High Point breaks ground on downtown redevelopment with 143 apartments

High Point’s long-vacant Showplace West building moved from promise to construction as Elwood on Main began a roughly $30 million conversion that will bring 143 apartments and two commercial spaces to South Main Street. City leaders are casting the project as more than a renovation, calling it a test of whether downtown can turn a historic shell into steady residents, stronger storefront demand and a broader tax base.

The building, originally known as One Plaza Center, began construction in 1972 and became a fixture of downtown life by 1974, when First Citizens Bank was an anchor tenant. Nobel’s restaurant operated there until 2009, and after showroom use faded, the building sat vacant for nearly 15 years. Downtown High Point received the property as a donation from ANDMORE in 2019, but deed restrictions barred a return to showroom use, leaving housing and mixed-use redevelopment as the clearest path forward.

LBD Investments, the Richmond, Virginia-based firm led by Randy Cosby and Andrew Hampton, bought the property for $300,000 in April 2026. The project has also been described at about $32 million when historic tax credits are included, underscoring how tightly the financing depends on preservation tools. The building is recognized as the first 1970s-era building in North Carolina listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and officials say the redevelopment must keep the facade and windows intact while modernizing the interior.

That preservation requirement gives Elwood on Main a different kind of weight than a typical apartment project. The plan calls for a fitness center, yoga studio, club room, a resident lounge carved out of the renovated glass pyramid space, and outdoor gathering areas with grilling stations and fire pits. Construction is expected to take about 18 months, and the real benchmark will be whether the new residents produce the year-round traffic downtown businesses have lacked outside High Point Market and office hours.

Rebekah Cansler, president and CEO of Downtown High Point, has argued that downtown residents will change the business mix by supporting restaurants, salons and accountants on an everyday basis. The project also adds another piece to a larger downtown strategy that includes Truist Point Stadium, the greenway system and nearby investment at Congdon Yards. The city says the stadium was intended to help spur private development and improve the tax base by $100 million over 10 years, a target that makes Elwood on Main part of a longer economic turnaround rather than a standalone building conversion.