individual business needs, contact Greg Rapp at 704.213.6846.
The building is a 4,300-4,400 square foot space in a mixed-use zone at 113 S. Lee Street in downtown Salisbury, mere minutes from the Interstate-86 junction. The Old Salisbury Firehouse building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it a property that qualifies for N.C. & Federal Historic Tax Credits,
and potential city grants. (N.C. historic preservation tax credits
available for this property are scheduled to sunset Jan. 1, 2015.) This special opportunity to own this landmark building in historic Salisbury North Carolina is available for
the unbelievably attractive price of $125,000!
The listing agent for The Old Salisbury Firehouse is Marie Leonard-Hampton of Wallace Realty. You can contact Marie at 704.636.2021 or contact Greg Rapp as your buyers agent at 704.213.6846.
Greg Rapp is the premiere mover of historic properties in Salisbury and Rowan County, NC! His record speaks for itself, and no one knows these historic 'diamonds-in-the-rough' like Greg! Call Greg Rapp to see for yourself the completely unique characteristics of The Old Salisbury Firehouse and learn more about opportunities to live and work in downtown Salisbury, North Carolina!
The hotel was a gathering place during the Civil War, and according to local lore, the hotel was occupied by federal officers following the Civil War, according to the building's history page on the county web site. On April 1, 1870 General Robert E. Lee and his daughter took a carriage from the Salisbury Railway Depot to the Boyden House to have breakfast.
Downtown Salisbury Inc. purchased the building in 2007, and then our Great Recession hit...causing a stall in the development of this wonderful potential in the heart of downtown. 
