Depot District project to add an estimated 100 apartments
Map of the proposed Edgewood Lofts apartment development in the Depot District of Lexington (Shook Kelley/Contributed photo art)
Local developers are planning to add about 100 apartments to the Depot District in downtown Lexington over the next couple of years.
The Lexington City Council unanimously approved rezoning Oct. 9 to allow the project to move ahead. The partners in the development are Daniel Smith, broker in charge/owner of Red Link Realty; Adam Warfford, owner of Warfford & Co.; Todd Warfford, owner of Todco and Best Disposal; a silent partner; and a limited partner, Standell Corp.
“The council was pretty positive about the project,” Smith said. “They’re glad to see some residential development in that area. They just wanted to make sure it was cohesive with the rest of the Depot District.”
Shook Kelley, a Charlotte-based architectural design firm the city of Lexington has worked with on past projects downtown, was involved in the development plans as well.
The two-phase development project, Edgewood Lofts LLC, encompasses four parcels of land currently owned by Standell Corp. totaling 2.8 acres with boundaries at E. Second Ave, E. Third Ave and Marble Alley.
This is an architectural rendering of what the former Edgewood Apparel building in the Depot District of Lexington will look like after a major renovation. (Shook Kelley/Contributed photo art)
The first phase of the project is a major renovation of the 26,000-square-foot former Edgewood Apparel textile factory. A small part of the building is currently used as a mini-storage facility and Trinity Baptist Church. “It’s going to be more like re-construction, really, than renovation,” said Adam Warfford, whose company will be the general contractor for the project.
He noted a steel exoskeleton is in place but the upfit will range from new windows and roofing to new HVAC, electrical, sprinkler and plumbing systems.
Warfford said this first phase will begin with interior demolition work at the beginning of 2024 with construction starting in the spring and completion slated for the spring of 2025.
The renovation project will result in approximately 30 apartments, mostly one bedroom, with a few studio and two-bedroom units, Smith said. A loading dock will be removed and it’s possible two ground-level units could be used for retail or office space.
The second phase of the project, slated to begin in the fall of 2025, involves building up to five three-story apartment buildings similar in construction style and quality to the building at 15 E. Second Ave., which Warfford & Co. built in 2019.
The new construction of the Edgewood Lofts development will look similar in construction style and quality to the current apartment building at 15 E. Second Ave.in Lexington. {Contributed photo}
While the 12 units in that building are all two-bedroom, two-bath apartments, the newer buildings will have a mix of one and two bedrooms. There are plans for parking garages for lease with apartments above as part of the overall development.
“The zoning approval is for up to 120 units but it’s likely to end up being 90 to 100 units,” Warfford explained.
Smith said the project partners believe they will be able to lease the apartments to young professionals, but also to empty-nesters looking to downsize, who want to be able to walk to amenities nearby such as downtown shops and restaurants as well as Depot District entertainment venues such as Goose and the Monkey Brew House and Bull City Ciderworks, both on Railroad St, as well as the Breeden Amphitheater and Edward C. Smith Civic Center.
A former furniture factory adjacent to the project is also under renovation and set to open with a new event venue, distillery, arcade bar and restaurant.
Warfford noted there is a waiting list for apartments at 15 E. Second Ave. and that a couple of the units have been leased by Egger Wood Products employees, a relatively new major manufacturing employer in Linwood.
“And with Nucor and Siemens coming in I know we’ll see an increase in demand for housing,” Smith said of two major employers who are currently building multi-million-dollar manufacturing facilities in Lexington.
“A lot of towns around us, like Salisbury and Winston-Salem, offer urban residential living. We want them to look here first.”
“Lexington has done a fantastic job of bringing in business but we need more housing and I think more people would like to live downtown,” Warfford added.
The new development will be across Railroad St from a new $25 million Amtrak train depot scheduled to be in operation by 2028.
“We’re hoping, too, there are people who want to live in a smaller town but can commute to work in larger cities by train,” Smith noted. “We hope once we do our project it will spur other development in the area.”
