The Standard

Twenty-two miles west of Charlotte, Gastonia is a small city poised for revitalization. The Standard, a two phase downtown historic rehabilitation project, provided an opportunity to spur transformation. “The Standard was the first project like this of any scale here,” said Gregg McAllister, who co-developed the project with Chuck McClure. The project comprised four properties constructed circa 1922 and 1930, including the former Standard Hardware building. The structures were restored to their original fixtures, including the brick facades, transoms of leaded glass, and copper skirt panels underneath the display windows.

The 18,000 square foot complex now includes six loft-style residential apartments and 12,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space. Nearly 70% leased, tenants include City of Gastonia offices and the non-profit Gastonia Downtown Development Corporation.

In 2006, as they neared completion, McAllister and McClure attended a conference about historic tax credits, where they discussed their project with a member of Self-Help’s commercial real estate team. By January, 2007, they closed on a $1.5 million permanent mortgage with Self-Help. With a total development value of $2.2 million, the project included financing from many sources, including the First National Bank, federal New Markets and Historic Preservation tax credits, and City Downtown incentives. “What attracted us to Self-Help was its own experience as a developer working to jumpstart downtowns,” says McAllister.

Self-Help staff were eager to share lessons learned through the organization’s myriad historic preservation initiatives. “They understand the difficulty of what we do day-to-day,” says McAllister. “And that’s reassuring.”

The project’s impact in spurring revitalization is already evident. Downtown property valuations are up, an additional redevelopment project has been completed, and several new initiatives have been announced, including the City of Gastonia’s planned $22 million hotel and conference center adjacent to The Standard.