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Revolution Mill adds new retail, apartments; new restaurants, brewery to open later this year

Photo from the 2005 Ribbon Cutting Event

The owners of Revolution Mill recently marked the second phase of development at the campus with the opening of a new retail, apartment and office building.

Officially known as 2005 Revolution Mill, the five-story, 145,000-square-foot building is located at 2005 Yanceyville Road.

The Revolution Mill campus was formerly the site of a flannel mill founded by the Cone brothers around 1900. The mill ceased manufacturing operations in the early 1980s.

The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure was seen as significant in part because it was believed to be the South’s first flannel mill and the structures represented “the most intact of the turn-of-the century Cone-affiliated textile mills in Greensboro,” according to the preservation paperwork filed in 1984.

Since taking ownership of the property in 2012, Self-Help Ventures, a nonprofit development group based in Durham, has been working to redevelop it, putting in apartments, two restaurants, event spaces and offices for more than 100 groups and organizations.

2005 Revolution Mill is located in a space that previously served as a warehouse for the mill, Revolution Mill General Manager Nick Piornack said. He said it cost $38 million to develop the building, an amount which included about $17 million in state and federal tax credits.

The brick facade retains the look of an old mill while the inside has been modernized. In the case of the 2005 building, that meant opening it up to allow light in the formerly dark warehouse building. Much of that light comes through the glass ceiling.

The floors are original and while they have been sanded and sealed, some cracks are still visible.

The site now includes the medical spa Restoration Medspa as well as a nail salon which uses steam rather than water and a jeweler from South America. The building includes 33 apartments and office space for companies such as Cone Denim.

Piornack said he expects the entire building will be fully occupied by the end of the year. Several new drinking and dining options are currently planned for 2005 Revolution Mill and an adjacent building.

A taco restaurant will open by the end of this year in the 2005 building while Winston-Salem-based Incendiary Brewing will be opening a taproom in an adjacent building.

The brewery acknowledged the plans in a Facebook post earlier this month.

“The new space will open up to a large courtyard common area and feature our signature black walnut furniture and glowing bar inside. We’ll bring more of the live music, community events, and special beer releases that our patrons have come to expect,” the post said.

Piornack said the taproom is expected to open by this fall. Grapes and Grains, a speakeasy-style lounge, will open next to the Incendiary taproom space in June.

“All these restaurants and bars and breweries will all kind of come together to create somewhat of a social, interactive, cultural district so people can go from place to place,” he said. “Currently, we just have the pizzeria and we have Kau restaurant. This will add three more hospitality pieces to the puzzle so looking forward by the end of this year to really have a vibrant campus.”

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Self-Help officially opens $38 million second phase of Revolution Mill

Photo by Carl Wilson

The second phase of Self-Help's $100 million-plus mixed-use project is officially opening, bringing new businesses, more office space and apartments and new and existing restaurant and hospitality concepts to the redevelopment.

2005 Revolution Mill officially opened today as the second phase of Revolution Mill, the mixed-use development in northeast Greensboro by nonprofit community development organization Self-Help Ventures Fund. The redevelopment of the 145,000-square-foot, five-story building for the has been in the works since 2018 and includes retail, office, apartment and restaurant space, all in various stages of completion.

The $38 million project was financed partly with $5.5 million in New Market Tax Credits, $5 million in Federal Historic Tax Credit investment and $6.7 million in State Historic Tax Credit investment, in addition to investment from Self-Help. The project, which Self-Help said "aims to bolster economic development" in the area, also has created an estimated 315 construction jobs and 323 new permanent jobs in the process, according to a release from Self-Help.

Nick Piornack, general manager of Revolution Mill, said the building was originally six floors but the second floor was taken out to provide higher ceilings and more space for the first-floor retailers. In addition, space was taken out of the center of the building to allow for an open atrium, that the upper floors look out onto.

The first-floor retailers include the second location of Restoration Medspa, who's original storefront is in Winston-Salem and the first location of Cure Waterless Nail Spa, which Piornack said have both been open for about eight months. Cure Waterless Nail Spa describes itself as "waterless" and "non-toxic" and offers a variety of nail polishes. Restoration Medspa offers treatments including cool sculpting, botox, hormone therapy and derma-planing. Another store, JS Brand Jewelry, will open this month.

Also on the first floor is co-working space The Grove, which offers "flexible office spaces." Piornack said the space has been open for about six months, and currently has four office spaces open.

The second through fifth floors of the building include office space, with companies including Cone Textiles and CT Wilson Construction already in their spaces, and Shamrock Investment and City Electric moving in soon.

In addition, there are two bars and a potential restaurant that will be opening in the future as part of the second phase of the project. Piornack said Revolution Mill is currently in negotiations for a future 6,000- square-foot Taqueria on the first floor by owners of multiple restaurants in the Triad, though this would be a new concept. He also said there is potential for the space adjacent to the future restaurant that could be used a cultural hub and host events such as comedy shows.

In addition, Piornack said construction will soon be starting on the future site of Incendiary Brewing Co., which will be opening at tap room in Revolution Mill, likely in October. With its first location in Innovation Quarter in Winston-Salem, Piornack said beer will continue to be brewed in Winston-Salem and transported to the Greensboro site. Part of the construction on the space will include installing garage doors into the space that will open out onto the patio and the docks area of Revolution Mill.

