Apartments planned for old Vance Hotel in downtown Statesville

Richard Angino can see beyond the vacant rooms and eerie hallways that make up the interior of the old Vance Hotel.

He sees open concept luxury apartments, lofts and retail spaces.

Angino, owner of Winston Salem-based development company Third Wave Housing, gave an update to Statesville City Council members Monday night.

He said that after extensive research, the best course of action will be to transform the upper four floors into rental apartments.

His company has been working with the City of Statesville -- the building's owner -- since the start of this year to complete the major renovation.

“We also gathered information on the current market and what is needed in the marketplace,” Angino said.

Over the last several weeks, Angino has looked into options such as condos for purchase.

“But especially after the housing market crash, we couldn’t really find examples in this market where condos were really working,” Angino said. “The main push is rentals.”

The former Vance Hotel will have a mixture of 36 apartments, 21 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom units on the second, third, fourth and fifth floors.

Each will vary between 700-square-feet and 1,100-square-feet.

Angino and his team want to create a variety of different spaces on the first floor. 

The hotel’s current lobby will be turned into commercial space for something like a small grocery store, but the final use won’t be determined until the project nears completion, Angino said. 

The back section of the building near the parking lot will be developed into four loft apartments, each about 1,100-square-feet.

Angino said he wanted to build larger units to accommodate larger families. Angino and Prosser said they plan to meet with the council more frequently as the project progresses.

The city purchased the hotel for $475,000 in 2012. Renovations are expected to begin in 2017, according to an agreement between the city and Third Wave reached earlier this year.

During the same meeting, council members also:

» Approved an economic incentive for Statesville-based business under the code name “Project Sparrow.” The company will receive $952,000 from the city based on a total investment of $70 million. The investment includes $66 million in new equipment as well as a new $4 million expansion. Project Sparrow plans to create 25 new jobs each paying about $25 per hour with full benefits, said Statesville Regional Development Interim Director John Marek. Expansion will begin sometime in early 2017.

» Approved an economic incentive for code name “Project Nike.” The Statesville-based business will invest a total of $38.1 million, with about $22 million in construction costs and $16 million in equipment, while creating or retaining 250 new jobs. The incentive would come in the form of a $680,000 grant based on a six-year plan.

» Approved site plans for the future Publix. The 45,600-square-foot grocery store will have a drive-thru for a pharmacy and about 329 parking spaces. The entire project, both land and building, is estimated to cost a total of $7.78 million, said David Currier, City of Statesville planning director.

» Condemned three properties at 1008, 1100 and 1324 4th Streets.

» Approved the first reading to annex a 3.76-acre property that will be added to the current 5-acre future Publix property at 134 Venture Lane near Turnersburg Highway. Council members will hold a second reading at their next meeting on Aug. 15.