Last month’s grand opening of The Loading Dock – Wake Forest drew a festive crowd of residents, community leaders, and curiosity seekers. But the early December celebration doesn’t spell the end of creative re-development efforts along the town’s South White Street corridor.
“Before” of 535 S. White Street, Wake Forest
Atlas Stark Holdings, a Raleigh-based commercial real estate company with an eye for adaptive re-use opportunities, has acquired a 1.75-acre property adjacent to The Loading Dock and has plans to add retail, dining, and office space to Wake Forest’s growing roster of downtown destinations. The site houses the former Welsh Warehouse, a 16,200-sq.-ft. building that has stood at the property since 1962.
“We’re working through site-plan development right now and hope to submit it to the Town for review in the next two months,” says Hunter Diefes, development associate at Atlas Stark. The firm aims to re-develop the long-vacant building in a way that complements the amenities of The Loading Dock next door. Among the options are a food hall, a brewery, independent restaurants and even boutique office space. “We have some room to work with,” Diefes says.
“After” Rendering of 535 S. White Street
Founded in 2017, Atlas Stark is a full-service commercial development, leasing, and management company. The firm is involved in re-development efforts along downtown Raleigh’s West Street corridor between Wade Avenue and Peace Street. Its portfolio also includes the Bearded Bee, a 5,625-sq.-ft. former warehouse in downtown Wendell as well as multiple adaptive reuse projects in downtown Clayton, including the new Crawford Cookshop.
The most visible example of the company’s work is currently Raleigh’s East End Market, an adaptive reuse project in the increasingly dynamic area between the Five Points and Mordecai neighborhoods. East End Market is a food and beverage destination anchoring a broader mixed-use re-development initiative adjacent to Dock 1053, home to the original Loading Dock Raleigh. “We love to preserve the character of a neighborhood – making an existing structure the focal point,” Diefes explains. “We prefer it that way.”
In bringing its re-development visions into reality, Atlas leverages a network of partnerships and counts on conducive relationships with economic development offices. “We consider the municipalities we work with as partners,” Diefes says. “Our goal is to improve the communities where we own properties, and it’s hard to do that without a close relationship with local government.”
Jason Cannon, president of the Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership, says Atlas Stark shares the town’s philosophy of preserving older buildings in a way that enhances, not disrupts, the heritage of a community. “We’re confident Hunter and his team can preserve the character of the Welsh Warehouse in a way that boosts downtown Wake Forest’s appeal to businesses, residents, and visitors,” Cannon says. “The company’s interest in our community says all the right things about our reputation as quality, value-oriented destination for investment.”
Drawing interest from innovative development firms such as Atlas Stark began with the Town’s commitment to public infrastructure and amenities downtown. “Our strategy has been to build off of Wake Forest’s historic district and spread opportunities elsewhere downtown beyond that core,” Cannon says. “The Loading Dock and the Welsh Warehouse are pulling that vision forward, proving that the Town’s early product development planning was right on point.”
Atlas Stark’s Diefes agrees that the Town’s investment in parking, pedestrian accessibility and streetscape improvements piqued his company’s interest in Wake Forest. So too does the Town’s fast growth and small-town feel. “That was very attractive to us,” Diefes says. He and his associates have also been impressed with the support they’ve found from the Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership. “Jason and his program have been more than accommodating and have reached out to us with good ideas,” he says. “They’ve been very easy to work with.”
Atlas hopes to begin construction at 535 S. White Street by the end of 2022. Build-out should take about eight months, Diefes says, with an eye toward completion sometime in the fall of 2023. “We’re moving as quickly as we can,” he says.
