I rode one of our prototype Wackemall mopeds to the old Revolution Mill yesterday. Sooner or later I'm going to get a speeding ticket on that thing. I remember thinking someone should open a restaurant or bring a food truck to the mill as it was lunch time and I was hungry. It bothers me to see new buildings being built all over the county-- many of them at great expense to the taxpayers-- when perfectly useable buildings like the historic Revolution Mill are left to rot to the ground.
That's why I'm happy to read that Greensboro born and raised, Martin Eakes, of Self Help Credit Union is refusing to sell Revolution Mill to developers, choosing instead to restore the historic building himself and continue plans for a multiple use facility much like the American Tobacco Campus in Durham which Martin Eakes and Self Help also had a hand in.
As a matter of fact, Mr Eakes envisions Revolution Mill becoming even a bigger economic driver for Greensboro than the American Tobacco Campus has been for Durham and to make the project a reality he's bringing in Mr Eddie Belk, the architect who designed the now famous American Tobacco Campus. And if Martin Eakes says it you can count on it to happen. This is a guy why started out with a bake sale and now runs one of the largest credit unions in the United States if not the world.
Of course, if Martin Eakes is right then Downtown will no longer be the place to be in Greensboro. As if it ever really was. And he's making it happen without BID taxes or a board made up of "stakeholders" ready to screw everyone who happens to want to come walking down the street. Get ready to see Downtown property values plummet, Parking? They used to park tractor-trailers and trains there. Revolution Mill has parking out the wazoo! 10,000 people used to work inside that mill every day.
And don't forget, the old Proximity Printworks plant is only about 2000 feet to the northeast of Revolution with the same thing planned for it. Downtown is so screwed.
Want to know why Greensboro lags behind Durham and other North Carolina cities? Ask Martin Eakes, I promise his answer will not include a need for a downtown performing arts center.
And don't forget, Hell Day returns on Monday!
