A long-planned redevelopment project in downtown High Point has officially moved forward with the sale of a prominent Main Street building that city leaders hope will help bring new life to the area.
Downtown High Point has announced that Showplace West at One Plaza Center, located at 101 S. Main St., has been sold to developers Randy Cosby and Andrew Hampton of LBD Investments.
The building, which dates back to the 1970s and has recently been renamed “Elwood on Main,” is set to be transformed into 143 market-rate apartment units along with two commercial spaces.
Downtown High Point officials said the project represents a major step in efforts to bring more residential activity to the city’s core.
“The Downtown High Point staff and Board are excited to see this project come to life,” said Amber Williamson, board chair of Downtown High Point and executive director of High Point Discovered. “Showplace West – Elwood – has long held deep history and significance in our downtown, and its transformation signals a new chapter for our city — one where historic spaces are reimagined to meet today’s needs while honoring the past.”
Williamson added that the redevelopment is expected to bring new residents and new energy to a key part of downtown.
Downtown High Point, formerly known as Forward High Point, has owned the property since 2019 and has been working toward a residential redevelopment for several years.
After early challenges, the organization issued a request for proposals in 2023 and ultimately selected LBD Investments for the project.
According to officials, that selection was based on the company’s experience redeveloping historic properties for residential use.
Cosby said the project wouldn’t be possible without local support.
“We are thrilled to give this iconic building the renaissance it deserves,” Cosby said. “Projects like this don’t happen without the right partners. We are deeply grateful to Downtown High Point and the City for their aggressive commitment to help move this project forward.”
Cosby added that the development could help spur additional investment in the surrounding area.
Before the sale, Downtown High Point successfully secured a listing for the building on the National Register of Historic Places – making it the first structure from the 1970s in North Carolina to receive that designation.
Officials say the building also has ties to the city’s manufacturing history, with past occupants including LADD Furniture Inc., First Factors Corporation and Culp Inc.
Because of its historic designation, the redevelopment project is eligible for both federal and state historic tax credits – as long as renovations follow federal preservation standards.
A ceremony to mark the project’s progress is expected to be announced at a later date.
I am very familiar with that building. If they want to turn it into apartments they are going to have to gut it down to the frame and do some serious deep cleaning/decontamination to it given how long it has set if people are going to live there.
no one is going to move into them dang apartments! do you think anyone wants to live in high point, let alone a converted factory? “industrial loft” my hindquarters… the thing that will be “historical” about it will be when they demolish the thing in 5 years.
bringing that building up to code will be ruinous . notice that when people seek ‘house’ they are offered ‘unit’: ‘home sweet unit’. pig lipstick. ‘sugar free’ housing ‘mystery’ contents
“urban living” died out after people realized things are expensive and cramped, covid or no covid. it was just a blip of a trend in a great sea of teenage fads and these real estate companies are still hanging onto it with all their life because they made the absolutely stupid decision to pour millions of $$ into it and make pointless “2030 vision”s and “5 year plans” just to seduce big pocket investors. real estate market is real inflated and i predict a repeat of 2008 will come soon. 5 to 10 years tops
ditto the 120 ‘units’ constructed across the st from me has been open 5 months after 4 years of $$ expense because of theft &soft geology; 9 r rented. local big builder has > go nads than i !
many such cases! i think it’s clear as day that skippy is buying up land and developing empty buildngs to use as laundering fronts for who knows what kinda operation. probably launders money for the highest bidder so he can get even more profit..everything is a scam i tell you a big game designed to screw over the voter and enrich the politician who stopped caring what we think decades ago
High Pockets? I am in town often. Other than HPU, I don’t see much opportunity elsewhere. How about that eternal C-F @ S. Main & I-85/biz? See what I mean?
most of the ‘stuff’ around their transport ‘hub’ is dog ugly, but not your dog. vagrant central ? 3 blocks away is ‘beauty.’ wealthy, elderly, scion ‘property’ (the worst) owners are demanding >>$$ from developers with good intentions (altruism) for the area. result: ugly stalemate & NO PROGRESS FOR ANYONE. property tax these barnacle OUT greece is covered in ruins because greeks can’t cooperatively create structures etc ? the olympic games was mostly about warfare physicality skills ? wrestling, boxing fencing etc
TUVM! I didn’t know that. I learned something new.
If a developer wants to spend his money to turn this building into apartments, I am okay with that. The City of High Point also has the opportunity to see the church property to developers who could build hundreds of apartments, condos, retail, restaurants and entertainment venues. The city paid $11 MILLION for the property that is just 1 block from the baseball stadium. THAT would bring, and KEEP more people in the downtown area. It may also improve attendance at the baseball stadium that last year, had one of the lowest attendance in the baseball league.
Instead of considering something logical, forward thinking and economically viable, the High Point Council wants to borrow $90 MILLION to build a new city hall. When you add interest, the total cost will be cost more than $140 MILLION. PLUS, democrat Mayor Jefferson says the ONLY way to build a new city hall is to RAISE TAXES!
A few years ago, the High Point Council raised property taxes by 5%, gave themselves an 88% pay raise and gave the city Manager and City Attorney $12,000 PAY RAISES . The current 2025-2026 budget gave every city employee a 13th paid holiday. That means a new city employee will only have to work 11 months to receive a 12 month salary,. Long time city employees only have to work 9 or 10 months to receive a 12 month salary WITH BENEFITS like health insurance and a pension. Recently the High Point city council approved giving every one of the 1,400 city employees who qualify, a GRANT OF UP TO $7,500 to help them buy a house. This grant is FORGIVABLE if they stay in their home for 5 years. The total potential cost to taxpayers is $10.5 MILLION.
