Historic O.O. Rufty Building Fire Restoration: Salisbury

2019 NC Main Street Award: ECONOMIC VITALITY

Best Adaptive Reuse Project

• Michael & Diane Young

• The Bogle Firm Architecture

• Downtown Salisbury, Inc.

• City of Salisbury

Located at 126 East Innes Street, the historic O.O. Rufty building in Downtown Salisbury has been recently transformed into a trifecta mixed-use development.

Once the home for a beloved general store in Downtown Salisbury, the building burned in 2015 and stood vacant for several years. The 1930s era building needed extensive repairs and attention to bring it back to its historic charm. As the property is located on a main thoroughfare entrance into Downtown Salisbury, the city and Downtown Salisbury, Incorporated understood the impact of finding a new use for this damaged property and were eager to assist with this productive renovation.

Totaling more than $1.6 million, the O.O. Rufty renovation was financially supported by over $159,000 in Downtown Revitalization and Façade grants from the City of Salisbury as well as federal and state historic tax credits.

The O.O. Rufty renovation is a great example of mixed-use development of a structure with retail, residential, and storage all being incorporated into the building. The residential apartments have been particularly popular and have provided much-need moderate housing stock in the Downtown. This revitalized property has filled several economic needs for Downtown Salisbury, while also revitalizing the entrance into the downtown district.

Congratulations to this Main Street community for its 2019 award.