High-end apartments to come to Salisbury’s city center
Published 12:00 am Sunday, June 23, 2019
Ben Fisher points out the original brick and block masonry work that will be sealed but visible to the occupants of the Innes Street facing apartment. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Each apartment will come with a parking spot. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Part of the living room and the bedroom beyond the framed-in wall are taking shape. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Ben Fisher shows one of several mule shoes that were located in the dirt that was removed to make way for the new side entrances. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Ben Fisher gives a brief tour of the new downtown apartments called 132 Flats located at East Innes and North Lee streets. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
The open floor plan accommodates a living room and kitchen in the front apartment. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — Upscale apartments are coming to Salisbury’s downtown, designed to attract people in search of an urban lifestyle.
Fisher Reality is bringing the high-end apartments to the corner of East Innes and North Lee streets, said project manager Ben Fisher. There will be four roughly 800- to 850-square-foot flats, Fisher said, each with an open-concept living area, walk-in closet, laundry room, parking space, and access to basement storage.
The apartments will have 12-foot ceilings that will give them a spacious, older-building feel, he said. Outside, each apartment will have a small porch. The apartment farthest from Innes Street will be have a 9-foot-wide patio, he added.
Each flat will be designed to have a slightly different appeal from those of its neighbors, Fisher said.
Simply put, he said, the traditional-style, street-level apartments haven’t existed in Salisbury until now.
The project’s inception came roughly 18 months ago, about six months after Fisher’s father, Luke Fisher, completed the 516 Flats project, located at 516 W. Innes St.
Those apartments have been a big success, Fisher said. Tenants liked having apartments downtown, and it was more profitable than keeping the space as offices, he said.
Fisher said both projects have drawn attention from people out of town who are looking for a traditional, downtown lifestyle.
Having a few new residents downtown can really change the energy of a town Salisbury’s size, he said.
Though the new flats will have a modern, open concept, they will retain elements of the 100-year-old building’s historic charm, Fisher said. The building was originally an automobile dealership. In the 1930s, it was the home of Salisbury Motor Co.
During the 1940s, when it was a rubber retreading shop, the building caught fire and most of it burned down. But most of the facades on Lee and Innes streets survived. These were incorporated into the new design to capture some of the historic character, Fisher said.
The building become Ketner’s grocery store in the 1950s. For the past 30 years, it has been used as office space. Fisher Realty has owned the property for 20 years.
Fisher Reality is working with Charlotte-based Performance Point company to meet the silver level certification of the National Green Building Standard, Fisher said. If successfully certified, the flats will be the first in Salisbury to have this certification, he said.
That is possible, in part, because of the flats’ location in the heart of the downtown, Fisher said. The Amtrak station is within walking distance, and public bus routes run nearby. People can walk to restaurants and shops as well, he said.
Inside, the apartments will have bells and whistles to help meet the certification. They include improvements to water efficiency, indoor air quality, durability and resource efficiency, Fisher said.
Security was also taken into account, Fisher said. Outside the apartments, galvanized-steel fencing will be installed, allowing residents to close and lock their porches.
The flats will likely be marketed in the $1,400 to $1,500 per month range, Fisher said. The flats are expected to be completed by October, in time for October Tour, the annual tour of historic homes.
Contact reporter Samuel Motley at 704-797-4264.