Although technically non-partisan, the High Point council is controlled by big spending liberal democrats. Of the 9 members, 6 are registered democrats, 1 is Republican and 2 are Unaffiliated.
Guilford County, Greensboro and High Point are all controlled by democrats and look like C(r)ook County Illinois and the City of Chicago where the mayor, county president and democrat party bosses control virtually everything. Now the City of Chicago has a $1.2 BILLION hole in their budget and is raising property taxes. Residents in minority neighborhoods have protested TAX INCREASES of 70% to 237% by symbolically burning their tax bills in the streets. Their taxes increased because downtown office buildings-large and small-and other downtown businesses have gone out of business or fled the city and county. Poor performing schools and widespread crime have also contributed to the problems. Sound familiar?
Crime in Guilford is higher, businesses are leaving Greensboro, schools are failing to do their job because YOUR KIDS are not performing at grade level and all that Guilford, High Point and Greensboro want to do is raise property taxes AND SALES TAX and raise their own salaries. BTW, Guilford schools want 9% MORE MONEY in the 2026-2027 budget. That amount of increase is more than 3 times the rate of inflation.
Remember the school GCS wanted to build in Colfax. It was a MUST HAVE. The original cost was going to be $39 M but has ballooned to $80 M and yet not a single shovel of dirt has been moved on the site. The latest is that this school may not be built due to declining enrollment. WHAT A SHOCKER! Also, instead of being a tax producing property, it is now tax exempt because the school owns it.
Sound familiar? Property tax bills have increased by more than 60% in the last 9 years. If the property tax Mil rate does not change, Guilford county will collect $175 MILLION MORE IN TAXES than they received last year. That is on top of the $200 MILLION INCREASE in Guilford spending since democrats took control of the county board.
Guilford is considering spending $2 Million on a Tree House. PLUS they are considering borrowing $572 MILLION for a new county office complex AND ANOTHER $550 MILLION for schools. In total, when you add the cost of the existing $1.7 BILLION school bond, PLUS the $572M for new county offices AND $550 M more for schools, taxpayers in Guilford will be on the hook for over $6 BILLION. Since bonds must be issued (spent) within 10 years and repaid within 20 years after the money is spent, the AVERAGE YEARLY DEBT PAYMENT WILL BE MORE THAN $200 MILLION and that does NOT INCLUDE any other outstanding debts put on the backs of taxpayers by the democrat controlled county board.
What kind of financial legacy are YOU and the democrats leaving our children and grand children. A child born TODAY, will be 30 to 40 years old with a family of their own and will STILL be paying off this debt. I thought YOU WANTED TO LEAVE YOU KIDS A BETTER LIFE, NOT A LIFE OF SERVITUDE TO democrat controlled local governments. I hope they can afford to buy and keep a house while paying exorbitant taxes that get higher with each passing year.
It’s YOUR CHOICE. Keep electing liberal free spending democrats who will keep you in debt forever OR ELECT REPUBLICANS. REPUBLICANS ARE NOT PERFECT BUT THEY ARE THOUGHTFUL, AND KNOW HOW TO RESPECT AND SAFEGUARD YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
WE MUST STOP THE MADNESS! IN EVERY ELECTION FOR EVERY OFFICE, from dog catcher, to local, county, state and federal offices, VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS. IF YOU DON’T, YOU, YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS WILL PAY THE PRICE!
i sing your song but can’t stomach your leaderschijt t)rump.
Marklsparkl,
Thanks for agreeing with my song. It does tell a frightening but true story. Okay you can’t stomach Trump. PRESIDENT TRUMP is not perfect, nobody is. The question for you now is do you agree with song more than you dislike Trump, the conductor and can you live with the consequences of a conductor of your choice who would sing an entirely different song. If not, loosing up your vocal cords, hold your nose if you must, and sing along. The chorus is growing larger every day.
i play the guitar daily & can sing. open mike ! if u sing in shower or when doing chores then we belong in the x % of humans that recognize & like music/sound. wut do u think the % is ? i know people who dislike it. i often lie in this forum. i was just recently readmitted to the yahoo comments section which is an echo chamber. this forum is centrist – the best
President Donald J. Trump is a great man with a vision for America
he certainly thinks so
And so do I.
You are right, but the minority voting-majority ensures Democrat control. They want their free stuff. Make-work jobs being one of the handouts. Such as 800+ “workers” in social services alone.
“There is no free lunch”. All these taxes are paid by everyone who lives in Guilford-Gotcha, or just spends money here. The Democrat-uneducated masses don’t have a clue.
The only real solution I can think of is to get outta the County, which I have done.
these 800+ could be effectively replaced by local citizen taxpayers doing local voluntary ‘public service’ that will REDUCE their tax bill enough to make it worthwhile & THE JOB GETS DONE efficiently & well.
moving into the renovated ugly building pictured, a child will ask ‘which rectangle of glass is ours’ ? home sweet unit with the odor of urine in stairwell & elevator. add the > probability of having a deviant neighbor. call me mr sunshine. a tent in a forest looks more attractive . . . until i get 10k neighbors who r all destitute & infectious. like santa monica & venice beach go look