Oct 29, 2001

New Face for an Old Mill

By MICHAEL ROESSLER
The Mooresville tribune

Plans to turn the old Burlington Mills plant into a business park for the racing industry appear to be back on track after months of uncertainty.

Although no plans have been finalized, representatives with the firm responsible for designing the renovations said last week that the building's owners are going to soon begin seeking out tenants for Victory Lane Mills -- the working-name of the business park on South Main Street south of downtown Mooresville.

In a presentation to the board of directors of the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Rob Richardson of Little & Associates -- which is designing the renovations to the old textile mill -- said the initial concept for Victory Lane Mills includes suppliers for the racing industry, publishing companies to promote the racing industry, a restaurant, a go-cart track, an amphitheater for gatherings of large groups, and a museum chronicling the history of Mooresville.

He stressed that none of the concepts have yet been transformed into plans, and no tenants have signed for the new facility, which he estimated will be occupied in two to three years.

Richardson also said he thought this project would help revitalize the downtown area. "We really think this project is a part of that redevelopment," he said.

The announcement that plans to transform the old mill into a racing-themed business park comes after Burlington, which no longer owns the facility, retracted its previous announcement that such a transformation would definitely occur.

In April 2000, Burlington Industries officials had announced plans to renovate the facility to accommodate a racing-themed business park. But this January, company officials said that announcement was premature.

Then in March, local business officials said they believed the facility's renovation would begin this spring. It did not.

In June, Burlington then sold the old mill to Raleigh-based Cherokee Investment Partners. Company officials there said the racing-themed business park would be considered, but so would other projects.

Burlington closed the mill in the summer of 1999 after more than a century of producing textiles.