After sitting empty for years following the closure of Dan River Inc., the 100-year-old White Mill building is officially on its way to its second life as a commercial and residential development along the river.
Officials and hundreds of residents in the Dan River Region came out to a groundbreaking for the $85 million Dan River Falls project Thursday morning.
“Can’t you feel the excitement?” Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said to the crowd. “I am very excited. Here today, we celebrate the transformation of the Dan River Mill No. 8.”
During his remarks at the event, Jones recalled when Dan River closed it doors and shuttered operations in 2006. He remembered the economic and emotional impact the closure had on the community.
Officials break ground on the $85 million White Mill redevelopment project Thursday morning in Danville.
“City Council and city staff knew our citizens were looking for answers,” Jones said. “We had to get real busy and get busy quick.”
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The city had to take a different approach and began forming partnerships and building the framework for revitalizing the River District, planting the seeds for growth, he said.
“Today, I’m proud to say I can stand before you and tell you that our city is that comeback city,” Jones said.
Buildings once vacant have new life as living spaces where people can shop, eat and go for entertainment, he said.
“We are seeing such success not only in the River District, but throughout our city and throughout our region,” he said.
Jones called Danville City Councilman Sherman Saunders up to the stage to unveil the name of the commercial and residential development, “Dan River Falls,” that is expected to be complete in about two years.
“This monumental redevelopment effort that we celebrate today is injecting new energy and investment into a site that was left behind,” he said. “Rather than clinging to the name ‘White Mill,’ we celebrate the site’s history along the Dan River and look towards its future.”
The name “Dan River Falls” is a nod to Dan River Fabrics, the textile powerhouse of which the White Mill was a part. It also refers to Wynne’s Falls, the name of the first settlement along the river that became Danville, and the use of the Dan River, the banks on which the mill building sits, as an economic engine.
Danville City Council members react after the unveiling of the sign for the new Dan River Falls redevelopment project at the former White Mill building Thursday.
After Saunders unveiled the blue and white sign, Jones proclaimed Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, as Dan River Falls Day in Danville.
Originally known as Mill No. 8, the White Mill operated through 1996 and encompassed more than 18 acres along the Dan River.
The reinforced concrete structure was designed in a simplified Gothic Revival architectural style, according to information in the event’s program. It is an example of the changes in mill architecture following World War I.
“Whereas textile mills were previously brick buildings, the increasing difficulty in obtaining huge timbers combined with the new technology of reinforced concrete brought about a building revolution,” the program states.
The White Mill’s completion marked the city’s transition from a tobacco-based industrial economy to a textile-centered one.
Danville Industrial Development Authority Chairman Neal Morris encouraged everyone to be a booster for Danville and pointed to a great future for the city.
“Be that cheerleader for Danville,” Morris said. “We have a bright future ahead, and I know you’re going to help us make it.”
The inside of the former White Mill building on Memorial Drive will be converted into a commercial and residential redevelopment project named Dan River Falls. Officials broke ground on the project Thursday.
Diana Schwartz, executive director of the River District Association, reiterated Jones’ earlier statement of the amount of investment poured into the city’s downtown over the years — $300 million. That has included $50 million in public spending and $250 million in private funds.
“This investment benefits us all,” Schwartz said. “Reinvestment in your historic downtown is one of the most important investments that you can make to improve quality of place and quality of life in your community for the people that live here.”
That $300 million does not include the money being invested in the Dan River Falls project, she pointed out.
Calling the White Mill “the restored crown jewel of downtown Danville,” she said it’s not only a win for the River District, the city and county, but for the region as a whole.
It started from a tweet
Alexander Company President Joe Alexander recalled the White Mill project starting with a tweet to a company official from City Councilman Lee Vogler in 2018. Projects like Dan River Falls can happen in small cities as long as everyone is determined, he said.
“We are, we know you are,” Alexander told the crowd about being determined.
The inside of the former White Mill building on Memorial Drive will be converted into a commercial and residential redevelopment project named Dan River Falls. Officials broke ground on the project Thursday.
“Work will start here in the next couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ll back here in 18-20 months.”
The project is estimated to be complete in late 2024.
The redevelopment of the roughly 550,000-square-foot White Mill is one of the largest tax-credit projects that’s currently under way in Virginia in its scale and its investment, said Julie Langan, state historic preservation officer with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
“We have certified 42 historic tax-credit projects, with a total investment of just over $155 million,” Langan told attendees.
The building is listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
“This project will restore utility and vitality to an important yet long-vacant historic building, while making a major impact on and a contribution to Danville’s economic health,” Langan said. “That’s what the tax-credit program is all about.”
Virginia Housing will help finance 150 apartment homes to support Danville’s economic growth, said David Glassman, director of rental housing development with Virginia Housing.
“For working families and other Virginians who call Danville home, finding a great place to live that is also affordable can be a challenge,” Glassman said. “Like so many growing communities around the commonwealth, there are often limited affordable choices.”
Former Dan River Inc. employee Hunt R. “Randy” Hedrick said, “It gives me great pleasure that this building is going to remain standing and see a new life, not only as a useful part of Danville, but also as a tribute to Dan River.”
At one time, Dan River Inc. employed more than 12,000 people just in the city, he said.
The inside of the former White Mill building on Memorial Drive will be converted into a commercial and residential redevelopment project named Dan River Falls. Officials broke ground on the project Thursday.
“Dan River touched the lives of every person in Danville, either directly or indirectly,” Hedrick said.
The project
The White Mill will be redeveloped into a multi-use project that will initially feature 147,000 square feet of commercial space and 150 apartments. Another 56 units are planned in a future phase
The 150 apartments will be built on the top three floors of western two-thirds of the building and will include one-, two,- and three-bedroom units. Some will be loft style. The future apartments will be built on the top floors of the eastern one-third of the building.
The first floor and eastern one-third of the second floor will be reserved for commercial space, with the lower level of the building being converted into 219 interior parking spaces for tenants.
Construction of a riverfront park on four acres between the White Mill building and the King Memorial Bridge will also take place.
In addition, an easement over about 1.12 acres of land along the Dan River will allow for the extension of the Riverwalk Trail.
There are also plans to use the canal on the south side of the building as a whitewater feature, as well as plans to restore the bridge that spans the river from the north side of the White Mill to the former Long Mill site.
The former White Mill building on Memorial Drive will be converted into a commercial and residential redevelopment project named Dan River Falls. Officials broke ground on the project Thursday.
The Alexander Company and the IDA signed a memorandum of understanding during a ceremony in May 2021 at the Danville Family YMCA across the Dan River from the White Mill.
Entering into the partnership under 424 Memorial Drive LLC — instead of having the Alexander Company buy the property outright — allows the use of historic tax credits for the project.
The former White Mill building on Memorial Drive will be converted into a commercial and residential redevelopment project named Dan River Falls. Officials broke ground on the project Thursday.
The IDA owns the White Mill property, but the authority agreed to admit the Alexander Company into the ownership structure as part of the memorandum of understanding.
Officials also have a letter of intent from a tenant who they will not identify to develop the eastern thirds of the top two floors of the former Dan River Inc. building.
