Good idea, bad time

A plan to transform the 110-year-old Washington Mills building in Mayodan into a professional retreat with an emphasis on promoting the natural environment is a great idea.
Unfortunately, right now that’s all it is. And, quite frankly, we’d be surprised if this project – as well intentioned as it might be – is ever realized. The old building along the Mayo River has been the source of conjecture and rumors for years, spawning ideas for potential uses that included upscale apartments and museums.
A group of investors bought the building in 2001, which has sat mostly vacant since Tultex declared bankruptcy in early December 1999 and moved out.
Dale Swiggett, editor and publisher of Waterfront Sportsman magazine and a partner in the project, helped develop the master plan for the proposed complex, which includes using a portion of the building to teach continuing education courses on environmental subjects.
“These courses would be ideal for continuing education credits for professional people like attorneys, accountants, engineers, architects or elected officials,” Don Yelton, an environmental specialist from Asheville, told News Editor Steve Lawson last week. The complex, according to the plans, would also house a retail shopping area, restaurant, a theater for live entertainment, health club and office space, as well as a planned Gospel Hall of Fame.
The partners have spent about $1.2 on the design phase of the project and have secured about $20 million in historic-preservation tax credits. The project, however, is now expected to cost some $50 million. In case you haven’t noticed, banks, investors and other financial institutions aren’t exactly in a giving mood, particularly when it comes to speculative projects.
Call us skeptical, but we don’t expect any plan that doesn’t include hundreds of jobs and an immediate economic shot in the arm to garner mass public approval. It’s a fine idea, but the timing—especially in a county that was struggling financially even before the current deep recession – just isn’t right.