[Matthew]

Winston-Salem is worth looking into. They are great at adaptive reuse projects. They've turned old factories and warehouses, some dating back to the 1830s, into almost anything you can think of. Schools, retail, a distillery, a brewery, a hotel, research labs, offices, government offices, a parking deck, a medical office, and much more. They converted a freight depot into offices. A parts warehouse was converted into a performing arts center two or three years ago. The old Salem Iron Works became a downtown middle school - Going to a school in an old iron works must be awesome! They converted a textile factory into an arts school. An old warehouse was converted into office space for an electric company and a few other businesses. The police evidence storage for Winston-Salem is actually the old B.F. Huntley Furniture Factory! They are currently converting NormalAir Corp's 1966 warehouse into the new City Yard. Recently, the city's museum opened in an old industrial building. The city's visitor's center is an old textile mill, built in the 1880s. The state is considering converting an old industrial building into a state history teacher's training center. A Coca~Cola Bottling Plant is home to a native plants and city archeology research center. I could find many more, but you get the point.

The area you would find most interesting is a place called the IQ District (Innovation Quarter). It's the eastern third of Winston-Salem's downtown. I know you're not interested in residential conversions, so I'll keep it to other uses. This area is attracting thousands of new jobs each year; it's attracting conventions/conferences; the Vice President spoke in one of the building's conference centers recently. It's tech, education, offices, retail, and entertainment. They are even building a streetcar through it.

Some of the noteworthy projects in the IQ District are the conversion of a textile building into an elementary school; A number of old industrial buildings from the 1880s were converted into mixed-use offices and labs with condos on the top floor, during the 1990s. Half of them were lost in a fire in 1998 (while being renovated) though. Also worth noting is the Forsyth Government Center, built over 100 years ago as a warehouse and converted into the county's main office building and meeting center around 2002 or 2003 (Yes, county offices and County Commission meetings are in a renovated industrial building!). The Richardson Romanesque-looking parking deck behind it is obviously an old factory. The Bailey Power Plant, which is being converted into an entertainment/retail/office/conference/innovation center project is a favorite. The smoke stacks for the power plant could become large kaleidoscopes and part of the building will become a dance theatre. There is talk of an art gallery in the power plant too. The old grocery distribution center could become a grocery store and small conference center, operated by the city's Cobblestone Market. Krankies Coffee is ground, roasted, and packed in a former meat packing plant in the IQ District. That meat packing plant is an artist colony, bakery, and live music stage. A glass block building from the 1930s was formerly an engineering center for RJR Nabisco and today is offices and research labs, with ground floor retail spaces. A brick building behind it was once a warehouse, but today is the headquarters for Carolina Liquid Chemistries and also features a conference center, where the Vice President spoke. Across the street is Inmar's new corporate headquarters. Inmar's building was originally home to one giant piece of equipment to convert factory floor scraps into usable product. Biomed Realty Trust converted it into a 4-storey tech office building. Beside that building is a 6-storey tech office building with retail. On the next block is an old warehouse from 1916, being converted into a retail center. The large 6-storey factory building behind that could become the new location for Wake Forest University's School of Medicine. A old castle from the 1880s was a wagon works and today is the headquarters for Black Horse Studios design firm. Winding through the district are former freight rail lines that are becoming an alternative commute project, with bike lanes, walking lanes, and a preserved rail line for future light rail passenger trains. I also love the park made around the foundations of former industrial buildings. Be sure to see the remaining Belgium Block streets from the 1880s and remnants of old streetcar lines from 1889. AURP has said Winston-Salem's tech district is the fastest growing research district/park in the nation.

Also of note: In the IQ District, it's not the city leading it. Developers and research interests are doing it all and going to the extreme of rebuilding the entire street network. The streets they removed had Belgium Blocks under them and they reused them along the sidewalks. Everything on the streetscapes is being replaced, from streetlights to sidewalks, and they are burying the power lines. Also notice they flattened the terrain and daylighted the Bath Waterway, which was piped underground to build an International Railport around 100 years ago. Amazing development, valued in the billions, and toured each year by many cities.