As Greensboro developer Andy Zimmerman — redeveloper is perhaps a more accurate term — was considering his options on repurposing the vacant half of his restored Old Greensborough Gateway Center, three specific community needs came to mind.
First, the city is lacking in co-work space that fosters innovation and collaboration, a trend accelerated by the impacts of Covid-19. Second, Greensboro needed a more creative environment conducive for an accelerator for start-ups and early-stage businesses. Finally, there was a void in the downtown area for sizable event space.
Amid the pandemic, Zimmerman pivoted his plans to recruit one or two large users for 50,000-plus square feet not occupied by Centric Brands, his anchor tenant there, to address all three. Responding to market demand, he expanded his Transform GSO co-work model, formerly HQ Greensboro, into part of the space. He partnered with Launch Greensboro, an initiative of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, to provide office suites for its supported start-ups.
Finally, he dedicated 12,200 square feet at the corner of Elm and Bain streets for, appropriately enough, Elm & Bain, an event venue suitable for hosting weddings and bar mitzvahs to large meetings to live music performances.
It’s the latest piece in Zimmerman’s vision of helping to evolve the area of downtown south the railroad tracks into the city’s own, if smaller, version of Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter, hoping to catalyze growth there.
Transform Greensboro at Old Greensborough Gateway Center
With 172,000 square feet among seven properties under roof in SouthEnd, he and others are off to a strong start.
“I've been pushing this for awhile, and as I look at Winston-Salem and the success that they’ve had with Innovation Quarter, now announcing Phase Two with $1 billion in investment, do we need a better example?" Zimmerman said. "Finally, that foundation is built in downtown with what we are doing and with other businesses that are locating here.”
The most recent “other business” is Bourbon Bowl, which opened two weeks ago at the southeast corner of South Elm and East Lewis streets. In addition to other properties in downtown Greensboro, Zimmerman’s SouthEnd real estate holdings are home to SouthEnd Brewery, Fainting Goat Distillery, The Forge makerspace and Transform Greensboro, all on West Lewis Street; the Sheval Building on South Elm, home to multiple businesses; and the Gateway building.
Bourbon Bowl Photos
Together they help form the core of what Zimmerman and others envision as a renaissance of downtown.
Those others include:
• Eric Robert, the first developer of what is now Boxcar at 120 W. Lewis St. He also owns the 116 E. Lewis St. where Bearded Goat is located; and 603 S. Elm St., at the corner of East Lewis Street, where Kontoor Brands is moving its Lee and Wrangler retail store.
• Allen McDavid, who has owned the retail store Terra Blue at 518 S. Elm St. for 20 years. He and his wife have also lived above the store for that long.
• Mark Hewett, who has owned the Area Modern Furniture building, which is also his store, at 511 S. Elm St. for 20 years. He also owns 513 S. Elm, which is home to Vivid Interiors.
• Jeff Yetter, who owns 515 S. Elm, home to Sonder Mind & Body. He also lives in the back of the building.
For Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Zack Matheny, it feels reminiscent on a smaller scale of Austin, Texas, whose slogan "Keep Austin Wierd" was adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance.
“Andy’s vision, passion for entrepreneurship, and desire to be a placemaker definitely created a hub of activity and aided in transforming the SouthEnd,” Matheny said. “Others who took leaps have made SouthEnd as close to an Austin-like feel as you can get in North Carolina.”
Sustainable organic growth
Among the partnerships Zimmerman forged to make a go of Transform Greensboro’s expansion into the Gateway Center is Launch Greensboro. The program will move its incubator program from its current space into eight suites on the second floor. Zimmerman said the location will give the early-stage entrepreneurs access to other entrepreneurs and businesses in an environment that fosters collaboration and support.
Greensboro Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President of Entrepreneurship Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, who leads Launch Greensboro, agrees.
“Our programming for Triad entrepreneurs — including boot camps, traditional accelerator programs and Capital Connects, an annual pitch event that connects investors with startups, and a seed-stage venture fund — is highly regarded in the Triad,” she said. “And now we have a modern, vibrant workplace designed for entrepreneurs. Our partnership with TGSO establishes the perfect hub for Greensboro and Guilford County-area entrepreneurs starting and growing their companies.”
Zimmerman has also partnered with Greensboro-based restaurant group 1618 Concepts to manage Elm & Bain, which is also one of five caterers contracted to serve the space. Personnel from 1618 will staff the bar and will be the touchpoint for event scheduling and execution.
The first scheduled event there is the United Way of Greater Greensboro’s 99th annual campaign kickoff on Sept. 1. Zimmerman sees the venue hosting a regularly scheduled supper club.
“We're going to create the SouthEnd Supper Club that will include a meal, some nice music and dancing. It’s another concept that's going to help activate the space,” he said. “Where else in downtown can you go to hear real quality live music, have a good dinner and some nice drinks?”
Zimmerman has contracted members of The Forge — membership includes space to work and access to the facility’s equipment — to build functional and decorative pieces for Elm & Bain and Transform Greensboro, as he has for some of his other renovation projects.
There were other options for the event space, Zimmerman said, having been approached by restaurant operators and retailers, the latter including Mast General Store. Keeping the space open instead provides availability for special events. Because he owns the block of Bain Street that runs beside the building and ends next to a parking lot that separates the Gateway Center from SouthEnd Brewing and the Lewis Street activity area, it can be closed for inside/outside events such as art shows or farmer’s markets.
Planning for an Oktoberfest event there, he said, is in the works.
“It's just going to be a dynamic space for events downtown that we've been lacking,” he said.
Rather than a master planned development, Matheny said the organic redevelopment of the SouthEnd area has staying power.
“Organic growth tends to be sustainable, as it is done by passionate people willing to invest personal dollars versus institutional shareholders,” he said. “If the organic growth is in place, other dollars are coming.”
More on the way
Those dollars are coming, not only in the form of further investment, but also in consumer spending. A recent Friday night found large crowds filling the restaurants and bars with pedestrian traffic becoming noticeably heavier heading south on South Elm Street toward the railroad tracks.
Live music was audible from the patio of SouthEnd Brewing, restaurants such as Mellow Mushroom, the new Bourbon Bowl, Fat Tuesday and Natty Greene’s, the latter just north of the tracks, were filled.
More retail is on the way, too. The activity in SouthEnd captured the attention of Greensboro-based Kontoor Brands, which is in the process of moving its downtown Lee and Wrangler store to the corner of South Elm and Lewis streets. The store is scheduled for an August grand opening.
“Kontoor is committed to Greensboro and supporting a strong vibrant downtown,” said a Kontoor spokesperson. “With that in mind, we have moved the Lee/Wrangler store to a new, larger location at 603 S. Elm St. What the new store location offers us is an expanded retail footprint and access to additional foot traffic as that section of South Elm continues to grow and become more and more vibrant.”
From the opposite corner South Elm Street, Matheny can see Kontoor Brands’ progress on the store from his Downtown Greensboro Inc. office. He also sees sustainable momentum building.
“The energy and vibe in the SouthEnd creates a buzz throughout the downtown footprint,” said Matheny, whose Downtown Greensboro Inc. office is in Zimmerman’s Sheval Building. “Just yesterday (last Wednesday) we had folks in from out of state looking to invest and bring jobs to Greensboro based on the tremendous development.”
