Langdale looks for a facelift

If city leaders get their wish, the Langdale Mill won’t house looms and thread spools anymore, but will instead be home to retail businesses, offices, a grocery store, banquet hall and artisan studios.

At least that’s the plan.

Residents can expect to see the plan begin this June when a farmer’s market opens up on the Langdale site.

Jim Jones, executive director of the Valley Community Development Corporation, the organization charged with redeveloping the mills in the Langdale and Riverview communities, said the rest the redevelopment plan’s first phase at Langdale could be finished in 18 to 22 months, but that’s only if the VCDC had the entire $10 million it would cost to renovate the north section of the property, approximately 90,000 square feet.

The city and VCDC have acquired approximately $750,000 in various grants so far. However, opportunities for the city to receive additional grants have increased now that Valley has been declared a Preserve America Community.

The Preserve America program recognizes and designates communities, including neighborhoods in large cities, that protect and celebrate their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs.

Martha Cato, a member of the Valley Historic Commission, said seeking the designation was a logical step for city leaders who have spent years searching for ways to create heritage tourism opportunities around the textile mills. Preserve America meant national distinction for the city and access to new and more grants for redevelopment projects.

“As we started working, we realized these two pieces go together,” she said. “It all kind of stems from the mills.”

The mills at Langdale and Riverview were established more than 100 years before the city itself, and, yet, they’re a part of Valley’s history no one wants to overlook. Jones said the city and the VCDC want to be able to preserve the area’s textile history and emphasize economic and community development.

“We think they can go hand in hand,” he said. “You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.”

Plans to redevelop the rest of the Langdale Mill have yet to be finalized, but currently include a hotel and conference center and a textile museum, Jones said. Besides grants, he said they are interested in public/private partnerships to help cover the potentially large costs of the project plans.

Plans at Riverview haven’t been determined yet, however Jones said the building is about half the size of Langdale and is more historically intact.

“I see how important history is and how people seek it out so much,” Cato said. “The textile industry is pretty unique. It’s part of our history and our national history, too.”