Another wine bar concept which will include regular piano concerts will be coming in about four months to an adjacent building, but still as part of the second phase of the project. Piornack said the idea is to be a hospitality concept that will include outdoor entertainment in the summer that patrons of all the bars and restaurant can enjoy, with food from restaurants being available to those at the establishments that will not serve food.

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Get more coverage on the unveiling of Building 2005 here:

Revolution Mill Unveils 2005 Revolution Mill: A New Milestone in East Greensboro

Revolution Mill is thrilled to announce the official opening of its second phase, 2005 Revolution Mill, on Wednesday, May 1st. The celebration will commence from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at 2005 E. Yanceyville Street, Greensboro, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:00 pm followed by a reception, refreshments, and guided tours of the development.

2005, the most recent development on the Revolution Mill Campus, aims to bolster economic development in northeastern Greensboro. This ambitious project by non-profit community development organization Self-Help Ventures Fund has been in the works since 2018, turning a 145,000-square-foot building into a dynamic mixed-use hub featuring residential and commercial tenants, and creating an estimated 315 construction jobs and 323 new permanent jobs in the process.

Built in two phases between 1915 and 1935, the historic five-story building now blends modern aesthetics with industrial heritage, boasting original brick walls, expansive windows, exposed concrete pillars, and polished concrete floors. Significantly, the structure is built atop the recently restored North Buffalo Creek and is situated adjacent to public gathering areas known as “The Stacks” and "The Docks."

Currently, select leasing opportunities are available for the third and fourth floor Class A commercial office spaces. On the first floor, "The Grove" offers flexible office spaces tailored for new businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and three retailers. Excitingly, negotiations are underway for a future 6,000 square foot restaurant within the project, and adjacent to 2005, an upcoming hospitality area is in the works, set to introduce a tap room, bar, additional restaurants and retail spaces in 2025. 

The $38 million dollar project was made possible with $5.5 million in New Market Tax Credits, $5 million in Federal Historic Tax Credit investment, and $6.7 million in State Historic Tax Credit Investment, along with Self-Help’s significant investment. 

For More Information, Contact:

Lee Mortensen, Real Estate Leasing & Marketing Manager, Self-Help, Revolution Mill
Lee.Mortensen@self-help.org
919-956-4455 (direct)

Jenny Shields, Director of Media Relations, Self-Help
jenny.shields@self-help.org
919.794.6798 (direct)
(919) 584-4379 (cell)

Self-Help on track to start $35 million Phase 2 of Revolution Mill in early 2021

The first phase of Revolution Mill, the $91 million mixed-use development in northeast Greensboro, is an unqualified success with 95% occupancy of its 150 loft apartments, three restaurants and more than 100 commercial tenants.

Now Self-Help Credit Union, the owner and developer of Revolution Mill, is now ready to move forward with a $35 million Phase 2 that it hopes to have completed in 2022.

By a vote of 8-0 Monday night, the Greensboro Zoning Commission approved rezoning 3.5 acres to light mixed industrial at 2005 Yanceyville St., clearing the way for a 145,000-square-foot mixed-use development in the Mill House, a five-story building that sits at the front entrance of Revolution Mill.

No one spoke in opposition to the rezoning proposal and no neighbors came forward with any grievances at a public meeting Self-Help organized. Hugh Holston, chairman of the zoning commission, summed up the lack of resistance and the unanimous vote in favor of the rezoning request.

“Revolution Mill has been an outstanding project for Greensboro,” Holston said.

Emma Haney, project manager of the Self-Help real estate team, called the Phase 2 of the project a “mixed-use microcosm” that has been greatly influenced by the success of Phase 1, which was completed in 2019.

“One of the most compelling parts from an underwriter’s perspective and from a real estate developer’s perspective is it’s just a little more of everything we’ve already seen have success in Phase 1,” Haney said. “That’s really informed the thinking for redevelopment of the Mill House.”

Plans call for 33 apartment units, 55,000 square feet of Class A office space, 10,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space and a co-working space. Eighteen of the apartments will be one-bedroom and 15 will be two-bedroom units.

The ground floor of the Mill House features 19-foot-high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows, and plans call for apartments, a co-working space with a mezzanine level and three retail spaces ranging from 1,300 square feet to 5,800 square feet. The largest retail space offers a deck overlooking Buffalo Creek and is seen as potential space for a restaurant. 

“The retail spaces can still be informed by the tenants,” said Haney, who said the campus could support another one to two restaurants. She also suggested a boutique fitness option is another possibility. 

The second through fifth floors will all be a mix of apartments and commercial space, and an atrium in the center of building will extend from the floor to the roof.“The market is at a place that it can comfortably support what we’re bringing online,” Haney said. “When we started Revolution Mill, there wasn’t an apartment market in this area. We’ve created a sub-market.”

Haney termed the area on Yanceyville Street as the Mill District, with Revolution Mill complemented by the 217 units at Printworks Mill Apartments that opened two blocks away earlier this year.

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