The Town of Vinton’s efforts to redevelop the historic Gish’s Mill, formerly known as Holdren’s Country Store, were given a major boost late last month when Governor Ralph Northam announced that the project would be given a $468,750 Industrial Revitalization Fund award.
The funding will be used to prepare the 14,000-square-foot mixed-use site for use as a restaurant, speakeasy, seasonal market and lodging rooms.
Pete Peters, town manager, says, “It has been a very well supported project. It will generate revenue for the town that we can then invest into other infrastructure.”
He hopes the site will give Vinton residents a reason to stay in the town when seeking recreational activities. Additionally, he is hopeful that it will lead to more visitors to the town.
The project is expected to create 37 full-time and part-time jobs.
The lodging component will likely include Airbnb setups. The restaurant will include both in-door and out-door seating. The seasonal market will offer local products along the lines of jellies, jams, bread, produce and ham. The speakeasy will offer a tasting room with hidden doors.
“The project is important to residents. It’s another sign of positive redevelopment in the town,” Peters says. “We’ve had a number of successes in the last four or five years and this is just continuing that momentum. Each time we achieve something like this, it tends to open another door for another project. It has a lot of people paying attention to Vinton.”
The site, which is located on the banks of Glade Creek, has played a significant role in the history of the town, having been operated continuously since the 1770s. Until 1884, the Vinton area was known as Gish’s Mill. The historic mill is displayed on the town’s seal.
“It is the founding structure of the Town of Vinton,” Peters explains. “It was the center of commerce for the town.”
The town purchased the Gus Nicks Boulevard site in 2015 when the family that operated Holdren’s Country Store decided to retire. The town is in the process of selling it to a local development group, which has private financing committed for the purchase and renovation.
Peters explains that following the purchase, the town performed environmental and structural assessments on the site. From there, conceptual planning was performed to show what the site could eventually become.
Requests for proposals were solicited, which eventually led to a purchase agreement between the town and developers David Hill and David Trinkle in April. Once the agreement was in place, a budget was developed for the project and grants were actively sought.
“It is a very challenged site because of its age,” Peters notes regarding the need for additional funding.
A Department of Historic Resources grant was obtained for the stabilization and formalization of state and national historical designations for the site.
According to Peters, the Industrial Revitalization Fund grant “will be used to take the structure to a more modern building code, including new electrical and new plumbing. It will shore up the roofing. It will preserve the site and make it usable.”
Additional private funding will outfit the structure for its intended future use.
Peters says he’s hopeful that construction to stabilize the site will be able to start in the spring or summer of 2021. Construction will likely last between 15 and 18 months.
Although the process is fluid depending upon how quickly construction can be completed, Peters says that the site will likely open for business in two years.
The redevelopment of Gish’s Mill is just one of several efforts by the town to breathe new life into preexisting structures.
“We are a built out community. We are just three square miles. There isn’t much developable green space, so we have focused our efforts on repurposing existing structures that are perhaps underutilized,” Peters says.
Other recent redevelopment projects by the town have included the transition of old school buildings into apartment complexes and the conversion of a library into a Macado’s Restaurant. Additionally, the former Vinton Motor Company site was turned into a mixed-use site.
“We’re trying to recruit developers to take existing structures,” Peters says. “We’re trying to fill out our downtown. We want to utilize these large vacant structures.”
About the Author:
Aila Boyd is an educator and journalist who resides in Roanoke. She holds an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University.
