Major Downtown Winston-Salem Development Awaits City Council Decision

A 1-million square-foot development project planned in Winston-Salem is waiting for the city to make decisions on parking before it can move forward. Atlanta-based developer Brand Properties proposed the Brookstown District at BB&T Ballpark in May.

The Triad Business Journal's Kristin Zachary has been reporting on its progress, which has slowed over the last several months. For this week's business report, she tells WFDD's Emily McCord that it's a substantial project that could be a big boost for downtown Winston-Salem if it can clear those final hurdles.

The property would surround the BB&T Ballpark with retail, office space, as well as hotel and luxury residential apartments. It would include the possible construction of a 30,000 square-foot grocery store. But nothing can move forward until the city decides whether it can afford two parking decks estimated at $16 million. The city would have to purchase the decks from Brand Properties by taking out a loan, which would eventually be paid back through taxes and revenue from the parking decks themselves. 

Zachary says the development hinges on the deal, since Brand Properties would not find the project viable otherwise. 

"I think we're expecting a decision in the coming weeks from city council as to whether they can crunch those numbers and make it work," says Zachary. "If it's positive, construction could begin in as little as 90 days after that."

An earlier project proposed didn't work out at the site. Zachary reports that if the city can't make the deal work this time, there will be other development opportunities. But she says there's a lot of optimism and excitement from the city surrounding this project. 

"Mayor Allen Joines says that he's confident that Brand Properties can pull this off because they have the wherewithal financially to really make this project come together granted that the parking deck situation gets resolved."

The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal.