5th Avenue Hosiery Company Relocating to W-S

 
Royce Too LLC (website currently under construction) announced today that it was moving it headquarters from the Empire State Building to Healy Drive.  The company was bought in 2008 by a Japenese hosiery company.  It designs/produces for a number of major brands including Dickies, Dockers, Nautica, and Saucony and, in addition to cutting costs, gave being near major manufacturers such as Hanes Brands, Inc. and Renfro (in Mount Airy) as the reason for the move.  The company will maintain a sales staff in New York as well as an office in Hickory and a distribution center in Martinsburg, WV.  The office in Winston is expected to have approximately 25 employees.

Winston-Salem to "Agressively" Pursue Selling Bowman Gray Stadium and The Joel

 

City officials said they would "aggressively" pursue selling the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (now officially named the Winston-Salem Entertainment-Sports Complex) and Bowman Gray Stadium, likely to Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University respectively.  The two university's rent the venues to host sports games and both have expressed an interest in purchasing them.  The city estimates it would save $1.6 million per year if it sold them; LJVM Coliseum recently appraised at $37.1 million while Bowman Gray Stadium appraised at $9.9 million - the appraisals were paid for by the city.  A spokesman for the city said racing at Bowman Gray would be protected by including a clause in any sales contract requiring that long-term leases be honored.

2 Articles Worth Reading

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2012/03/powell-megasite-will-take-more-than.html

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/mar/16/wsmet01-ballpark-area-development-proceeds-without-ar-2049941/

County Approves Sale of Old Courthouse

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners have approved Clachan Properties, LLC's $700,000 bid for the Old Courthouse.  At this point, Clachan has a 150 day due-diligence period during which time they can back out of the offer to purchase; they will also likely seek historic designation during this time to make the property eligible for tax purposes.  The Old Courthouse was built in 1926 but incorporated parts of an older courthouse on the site from 1896 and added new wings in 1958.  Clachan Properties, LLC also developed the Winston Factory Lofts. 

Trader Joe's Coming to Winston-Salem!

Trader Joe's announced Friday that it is opening a store in the Thruway Shopping Center off Stratford Road in the space that was occupied by Borders.  The announcement comes amid speculation that a Trader Joe's may anchor a new suburban development in Greensboro - speculation surrounded by controversy as local landowners threatened legal action to prevent the development.  The news that Trader Joe's is coming to Winston is welcomed by many; bringing a Trader Joe's to Winston-Salem has been the subject of Facebook campaigns, YouTube videos, and a letter from the author of this blog submitted via their website.  

$60-million Plant 64 Developers Seek Historic Landmark Designation

According to the Winston-Salem Journal and Triad Business Journal, Plant 64 is the oldest Reynolds Tobacco building still in existence.  Designation as a historic site would grant the developers significant tax-benefits but also burden them with some preservation responsibilities.  Seeking such status is encouraging however as it evidences movement on the part of the developers!  Mixed-use development is planned for the project which is located downtown at 500 E. Fifth Street and will feature 243 apartments and 10,000 sq ft. of retail space.