Wilcox Emporium will close for new mixed-use building
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The Wilcox Emporium isn’t exactly getting a facelift, but it will have a whole new interior look by next year.
The emporium, located on Howard Street in downtown Boone, opened nearly 12 years ago with a variety of “mini-stores” and retail booths under one roof.

The building’s owner, Roger Wright, has now planned to go a little more “metro” and convert the series of three buildings into a mix of residential and office use. The current emporium will close by year’s end.

Wright’s request for water allocation for 11 apartments, along with five or six apartments in a related project under another development group, was approved by the Boone Town Council in October.

According to Wilcox, the Thai restaurant, Cha Da Thai, will remain in business and will undergo an expansion and remodel.

The interior will incorporate private dining rooms, customer waiting areas, a new bar area, and a commissary area for the self-creation of sauces and take-out foods.

The upstairs of the current emporium will include a mix of apartments. The downstairs portion could be mixed-use retail or office space. Wright anticipated the apartments would be leased in the spring and ready for occupation before summer.

“The town of Boone has a long-range plan, like many towns,” Wright said.

“For larger cities, with a lot of buildings in downtowns, there’s demand for the upper levels in a number of buildings that have been vacant to become apartments.”

Wright said he’d considered a blend of residential and commercial use for the building when he decided to go with the emporium more than a decade ago, but said the timing is now better for such a mixed use.

Boone’s growth and its popularity as a cultural and sports destination has increased demand for upscale living quarters, and Wright said professionals might rent offices in the same building where they live.

This would allow them to park their cars and rarely use them, being able to access most of their needs by walking. Increases in gas prices have also boosted interest in pedestrian-friendly living.

Wright envisioned professionals such as lawyers, architects, counselors or health practitioners using the office space, sharing a common foyer with the residential areas, though they would occupy separate levels.

To protect the integrity of the original architecture, the apartments will be designed to fit existing walls, elevators and stairwells.

Wilcox said the front of the complex would be enhanced with large window openings to allow more natural light.

The patio will remain, with certain areas being covered to allow for alfresco dining and gathering spaces for use in inclement weather. The apartments will be a mix of efficiencies, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units.

The center section of the main floor level will be transformed into a retail mall, hosting five to seven retail businesses or professional offices.

The spaces will retain the antique wood flooring and have individual windows for natural light and are already open for lease.

Wright said the vendors in the emporium were aware of the changes and had month-to-month leases that will end in December.

However, he said some vendors had talked about joining resources and leasing some of the newly converted space.

“It is our hope that several of our emporium vendors, who have been with us since day one, will remain and continue to provide their merchandise as they have for nearly 12 years,” Wright said.

Two of the structures were built in 1935 by General Grant Wilcox and used as a drug and herb warehouse.

The third building was constructed in 1942 and, because of war shortages, employed steel from a suspension bridge in its supporting framework.

Wright said the positive energy of downtown growth and interest in upscale apartments had made the renovation an idea whose time has come. “Everything that’s happening has been very positive,” Wright said.

Tuesdae Rice, director of the Downtown Boone Development Association, said vendors in the Wilcox Emporium could probably find other spaces or booths in the downtown area if they wished. She said Artwalk and the Shoppes at Farmers Hardware both had available spaces for rent.