RENOVATION REPORT: Work on old textile building begins again

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Renovations that began in 2008 on a historic textile building on Wilkinson Boulevard in west Charlotte are finally coming to fruition for Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca, and its parent company, Meca Real Estate Services LLC.

The 60,000-square-foot building, which is now named Dyestuff Commercial Lofts, was built in 1939 and originally owned by General Dyestuff Corp., which produced dyes that were supplied to nearby textile mills. Most recently, Syncot Fibers Inc. of Gaston County used the building to store scrap textile materials.

In 2008, Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca formed Dyestuff LLC with Doerre Construction and Design Resource Group, and purchased the building with plans to renovate it and move in. Both Doerre Construction and Design Resource Group have since moved into the building, but the recession put Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca’s plans on hold.

Rob Pressley, president of Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca, said that with the real estate industry back up and running, it was time for his company to make moves on finally finishing what it started.

Renovations started last week for the first-floor space that Coldwell Banker plans to move into, and are expected to be completed by the first week of June.

Half of the 10,000 square feet of space on the first floor will serve as the Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca’s new headquarters, and the other half will be occupied by Meca Real Estate Services LLC. Coldwell Banker Commercial Meca’s existing offices are on South Tryon Street in South End, and Pressley said that about half of the company’s 100 employees would be moving into the building.

When the renovations began in 2008, the building was stripped, all of the exterior work was completed, and — other than 10 bare office suites — the interior work was completed. Some of that space will be leased to tenants, whom, Pressley said, will “upgrade the space accordingly,” Pressley said.

In order to keep the design of the building grounded in its historical roots, the lobby’s original terrazzo floors, porcelain tile walls and aluminum staircase handrails were kept intact, as was a 76-year-old elevator and elevator shaft that was converted into a lobby for an entrance added to the east side of the building.

Pressley described the aesthetic of the building as a “contrast between the old and the new,” and said that would apply to the first floor renovations as well.

The interior concrete and brick walls will remain exposed, and unique to the first floor are stone columns that support the building’s 18-foot ceilings.

“It’s a beautiful example of art-deco-meets-Southern-style architecture,” Pressley said.

The space will be furnished with German-manufactured office furniture, and will include five conference rooms, a board room, a training room and a kitchen that will house one of two custom-made, farmhouse-style tables. The other table will be in the training room.

Pressley said he was excited to move the company into the Dyestuff Commercial Lofts for two reasons.

“(It’s) finally realizing what we envisioned six years ago, and the other is being able to accommodate our growing staff in a highly functional, well-located office space,” he said.

Project: Dyestuff Commercial Lofts

Address: 2459 Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte

Architect: ai Design Group

Contractor: Doerre Construction Co. LLC

Space: 10,000 square feet

Cost: $700,000

Construction Start: April 2015

Construction Finish:  June 2015