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Developer previews plan to restore historic Mangoram Building into mixed-use apartments, seeks city incentive grant
Summary
An architect representing the property owner previewed a plan to convert the historic Mangoram (Mayangooram) Building at Rocky Mount’s 5 Points into eight market-rate apartments and three commercial spaces, and asked the city to consider a major incentive grant; a public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10.
An architect for the project showed Rocky Mount officials preliminary plans to renovate the historic Mangoram (also reported as Mayangooram) Building at the city’s 5 Points intersection into mixed commercial and residential use and requested city incentive support. The developer said the building would house eight market-rate apartments and three commercial storefronts, with the pharmacy space converted to a full-service restaurant.
The presentation was given so council members could see the proposal before a formal public hearing. “We acquired Mangoram almost 2 years ago now, and we've been doing our homework,” the presenter said, describing a preservation-minded rehabilitation that would retain historically significant interior finishes and the entire historic exterior. The council was told a public hearing on the incentive grant is set for Feb. 10 and that the hearing has already been advertised.
The nut of the proposal is preservation plus reuse. The presenter said the building was constructed in 1904 and remains nationally registered; original features such as the soda fountain, granite bar and an early cash register remain in place. A laser 3-D scan found the structure functions as three adjoining masonry buildings, the presenter said, and historic tax credits are part of the financing plan.
Project details presented included a total building area of 12,125 square feet, with eight market-rate apartments (two one-bedroom, five two-bedroom and one three-bedroom) and three commercial spaces along Washington Street and in the pharmacy bay. The developer said there would be no new window openings and that apartment units would be fitted with washer/dryer hookups and central air. The ground-floor restaurant would use the double doors on Rose Street for service access.
On construction and budget, the presenter gave an overall development cost of about $2,750,000, saying the purchase price of the building was $325,000 and the development cost about $2,425,000. He said the developer is requesting roughly $755,000 in city support (the slide and presentation included additional small figures whose meaning was not specified). The presenter also described a site constraint: a city-owned storm sewer that runs beneath the building and will need protection while a new floor is installed; he said the immediate protective work and related sidewalk repairs were presented to the city at a cost shown in the slides of about $100,736.51 (figure presented by the developer).
The presenter described the preservation approach required by the historic-review process and said a historic consultant is on board to pursue historic tax credits. He also showed a preliminary schedule: building permit submittal in the city’s second quarter, construction starting as early as the third quarter, about one year of construction, and a target occupancy by the third quarter of 2026 if the schedule holds.
No formal council vote was taken on the item during the preview; staff said the purpose of the session was to familiarize the council with the plan before the advertised public hearing.
Questions and clarifications from staff and council focused on the sewer pipe beneath the building and confirmation that the city owns that storm sewer, and on which parts of the building are historically significant and therefore required to be preserved under the tax-credit process.
