Dayvault’s Drug Store Building: Lenoir

2019 NC Main Street Award: ECONOMIC VITALITY

Best Endangered Properties Rescue Effort

• Plaster Architecture

• Tavio and Denise Martinez

• Preservation North Carolina

• North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office

• Lenoir Main Street Program

• City of Lenoir

Watch Video HERE

Narrowly saved from demolition, the Dayvault Drug Store Building at 122 South Boundary Street in Downtown Lenoir has been a fantastic rehabilitation project for the City that demonstrates the infectious power of revitalizing older properties.

The Lenoir Main Street Program worked closely with the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center and Preservation North Carolina to find an alternative to demolition for this extremely distressed building. Preservation North Carolina acquired the property and sold it to the current owner for $10,000. Using a budget of less $200,000 and nonprofit support, this severely distressed building in Downtown Lenoir is now a vibrant and attractive property. Today, the property is home to a local boutique on the lower floor and a charming apartment on the upper floor.

The rehabilitation of the Dayvault’s Drug Store building in downtown Lenoir began a chain of events in the area that has led to a fervor of downtown historic preservation and revitalization efforts. Preservation North Carolina connected the City with developers that have purchased mill and warehouse properties for renovation, additional National Register downtown districts have been established, and new historic tax credit projects are currently underway. Further, the owner of the building documented his redevelopment process through a blog, further educating the local and neighboring communities on historic tax credit projects.